Submitted by ssaliba on
Scroll to:
National Report
Compilation of UN Information
Stakeholder Information
Accepted and Rejected Recomendations
National Report
I. Introduction
3. The Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review considered Suriname’s reviews at its 11th session in May 2011 and, subsequently, the Human Rights Council, at its 18th session, adopted the Outcome of the UPR for Suriname in September 2011. Noted, furthermore, are the dialogues with the Human Rights Committee in October 2015, and with the Committee on Racial Discrimination in August 2015. The dialogue with the Committee on the Rights of the Child is scheduled to take place during its seventy-second session from 17 May - 3 June of 2016.
A. Women’s rights, discrimination and gender equality
11. The Ministry of Home Affairs financially supports NGOs’ projects to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. For example, in the District of Marowijne topics such as gender and gender equality were presented to the public by youth educators during a festival of art and culture. In the District of Nickerie information on gender equality was provided to the public by staff of the National Bureau for Gender Policy, during a Mini Bazaar, organized by the Sari Foundation. In 2015, male students from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) received training in the prevention of and taking responsibility in cases of teen pregnancy. They also received information about gender, while the aspect of equality between men and women was emphasized.
22. The 2014 Amendment of the Act on Nationality and Residency also changed the situation with regard to the nationality of children. Until then, the child of a Surinamese woman, born out of wedlock, not legally recognized by the father, but born in Suriname, could acquire the Surinamese nationality. Born elsewhere, such child would be stateless. The child of a Surinamese man acquired Surinamese nationality regardless of its place of birth. These prior provisions were in violation of CEDAW, Article 9 (2). According to the 2014 Amendment, a child is now granted Surinamese nationality automatically if its father or mother is of Surinamese nationality at the time of its birth (Article 3 (a) as amended), while the other conditions for a woman to confer her nationality to her child have been removed. The explanatory memorandum to the Act states that this amendment “demonstrates the full equality of men and women (father and mother) before the Act in the establishment of the nationality of the child at birth”. Article 3 (c) of the 2014 Act retains the provision of granting Surinamese nationality to any child born on the territory who would otherwise be stateless, and Article 4 (b) retains the provision granting Surinamese nationality to foundlings or abandoned children in the country, whose parents are unknown.
35. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has promoted a number of policies and actions aimed at eliminating factors which tend to perpetuate gender inequalities. The Basic Education Improvement Project (BEIP) management, e.g., has been instructed to include gender equality in the implementation of BEIP II 2012-2016. In 2012 and 2013, information on gender and gender related violence was provided to students from junior and senior secondary schools by the Foundation Stop Violence Against Women, at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Religious leaders and teachers from secondary schools received training in gender and gender related issues, such as domestic violence, from the Bureau for Gender Affairs.
36. Teachers have been trained by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture on gender and human rights, to enable them to play an effective role in the Basic Life Skills Program. The Advanced Teacher Training Institute (IOL) teaches the subject Gender, Power and Culture within the course Dutch Language. In 2013, the government hired expertise from NGOs, in particular the ‘Foundation Projekta’, to provide gender training. Text books and illustrations related to different disciplines (history, nature education, and geography) have been revised in order to present a more gender balanced perspective. The Bureau for Gender Affairs and several NGOs are also addressing the issue of gender stereotyping. Projekta, e.g., has developed gender awareness materials for radio and television, and disseminates these through NGO partners and the government.
B. Children’s rights
38. The Republic of Suriname ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child on March 1, 1993. In 2012, Suriname signed both Optional Protocols to this Convention — on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. On May 18, 2012, Suriname ratified the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. In the context of the latter, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs organized a march on July 20, 2012 to raise awareness among the general public regarding the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. This march was organized in collaboration with the NGO Mati Fu Teego (Friends Forever).
39. Article 9 of the Compulsory Military Act of Suriname states that as far as the law provides otherwise, all males, holders of the Surinamese nationality, residing in Suriname and between the ages of 18 and 35 years, are obliged to serve in the armed forces. According to this Act, Suriname is in compliance with the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Regarding the Optional Protocol on a Communication Procedure, the relevant departments of State are studying the effect, impact and consequences that such ratification will have on the nation.
40. The State wishes to emphasize that all forms of corporal punishment in all settings have been removed from law.
41. The Integral Policy for Children and Adolescents (2012–2016), includes a section that specifically focuses on combating all forms of violence against children. The Presidential Task Force on Integral Policy for Children and Adolescents is currently working on updating the priorities for the new plan of action.
42. In the fight against child abuse and in support of the eradication of sexual exploitation, amendments to the Penal Code were adopted, specifically focused on the protection of children. Thus, child prostitution and indecent acts with minors are now punishable under articles 303a and 303b. The existing article on child pornography (art. 293) was expanded, while the addition of articles 295 through 306, also aim at protecting juveniles. A specific act was adopted to supervise all places of special care in order to regulate the establishment of those institutions, and to better protect the minors (Wet Opvanginstellingen, S.B. 2014 no. 7).
43. To commemorate International Day on the Rights of the Child, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing organizes several activities for children, spread out over the year. These activities have an educational character and include the placement of billboards for the promotion of children’s rights across the country.
44. In 2014 and 2015, the Ministry of Justice and Police conducted pilot projects to raise awareness with respect to violence against children. Activities for children, such as drawing competitions and radio programs, were the outcome of a survey on, among others, violence against children in Moengo, Sophia’s Lust and Goejaba. These activities are being evaluated and a follow-up is planned.
45. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing has the following benefits and services in place to combat child labor:
-
(a) financial aid to purchase school uniforms;
-
(b) medical insurance for national with low or no income;
-
(c) general child benefits;
-
(d) provision of food stamps;
-
(e) contribution and aid in crisis situations;
-
(f) social welfare for persons with disabilities;
-
(g) social welfare for families with low or no income;
(i) counseling, including by child psychologists, and through the Child Help Line (#123), which provides anonymous counseling by phone to children.
46. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing, furthermore, has done research on the child protection situation in Suriname and on developing a toolkit for a child protection system. The aim is to create a network in which all stakeholders — government and non- government — are involved and connected to each other in order to identify problems at an early stage regarding children, so that there can be an immediate response to help the children.
47. In order to meet the requirement, set out in article 5 of the ILO Convention on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (ILO Convention no. 182, 1999) — namely to establish a mechanism that should ensure that implementation of Convention no. 182 takes place in a proper manner — the National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor (NCUK) was established for an indefinite period of time. The duties and powers of the NCUK are regulated by decree (S.B. 2008 no. 115).
48. The National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor is a coordinating, monitoring and advisory body tasked with, among others, formulating a Policy and Action Plan to eliminate child labor in Suriname. Stakeholders with respect to child labor and its worst forms are the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Justice and Police, the Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture, the Ministry of Welfare, and the Ministry of Regional Development.
49. A national action plan for the eradication of child labor is considered an effective and adequate instrument to evaluate and analyze the national efforts made in confronting child labor. Domestic law and national policy are evaluated on a regular basis. The NCUK is in the process of finalizing the next national action plan, after organizing a workshop with stakeholders in 2015.
50. As part of the national action plan for the eradication of child labor, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing has developed the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCT- program), to financially accommodate families who feel compelled to let their children work to contribute to the family’s income. Through the CCT-program, a project funded by the Inter Development Bank (IDB), the government provides financial assistance to families, subject to their children complying with certain conditions, such as the obligation to attend school and perform well. This prevents children from falling into the dangers of child labor. Due to administrative constraints, the CCT-project suffers some delay.
51. With the revision of the Penal Code in 2015, the minimum age for criminal responsibility has been raised from 10 to 12 years — an improvement compared to the previous Act.
C. Trafficking in persons
55. The national strategy to combat trafficking in persons takes into account all victims, including women and children. In preparing for this strategy, the vulnerability of women and children exposed to trafficking was taken into account. In this context, organizations that are committed to the human rights and other interests of women and children, were invited to the stakeholders’ meetings. Among these organizations are: Foundation Stop Violence against Women, Maroon Women's Network, Bureau Women and Child Policy, Working Group Integrated Child and Youth Policy, National Commission on the Eradication of Child Labor, Bureau of Rights of the Child and the Foundation for Children.
56. Annexed to this report is a list of the statistics on trafficking in persons, issued by the Bureau of the Public Prosecutor (Annex 1.) The list provides aggregated data in detail of the case, such as gender and age of the victims, and nationality of the victims and the perpetrators. The Public Prosecutor works closely with the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Police, and the Multidisciplinary Commission Anti-Trafficking in Persons. The work of the Commission, whose term expired in 2015, is being continued by a new multidisciplinary working group ‘Anti-Trafficking in Persons’, installed on January 22, 2016 by the Minister of Justice and Police. This working group, headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Police, must undertake action before the end of March 2016. One of its tasks is to combat child exploitation in and surrounding the village of Apoera, District of Sipaliwini. The capacity of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit of the Police will be strengthened.
E. Education
63. Education on human rights in Suriname is provided by the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the FHR Lim A Po Institute, and the Institute for Nature and Technology.
64. To improve the quality of education, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has undertaken the following actions:
• purchase of new school materials (textbooks, furniture etc.);
• strengthening the capacity of Inspectors to monitor the quality of the education and for guidance to teachers;
• creation of a division specifically for in-service training of teachers on a regular basis;
• reform of the teacher training colleges in order to meet the needs of the Future Student;
• drafting of programs to implement ICT in education.63. Education on human rights in Suriname is provided by the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, the FHR Lim A Po Institute, and the Institute for Nature and Technology.
64. To improve the quality of education, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has undertaken the following actions:
• purchase of new school materials (textbooks, furniture etc.);
• strengthening the capacity of Inspectors to monitor the quality of the education and for guidance to teachers;
• creation of a division specifically for in-service training of teachers on a regular basis;
• reform of the teacher training colleges in order to meet the needs of the Future Student;
• drafting of programs to implement ICT in education.
65. Access to education has been guaranteed by ensuring that primary education and secondary education at lower level is free of charge. Financial contribution for materials is set at SRD 10 (USD 2.45) and SRD 35 (USD 8.65), respectively. Students who cannot afford the contribution receive financing of materials from the government. Secondary education at upper level carries an enrollment fee of SRD 250 (USD 61.72). Financing for the enrollment fee or for materials is also available for the latter students who are unable to pay it. The government also offers free transportation to and from school for students living at a great distance.
66. Many new classrooms were built in de past five years, to accommodate the growing number of students. The Hostel in Atjoni in the District of Sipaliwini is ready for students at lower level secondary education, so that they will not have to leave their villages and move to Paramaribo for their education.
67. Compulsory Education is currently set by law for the ages of 6 to 12 years. The Ministry of Education is updating and expanding the Education Bill for Primary and Secondary Education at Lower Level. A major update will be the extension of compulsory education to the ages of 4 to 16 years. The Ministry of Education is implementing a pupil tracking system.
68. To prevent dropouts, a system is introduced that trains teachers to become a guidance counselor to help students who are in need.
69. There are a total of 92 schools in the interior. 17 schools are in Indigenous areas, 66 schools are in Maroon areas, and 9 schools are in Moengo and Albina which are located in a 70% Maroon area. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is making efforts to provide the number of qualified teachers required for these areas, and is quite successful. Considerable investments were made in infrastructure, nationwide, with a special focus on rural areas and the interior.
70. Aiming for a higher enrollment, since October 2012, primary education is free of charge for all. The new Education Bill is in draft. Currently, the Ministry of Education is working with the private sector to reform the vocational training, especially for children with disabilities. More schools for Special Education are in planning. Existing schools will be made more accessible for those with a disability.
71. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing provides vocational training to persons with disabilities, aged 14-24 years, through its ‘Foundation Training Projects for Juveniles with Disability in Suriname’. With this training, the recipients are given the opportunity to work in order to meet their own level of welfare. The foundation implements the goal set in the Development Plan 2012-2016, namely "the role to play by creating conditions for the promotion of the welfare of people with disabilities." The vocational training courses are: mechanical woodworking, textile handicrafts, construction carpentry, metalworking and horticulture. A course on ICT was started in October 2015.
72. On September 25th, 2015 the National Assembly approved the accession of Suriname to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In anticipation of this, the State has executed the Policy for People with Disability 2005 – 2010. A number of issues in the field of law and legislation, education and training, recreation and sports, and transportation have been addressed and realized. The following can be listed:
-
The minimum standards for services, provisions and institutions for people with disability were drafted and adopted through the Act Alternative Care (S.B. 2014 no. 7), which applies to registered alternative care institutions;
-
the Commission Supervision on Child Care Institutions (CTK) looked at care institutions for people with disability;
-
A Bill ‘Provision for People with Disability’ (VMB), which regulates the socio- economic security of this group, is being prepared;
-
The Foundation Training Projects for Juveniles with Disability in Suriname has the objective of teaching skills to children and juveniles with a learning disability between 14 and 20 years of age, so that they can actively contribute to the labor market in Suriname. The foundation provides vocational training in machine woodworking, textile handicrafts, construction and woodworking, metal working and horticulture;
-
A lesson plan was published in the period 2008–2011 for teachers in primary education, on how to deal with people with a disability, in particular children;
-
The Care for Persons with Disability (Dienst Gehandicapten Zorg), in cooperation with the Commission Policy for People with Disability, conducted a customer satisfaction study among the customers of special care transportation, and made an inventory of the provisions and need for care transportation. The data collected is currently being processed;
-
A study into the staffing situation at institutions, focused on people with disability, was also done by the Care for People with Disability, in cooperation with the Commission Policy for People with Disability.
F . Health
74. In 2014, the Act on National Basic Health Insurance was adopted (S.B. 2014 no. 114). Legislation regarding the Basic Care System has also been approved by Parliament and came into force on October 9, 2014. All children from birth to the age of 16 are covered for free basic medical care/insurance.
82. Although evaluation of the National Strategy Plan HIV 2009-2013 has shown that steps have been made forward, especially in the sustainability of funding for the response (Anti-Retroviral medication is fully funded by the government), challenges still remain. The biggest challenge lies in increasing awareness and establishing responsible behavior in general, but particularly in identified vulnerable groups such as youth, men having sex with men, and sex workers. To guarantee good health, the emphasis in the general policy will be on behavioral change and integrate HIV in communication to stop the alarming rise of chronic diseases.
84. All pregnant women receive some type of prenatal care and 90% of all births take place in health care facilities attended by skilled health personnel. Suriname is still concerned about the high rate of maternal mortality. The national capacity will be strengthened in emergency obstetric care and the registration system, including investigations of maternal mortality cases, in order to keep the mortality rate as low as possible. Suriname completed a Safe Motherhoods Needs Assessment in 2010. The Safe- Motherhood Action Plan includes also actions in the area of child mortality.
M. Poverty reduction
Disability benefit ...
- Foundation for Projects for Youth with Disabilities of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing provides training and schooling for persons with disabilities. ...
Compilation of UN Information
I. Background and framework
A. Scope of international obligations
1. International human rights treaties
5. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stated that Suriname should be strongly encouraged to ratify the Convention against Discrimination in Education.
10. The country team recommended that Suriname establish the Child Ombuds Bureau, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child to establish an independent national commission on children’s rights.
11. UNESCO stated that Suriname could be encouraged to further integrate human rights education into school curricula.
III. Implementation of international human rights obligations
A. Equality and non-discrimination
17. In that regard, earlier in 2014, the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice had sent a communication to Suriname, noting that legislation in Suriname discriminated against women in that children born abroad to unmarried parents acquired Surinamese citizenship by descent if their father was a Surinamese citizen but not if their mother was.
24. The Committee was concerned about reports of discrimination experienced by regular and irregular migrants in the enjoyment of their rights. It encouraged Suriname to ensure access to education, employment and health services without discrimination to all persons under its jurisdiction.
25. In relation to universal periodic review recommendation 73.12, UNHCR was concerned that the lack of birth registration had become a factor contributing to the exclusion of many migrant children from the enjoyment of their fundamental rights and recommended that Suriname issue birth certificates to all children born on its territory. The Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed similar concerns. The latter Committee recommended that Suriname remove administrative barriers and discriminatory practices that prevented children born to foreign parents from acquiring nationality at birth; introduce safeguards to prevent statelessness; and address discriminatory practices in the application of its 1975 Law on Nationality and Residence, as amended, particularly in the context of birth registration.
B. Right to life, liberty and security of person
35. According to the country team, lack of data was a challenge and a constraint for developing a comprehensive child protection system. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the period 2012-2016 indicated that households headed by women, pervasive child marriage and teenage pregnancies had a significant impact on the ability of families to adequately protect their children from violence, neglect and abuse.
36. The country team reported that, although sexual abuse of children was penalized in law, and despite the ratification of OP-CRC-SC, the number of prosecutions in such cases was still low. The majority of sexual abuse cases remained unreported due to weaknesses in the area of early detection. There was also a severe shortage of qualified service providers to counsel and treat child victims.
37. The Human Rights Committee observed that, although corporal punishment was explicitly prohibited in the penal system, it continued to be prevalent and accepted in society.58 The country team stated that legal provisions against violence and abuse were not interpreted as prohibiting all corporal punishment in child-rearing. The Human Rights Committee recommended that Suriname take practical steps to put an end to corporal punishment of children in all settings, encourage non-violent forms of discipline as alternatives and conduct public information campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of corporal punishment. UNESCO made a similar recommendation.
38. The country team stated that about 6 per cent of children aged 5 to 14 were involved in child labour. Differences between urban, rural coastal and rural interior areas were considerable: 3 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 17.8 per cent, respectively. Children, primarily boys, working in (illegal) gold mines was a frequently observed phenomenon. The country team urged Suriname to take concrete actions to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, and revise the Decree on Labour Inspection to take into consideration the possibility of authorizing labour inspectors to supervise the working conditions of children engaged in the informal sector.
39. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Human Rights Committee and UNHCR noted the adoption of the national strategy to combat human trafficking in April 2014. UNHCR indicated that Suriname was a source and destination country for women, men and children where subject to sex trafficking and forced labour, however, Suriname did not fully comply with the minimum with the minimum standard of trafficking. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination regretted the absence of national anti-trafficking legislation and formal comprehensive assistance for victims of trafficking. The Human Rights Committee was concerned about the difficulties victims of human trafficking experienced in receiving access to effective protection, shelter and reparation.
40. The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations expressed concern regarding the absence of support for child victims of trafficking and prostitution, and urged Suriname to intensify its efforts to ensure that appropriate services were available for child victims, including their rehabilitation and social integration.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
51. The country team indicated that Suriname had invested in Opa Doeli, a child-friendly youth facility for 12- to 18-year-olds awaiting trial. However, it added that there was still a need for a correctional facility that would meet the minimum requirements for the protection of juveniles deprived of their liberty.
52. The country team stated that children were not always separated from adults in detention, partly due to limited facilities. Girls between the ages of 12 and 18 who had received a custodial sentence and who did not remain at Opa Doeli were placed in the women’s section, along with other convicted women, in the Santa Boma adult prison. Furthermore, boys aged 16 and older who had been convicted of very serious offences were generally placed directly in the adult wing.80 The Human Rights Committee recommended that Suriname ensure that juveniles were segregated from adults in all places of detention.
H. Right to health
64. PAHO noted that gender inequalities had been documented in various health outcomes, such as life expectancy and the prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the period 2012-2016 indicated that the persistent high rate of teenage pregnancy called for increased access to and utilization of reproductive health services, including family planning and sexual and reproductive health education.
I. Right to education
66. UNESCO noted that, in 2012, Suriname had abolished all school tuition, which had improved access to education, notably for families living in the interior of the territory, and the situation of poor family households. UNESCO recommended that Suriname be encouraged to further continue its work towards implementing better access to education for all, including the population living in the interior, the poorest and children with disabilities.
67. The country team indicated that, despite a net enrolment rate of over 98 per cent for primary education in 2013, the education sector was facing challenges, including with regard to the quality of education and access to education in different geographical areas. According to the country team, only 66.2 per cent of children living in urban areas attended secondary school; for children in the interior, that number was even lower, at 21 per cent. The country team recommended that Suriname improve access to and quality of education across geographical areas.
J. Persons with disabilities
68. The country team indicated that children with physical or mental disabilities faced many challenges, such as inadequate care; limited opportunities for education, career and a social network; and continued experiences of stigma and discrimination.
K. Minorities and indigenous peoples
77. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reiterated its concern that no special measures were being taken to preserve the languages of the country’s indigenous and tribal peoples. The Committee recommended that Suriname take effective measures to ensure that the children of indigenous and tribal peoples had access to an education that took into account the need to preserve their languages and cultures; consider introducing, as appropriate, the study of native languages; and take special measures to increase attendance rates and reduce the dropout rates of children belonging to indigenous and tribal peoples.
Stakeholder Information
Information provided by stakeholders
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations
1. Equality and non-discrimination
6. IHRC-OU noted that, although Suriname had committed to incorporating human rights and gender education into the curriculum during the UPR in 2011, to date, there was no evidence that it had taken measures to do so.
2. Right to life, liberty and security of the person
9. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) indicated that corporal punishment of children was lawful, despite repeated recommendations to prohibit it by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and recommendations made during the 1st cycle UPR.
10. GIEACPC noted that corporal punishment of children was unlawful in the penal system but lawful in the home, alternative care settings, day care and schools.
11. GIEACPC observed that Suriname had accepted the recommendation to prohibit it in schools15 but rejected recommendations to prohibit it in the home and other settings, stating that ministerial instructions not to use corporal punishment are regularly sent to schools, that regulations are in place with regard to youth in prison, and that the Act on Domestic Violence had begun to combat corporal punishment of children in the home.
22. ADF International continued that poor diet and a corresponding rise in obesity and diabetes had contributed to the rise in maternal health problems. Moreover, according to ADF International, the high adolescent birth rate was a significant contributing factor. Premature sexual activity was a serious problem that led to devastating health implications and severely undermined the wellbeing of Suriname’s youth. ADF International indicated that education on responsible sexual behaviour in conjunction with parents, in addition to community and religious leaders, was of vital importance.
6. Right to education
23. IHRC-OU stated that Suriname had improved the general accessibility of primary education but had not shown much progress in improving regional inequities. According to IHRC-OU, there was little evidence of efforts to improve access to education for indigenous and tribal children, and there was little progress in recognition of their native languages or implementation of bilingual education.
24. Concerning UPR recommendations 72.25, 72.26, 72.27, 72.28, and 72.3031 that enjoyed the support of Suriname, IHRC-OU indicated that Suriname had not shown progress in implementing them and that children in the interior continued to have inadequate access to education.
25. IHRC-OU noted that children in Suriname faced great educational barriers; particularly children in the rural interior, girls who became pregnant, and children with disabilities.
26. IHRC-OU observed that Suriname had eliminated primary and secondary school fees and that children in urban areas enjoyed access to all levels of education. However, children in the rural interior, who were primarily indigenous and tribal, still faced challenges in achieving a basic education. In the rural interior, some children must travel to attend primary school. Secondary school facilities in rural districts were sparse or non- existent. High school required relocation to the capital. Children from the interior who relocated did not receive any financial or social governmental assistance.
27. According to IHRC-OU, Suriname had established a policy against the expulsion of pregnant girls, however, some individual school directors continued this practice, and it was not clear what oversight had been put in place to address this problem.
28. IHRC-OU continued that there were severe inequities in the quality of education that was provided in the hinterland. Villages in rural settings usually had no running water; Suriname had committed to constructing and rebuilding school facilities in the interior, but there was little to no information available about whether these efforts had been pursued. In most cases, there was no teacher housing. In addition, teachers in public and private schools might not be qualified, with some reports of teachers in interior villages who had only achieved a primary school diploma.
29. IHRC-OU added that indigenous groups faced great linguistic and cultural barriers in education. There was no provision for consultation with indigenous or tribal groups on the inclusion of language and culture in the education of their children. There was no provision for seeking consent of indigenous communities to the educational curriculum, or even a mechanism to allow them to provide input on educational content. Dutch was the language of instruction and indigenous languages were not taught in school.
Accepted and Rejected Recomendations
The recommendations listed below enjoy the support of Suriname:
133.12 Accede to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (France);
133.13 Sign and ratify those international human rights instruments to which it was not yet a party, particularly the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, which had been previously recommended (Spain);
133.14 Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Italy);
133.15 Ratify promptly the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Guatemala);
133.16 Consider ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (Bahamas);
133.25 Continue to consolidate the positive societal policies in favour of vulnerable sectors, particularly children and adolescents (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela);
133.26 Continue to improve the engagement, empowerment, education, entrepreneurship and social enterprise of youth (Malaysia);
133.37 Take all necessary measures to incorporate human rights and gender education in school curricula to help promote human rights awareness in Suriname (Ghana);
133.70 Strengthen and expands protections and programmes addressing gender-based violence and sexual exploitation of children, including victims of trafficking, by ensuring that survivors have access to shelter, as well as to justice, health-care services, and support services (Canada);
133.71 Improve the protection of children; strengthen early detection and counsel for victims of child sexual abuse; raise public awareness about the harmful effects of corporal punishment (Germany);
133.72 Adopt legal reforms and policy measures to guarantee the prohibition of all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment both in the private and the public sphere (Mexico);
133.73 Continue to intensify the efforts undertaken in order to promote and protect children’s rights, particularly in reference to the implementation of effective measures for eradicating child labour (Argentina);
133.74 Continue to bolster its legal arsenal with regard to child labour (Spain);
133.75 Reinforce efforts at legislative level and political measures to combat trafficking in persons for sexual and labour exploitation (Honduras);
133.78 Continue providing training and implementing measures to tackle trafficking in persons, paying particular attention to the promotion and protection of the rights of the child (Cuba);
133.84 Ensure that juveniles in detention are housed in separate facilities from adults (Trinidad and Tobago);
133.90 Raise the age when compulsory education ends to at least 16 (United States of America);
133.91 Increase efforts to improve access to education in rural areas (Trinidad and Tobago);
133.92 Further improve access to all levels of education, including in the rural interior (Indonesia);
133.93 Improve access to education by all people, particularly children in the interior of the country (Algeria);
133.94 Improve access to primary and secondary education for all children, including those with disabilities. (Maldives);
133.95 Take steps to ensure that the access of persons with disabilities to education is not limited to vocational fields but covers wider educational areas (Trinidad and Tobago);
133.98 Strengthen measures to ensure equality of rights for indigenous peoples, including the right to health, education and adequate housing (Colombia);
133.99 Promote education for all, especially for indigenous and tribal children, as well as step up efforts to preserve languages of the indigenous communities (Philippines);
135.35 Adopt a new national action plan for the eradication of child labour and ensure its effective implementation (Italy);
135.36 Take concrete measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and revise the decree on labour inspections in order to take into account the possibility of allowing labour inspectors to inspect working conditions for children in the informal sector (Belgium);
The recommendations listed below cannot be supported at this time and are noted by Suriname :
135.9 Sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure (Belgium);
135.21 Ratify the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (Honduras);