“ After five years, none of Kaliña and Lokono’s sentence against the State of Suriname has been executed ”

Five years ago, the state of Suriname was convicted by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for human rights violations against the indigenous Kaliña and Lokono peoples of the Lower Marowijne region. However, this judgment has not been executed to date. This is what the Association of Chiefs of Indigenous Villages of Suriname (VIDS) said in a press release.

The eight villages of Lower Marowijne, united within the Organization of Indigenous Peoples Kaliña and Lokono in Marowijne (KLIM) and the Association of Indigenous Village Chiefs of Suriname (VIDS) continue to travel the roads necessary for the full implementation of the verdict.

The verdict was rendered by the Court of Human Rights on November 25, 2015 and entered into force on January 28, 2016, the day the State of Suriname was officially notified of the conviction. The judgment contains a number of obligations which had to be fulfilled by the State within certain deadlines, all of which passed without the measures having been implemented.

Among other things, the State of Suriname must:

• – Legally recognize the collective legal personality of all indigenous and tribal peoples (Maroons), legally recognize their land rights and grant them collective title to their lands;
• – Take the necessary measures to ensure that indigenous and tribal peoples benefit from effective legal protection in Suriname (and are therefore not always obliged to apply to the Inter-American Court);
• – Establish a development fund to compensate the indigenous peoples of the region of Lower Marowijne;
• – Ensure the rehabilitation of the mined area within the Wane Creek nature reserve.
• Many other obligations have been imposed on the State which have also not been implemented. It is a shame that the constitutional state of Suriname ignores the convictions of an international human rights court with impunity. This shows once again clearly how human rights are treated selectively, ”say the two organizations.
• “VIDS and KLIM understand and appreciate the efforts of the management team during the previous term and the current Presidential Land Rights Commission, but they continue to be lengthy processes that have yet to result in recognition. concrete legality of our rights. We will continue to demand the full and expeditious implementation of this judgment, while remaining ready for appropriate consultation with the government and implementation support where possible.