AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The report finds that Suriname lacks legal recognition for indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities, leaving their traditional land and resource rights unprotected. This legal vacuum allows the state to issue extractive concessions and establish protected areas without the free, prior, and informed consent of local communities, often criminalizing traditional subsistence activities. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has issued landmark rulings, such as the Saramaka case, requiring the recognition of collective titles and juridical personality, the report concludes that the Surinamese government has failed to implement these mandates, maintaining a discriminatory legal environment that undermines both human rights and biodiversity conservation.

• Indigenous and tribal peoples are not legally recognized as peoples or collectivities under Surinamese law, which prevents them from exercising collective rights to traditional lands, resources, and self-governance.
• The 'domain principle' established in the 1982 Decree on the Principles of Land Policy allows the state to claim ownership of all land where property rights cannot be proven, effectively subordinating indigenous rights to the 'public interest'.
• National nature conservation laws often criminalize the traditional subsistence activities of indigenous peoples, as protected areas are frequently established within traditional territories without community consent.
• The state frequently issues concessions for mining, logging, and other extractive industries on indigenous lands without meaningful consultation or the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the affected communities.
• Indigenous communities lack legal standing in national courts, making it procedurally impossible to litigate for collective rights, as judges typically rule based on a lack of explicit statutory support.
• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in the Saramaka People versus Suriname case that the state must recognize the collective juridical personality and property rights of tribal peoples, but this judgment remains unimplemented.
• Traditional knowledge and collective intellectual property rights are not protected by Surinamese law, leaving indigenous communities vulnerable to biopiracy.
• The government's approach to indigenous rights is characterized as assimilatory, with some legislation suggesting that traditional rights are only temporary until indigenous peoples are integrated into mainstream society.

APA

Natural Justice (2012). AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Americas-Regional-Suriname.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES. 2012. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Americas-Regional-Suriname.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES |date=September 2012 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Americas-Regional-Suriname.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2012analysis, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{AN ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, NATIONAL LEGISLATION, JUDGEMENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AS THEY INTERRELATE WITH TERRITORIES AND AREAS CONSERVED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2012}, month = sep, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Americas-Regional-Suriname.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }