Indigenous Area Is Divided Dagblad Suriname

A few days ago, the indigenous residents of the Hollandse Kamp community staged a protest because, without their knowledge, their homes and living areas had been rented out to what appeared to be urban parties. The issue of recognizing the land rights of tribal and indigenous peoples is currently being discussed in Suriname.

In the National Assembly, a bill is prepared for discussion. In particular, the current vice president, who serves as the ABOP chairman, would have emphasized more frequently before he was elected to the position that Suriname must ratify the international agreements pertaining to the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.

He's made reference to the ILO's special treaty in this context on occasion. The fact that the VP no longer makes as much of this type of noise is startling.

It's unfortunate that the vp appears to have abandoned some fundamental principles once in the driver's seat. We seem to remember that legislation limiting the issuance of areas near and around the habitats and habitats of the indigenous and tribal peoples was passed by the previous government.

In anticipation of more comprehensive legislation governing the land rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, this legislation, an amendment to the Domain Land Issuance Decree/Law, was passed. The issue is how it is still possible for native habitat and living arrangements to be approved close to Hollandse Kamp in defiance of the law.

We are aware that during the bouterse governments' tenure from 2010 to 2020, it was first suggested that enacting land rights legislation would be a difficult task. Subsequently, attempts by the president and the government to engage in dialogue with indigenous and tribal peoples during the Colakreek conference also ended in failure because of poor technical planning and a disregard for the sovereignty that is owed to these groups under international law. In the end, despite a few difficulties, the government was able to pass an important bill through a committee.

It takes political fortitude on the part of the current administration to request that DNA Chairman Bee put this bill on the agenda even though it is currently in DNA. We've said before that the bill is a great law at its core, but that there are still a few things that need to be worked out in the fundamentals.

More recently, we've also mentioned that Suriname needs to regulate land rights in a way that takes into account the possibility of future flooding of both inland areas and areas in the city. Without consulting the neighborhood, orders have been given in the Hollandse Kamp area.

The new rights holders have been actively destroying the environment and destroying the forests. The indigenous peoples' voice in Suriname is not as loud as it could be because of political infiltration and paralysis, but the government there should not undervalue it.

Passage of the Residential and Living Areas Protection Act occurred on December 22, 2017. The Decree on Land Policy Principles of 1982 has been modified as a result of this.

An important clause in this law states that the government is prohibited from making concessions to outside parties within a certain distance of residential communities. These are protected areas that are situated close to tribal communities' homes and living quarters.

These have to be mentioned on lists that have been registered with the Ministry of RO and are shown on the conceptual maps. An appendix containing these maps is included with the law.

On the illustrative maps, the residential and living areas are shown as illustrative circles surrounding the locations of the registered communities shown on the map for general orientation. The overlap between a community's area and those of other nearby residential communities is taken into account by the law.

The RO lists also include a listing of these overlapping habitats and habitats. According to the law, the competent administrative body may not grant any new domain land within the living and residential areas under any title at all.

Additionally, no new mining or other rights will be granted. The issue then becomes how land in or close to Hollandse Kamp can be issued despite the fact that it is against the law to do so.

The law allows for an exception when a specific project's approved development plan or a local community's development plan are implemented with the agreement of the community in question. The law refers to the FPIC model of consent, which states that it must be given voluntarily and with full disclosure.

Additionally, the law declares that any rights granted to indigenous or tribal peoples that are in conflict with the law are invalid and have no legal standing. The nullity remains in effect even in the absence of any supporting documentation.

It follows that the person who ordered an excavator to the location made a mistake and is breaking the law by destroying the valuable forest that belongs to the local indigenous people. The law further states that the boundaries of the requested area and the area in the vicinity must be determined by a sworn surveyor registered with the MI-GLIS before the applicant for a right relating to an area in the vicinity of an indigenous community may proceed.

to have an exact map made showing the protected area's location from that point, and to include this information with the application. If this procedure has been followed, the question of its observation also arises.

The government is being urged to strictly enforce this law (amendment) of 2017 and not break the actual law, as well as to immediately halt the destruction of the forest. Those who harm the environment may be required to make restitution and, where possible, undergo rehabilitation.

The law further states that the boundaries of the requested area and the area in the vicinity must be determined by a sworn surveyor registered with the MI-GLIS before the applicant for a right relating to an area in the vicinity of an indigenous community may proceed.