Suriname: UN expert calls for dialogue on indigenous land issues

Written on 22 March 2011. Posted in Suriname

PARAMARIBO – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, called for further contact between the authorities and the indigenous and tribal peoples of Surinam, and reiterated his readiness to assist with efforts to advance their land and resource rights. "

I look forward to continued dialogue with the Government and with the indigenous and tribal peoples of Suriname, in order to provide further guidance on the practical steps necessary to move forward with securing indigenous and tribal land rights, in accordance with relevant international treaties to which Suriname is a part," Mr. Anaya said at the end of the first visit ever to the country by a human rights independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur's mission from 13-16 March took place in the context of Suriname's implementation of the 2007 judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname.

Tags: Global governance