Officials in Suriname are considering legislation that would finally establish territorial rights for Indigenous and Tribal communities. But not everyone is happy with the language of the bill, and some are even hoping it will fail to pass.

Recent changes to a collective rights bill in Suriname are supposed to reinforce the legal status of Indigenous and Tribal communities and grant them autonomy over natural resources, but critics say it could actually do the opposite, stripping their control of the land while giving the government the power to keep developing.

“[The law] only has value for those who don’t sincerely want to legally recognize and protect the collective rights of Indigenous and Tribal peoples in accordance with international standards,” said a statement from the Association of Village Leaders (VIDS), which represents all 51 villages in Suriname. “…It’s an insult to the government itself if it wants to be known as a government that adheres to the principles of the rule of law.”

Suriname was supposed to grant land rights to communities back in 2007, when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that logging and mining operations were a threat to their “cultural survival.” But over the last decade, officials have delayed legalizing the official map for the estimated 138,000 Indigenous and Tribal people in the country, who live across over a million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest.

Several versions of a land rights bill have failed or stalled in the National Assembly. This most recent one has dragged on since June 2021, with lawmakers expressing concern about companies’ access to the land if the bill passes.

A timeline for a vote has not been made public, and may come after the general elections, observers said.

The IACHR said the officials developing logging, mining and other projects must adhere to the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), which gives communities the right to be consulted about the projects and to decide whether to approve or reject them. But recent amendments to the land rights bill would replace the principle with a different consultation process that doesn’t give communities decision-making power.

FPIC could be included in separate legislation that hasn’t been passed yet, raising concerns among environmentalists who have lost faith that the government will follow through on that promise. In recent years, officials have pursued numerous development projects that have fostered mistrust with citizens, including a bauxite mine, a failed agribusiness deal that would have cleared 467,000 hectares (1,153,982 acres) of rainforest and a rushed carbon credit program that communities said they weren’t consulted about.

If passed, the land rights bill would allow the government to continue granting logging, mining and other development projects on Indigenous and Tribal land if deemed in the “public interest” of the country. Activists worry that officials will put economic interests before the communities’ rights.

“Here in Suriname, the relationship with government is not an incredibly positive one because they keep giving away the land and also taking it for themselves,” John Goedschalk, head of Climate Change Advisory Services, a climate and conservation consulting group, told Mongabay. “There’s no basis of trust.”

The bill would also require communities to register as a legal entity with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and submit to a study. Goedschalk said he still doesn’t know what kind of study the bill is referring to or who would be authorized to carry it out.

“Are we to understand from this that the government will judge our way of life and then assess whether or not we qualify for collective rights?” the VIDS statement said.

VIDS and other groups called for consultation with communities so the law can be revised and better reflect their needs.

If the law goes through as it is, many organizations have experience fighting mining, logging and agribusiness with injunctions that have temporarily paused some development. A collective rights law would require them to file a complaint at the international level, citing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) with a UN body.

However, an international complaint wouldn’t stop the law from taking effect in Suriname. Even decisions in favor of Indigenous and Tribal communities wouldn’t necessarily prevent development from continuing, as UNDRIP is non-binding.

“All the masks are coming off and it’s clear that this government simply doesn’t want to recognize our collective rights in accordance with international standards,” the VIDS statement said, “despite the fact that the state of Suriname is legally obliged to do so.”

Banner image: A protest against logging by local communities in Suriname. Photo by Riano Gunther/ILC.

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