HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE EXAMINES HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SURINAME

Human Rights Committee
76th session
23 October 2002




The Human Rights Committee this morning concluded its examination of the human rights situation in Suriname and that country's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In an introductory statement delivered on Tuesday afternoon, Irma Loemban Tobing-Klein, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Suriname to the United Nations in New York, said that the Government strongly favoured the human-rights-based approach to development and the inclusion of a human rights perspective in every activity and every approach in life.
In a concluding statement, Committee Chairperson Prafullachandara Natwarlala Bhagwati said that after a 20-year silence, Suriname had resumed its dialogue with the Committee which had allowed the Experts to discharge their monitoring responsibility. However, in the absence of a second periodic report from the State party, it was difficult to fully assess the human rights situation in the country.
Mr. Bhagwati said that during the examination of the human rights situation in Suriname, the members of the Committee had expressed concern, among other things, about the State party's failure to comply with its reporting obligation under article 40 of the Covenant; the delay in the establishment of a constitutional court; the unsatisfactory investigative process in the three massacres that took place in the country in 1982, 1986 and 1987; the prison conditions; allegations of trafficking in women and their shipment to Europe; and the high rate of incidents of sexual harassment of women in the workplace.
The Committee considered the situation in Suriname without a second periodic report from that country but in the presence of a Government delegation. The members of the delegation said that they would submit a comprehensive periodic report within the coming six months in which they would take into account the oral questions raised by the Committee.
The delegation of Suriname was also composed of Eric Patrick Rudge, Lawyer and Expert on human rights issues; and Alphonse Leonie MacDonald, a Social Scientist from Suriname.
The Committee will issue its conclusions on the situation in Suriname at the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 1 November.
Suriname is among the 149 States parties to the Covenant and as such it is obligated to submit periodic reports to the Committee on how it is complying with the provisions of the treaty.
When the Committee meets in public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 24 October, it will hold its second meeting with States parties to the Covenant.

Introductory Statement
IRMA LOEMBAN TOBING-KLEIN, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Suriname to the United Nations in New York, apologized for her country not having fulfilled its obligations under article 40 of the Covenant. Suriname was a party to the most important human rights instruments which had been ratified to express the commitment of the nation to share the common goals of humanity. The human rights instruments were enshrined in the Constitution.
The Government of Suriname strongly favoured the human-rights-based approach to development and the inclusion of a human rights perspective in every activity and every approach in life, Ms. Tobing-Klein continued to state. In various periods during the past years, especially because of several serious human rights violations, the Government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had shown strong involvement in human rights issues and in the promotion and protection of human rights.
She said that her Government underscored the importance of human rights education as a key to development, as repeatedly stressed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Response of Suriname to Written Questions
Before responding to the written questions prepared by the Committee Experts in advance, the members of the delegation said that the reasons for not producing the country's second periodic report could be attributed to various factors. Among the factors were the precarious return to a fragile democratic rule of law, after seven years of military rule; military and para-military disturbances in the interior of the State; the unconstitutional displacement of the first democratically elected government after the seven-year military rule, causing grave damage to the recently established fragile democracy; and several internal problems caused by previous military rulers, who had manoeuvered themselves into key positions in society, which had hampered the further development of the democratic institutions of the State.
The delegation said that several provisions of the Covenant had been incorporated in national legislation, such as the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure act.
Responding to a question on the limitation of constitutional rights, the delegation said that the President of the Republic could take measures to limit rights guaranteed in the Constitution on the grounds of "public morals and public order", after having obtained approval from parliament to do so. However, all international obligations under the provisions of all the international instruments should be respected by the State. Article 4 of the Covenant provided for the right of a State party to derogate from its obligation under the Covenant.
Asked about the progress made in investigations into the execution in 1982 of 15 opposition politicians and the extra-judicial execution in 1986 of many civilians in the village of Moiwana, the delegation said that according to article 9 of the Constitution, everyone had the right to physical, mental and moral integrity, and no one might be submitted to torture, degrading or inhumane treatment. The Office of the Attorney-General had requested an investigation into the two incidents by an examining magistrate.
On reports of serious overcrowding in virtually all of Suriname's detention facilities and penitentiaries, and the inhumane prison conditions, the delegation said that in the past, there was overcrowding in prison cells nation-wide. The administration was implementing a new policy in order to avoid the overcrowding of police cells and detention facilities. The problem had been resolved for the larger part. The situation had become much better due to the efforts of the NGO Moiwana 86. The Government believed that the situation in the detention centres had improved significantly.
Asked to comment on allegations that there had been, and continued to be, instances of police ill-treatment of detainees, particularly during arrests, and of abuse of prisoners by prison guards, including sexual abuse of women detainees, the delegation said that incidents had been registered, and in such cases criminal prosecution had been undertaken or disciplinary measures had been taken against the perpetrators. That also applied to the instances of sexual abuse of which just one case had been registered in 2002.
Concerning reports that prisoners detained in the Santo Boma prison and the so-called P.I.D. prison had been subjected to beatings by prison guards, the delegation said that in one incident, a prison guard had gravely abused some prisoners who had broken the rules of the institution. A complaint had been lodged, and a police investigation had taken place; however, the Attorney-General's Office did not find grounds for prosecution. Only disciplinary measures had been taken against the guard.
The Committee asked about the practical measures taken by the State party to prevent trafficking in women and girls for prostitution, to which the delegation said that the crimes of trafficking in women were unknown to Suriname. At the same time, the Government had increased security at the border and observed more stringent visa policies as preventive measures.
The Committee noted that the law provided that police could detain a person for investigation for up to 14 days if that person was suspected of committing a crime for which the sentence exceeded four years. During that time, the law provided for the opportunity of incommunicado detention. How frequently was this option used and how was it considered compatible with article 9 of the Covenant? In response, the delegation said that the criminal laws in the country did not provide for incommunicado detention as such. Under exceptional circumstances with crimes which were indicated in article 4 of the Covenant, the judicial authorities had the possibility to restrict contact between the detainee and his attorney. Contact with others, such as family members, usually took place under supervision.

Experts' Oral Questions
An Expert expressed his appreciation for the measures taken by the State party to implement the provisions of the Covenant and the prevalence of the treaty over domestic legislation. Turning to cases of human rights violations, the Expert said that investigations of the execution of political opponents in December 1982, and the 1986 extra-judicial killings of many civilians in the village of Moiwana had not been known to the public. In the absence of appropriate investigations, there could be no effective remedies to the issues.
Concerning prison conditions, the same Expert welcomed the plan to improve prison facilities through an investment of 45 million Swiss Francs. He wanted to know the outcome of the investigations relating to prison disturbances in recent years. There was information that the police and other law-enforcing agents did not receive training on human rights. Concerning cases of trafficking in women, the Expert was surprised to hear from the delegation that the Government had no knowledge of such allegations.
Another Expert wanted to know about the kind of complaints lodged by victims of the past military regime to the Attorney-General. How many complaints had been filed? What was the attitude of the High Court on those cases? What kind of redress had been addressed to the victims? Were there national human rights institutions established in accordance with the Paris principles?
An Expert said that the State party had said that there was no incommunicado detention in the country, but there was a provision that prevented the suspect from meeting his or her lawyer. That measure could only be interpreted as the suspect being kept incommunicado. What was the percentage of persons in the prison facilities detained under pre-trial detention measures?
Another Expert said that the former military dictator of Suriname had been tried in the Netherlands in relation with the killing of 15 opposition politicians. However, the case was considered null and void on the grounds that the Netherlands had ratified the Convention against Torture after the incident occurred. The dictator was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment for drug-trafficking. The Expert asked if the case implied extra-territorial jurisdiction. He also asked if Suriname had issued an international warrant to arrest the former dictator.

Response of Suriname
The members of the delegation said that they would provide appropriate answers to all the oral questions raised after consulting Government officials in the capital.
The delegation, however, continued to respond to the remaining written questions. On the question of the practice of self-censorship by some of the State party's printed media, the delegation said that the press decided what to publish. The papers were all privately owned and the manner in which one sought justice based on what was printed was to go before a judge. The information that intimidation of journalists took place was untrue. Reports of those matters had not been filed with the Government since 2000.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had developed a gender action plan 2000-2005 in which all activities during that time-frame for the improvement of the position of women were incorporated, the delegation said. The National Bureau for Gender Policy had set up a network of women in leadership positions in the Government through a focal point in each ministry. More women were appointed in boards and other structures of political parties resulting in more women in parliament and the Council of Ministers. In the private sector, the representation of women was higher.
Asked to comment on allegations that violence against women and domestic violence was a common occurrence and that few cases reported to the authorities were thoroughly investigated and prosecuted, the delegation said that as in other parts of the world, violence against women, unfortunately, existed in Suriname. However, the Government was committed to effectively deal with the issue of violence against women.
Explaining measures taken by the Government to ensure that the Maroons -- descendants of former slaves -- and Amerindians could effectively participate in the political process and take part in public affairs, the delegation said that members of these groups had the same rights as any other citizens in matters of voting or being elected. The Agreement for National Reconciliation and Development of 1992 provided enough safeguards for the rights to land of the people of the interior -- Maroons and Amerindians.

Experts' Oral Questions
The Committee Experts continued raising oral questions on the remaining issues. They asked, among other things, about the right to freedom of opinion and the allegations of intimidation of journalists by the authorities; the high rate of incidents of sexual harassment in working places, and how they were dealt with by the authorities; if there were plans to repeal the colonial law on early marriage which allowed marriages for girls as young as 13 years; the practice of polygamous and arranged marriages; the high rate of domestic violence; suicide among girls due to sexual harassment; the assimilation policies for the Maroons and Amerindians; the place of women in the society and their lack of representation in the higher echelon of Government posts; and efforts to revert to the culture of the rule of law.

Response of Suriname
In response to questions raised by Committee Experts, the members of the Suriname delegation said that the Government had already started to provide training in human rights to law enforcement personnel. Human rights were also taught to students. In addition, the level of public awareness on human rights had been improved and people were talking freely about the past human rights violations in the country.
Asked why the State did not take responsibility for the three massacres of December 1982, Moiwana in 1986, and that of Tjongalanga Pasi in 1987, the delegation said that the legal responsibility would be established once the cases were fully investigated by the Attorney General. The Government would be able to act accordingly based on the outcome of the investigation.
The delegation said that the former Commander in Chief of the Army during the military dictatorship, Desi Bouterse, was currently leader of the opposition party in parliament. No international warrant was issued on his arrest either by the Interpol or other international institutions. He was still considered to be the main suspect behind the December 1982 massacre. However, he was free in Suriname.

Concluding Statement by Committee Chairperson
PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLALA BHAGWATI, Committee Chairperson, said that after a 20-year silence, Suriname had resumed its dialogue with the Committee in order to allow the Experts to discharge their monitoring responsibility. However, in the absence of a second periodic report from the State party, it was difficult to fully assess the human rights situation in the country.
He said that it was encouraging to note that the Covenant had been given the status of a law and that it could be invoked before the courts.
Mr. Bhagwati said that during the examination of the human rights situation in Suriname, the members of the Committee had expressed concern, among other things, about the State party's failure to comply with its reporting obligation under article 40 of the Covenant; the delay in the establishment of a constitutional court; the unsatisfactory investigative process in the three massacres that took place in the country in 1982, 1986 and 1987; the prison conditions; allegations of trafficking in women and their shipment to Europe; and the high rate of incidents of sexual harassment of women in the workplace.



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