UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 38) ... On May 18, 2012, Suriname ratified the OP-CRC-SC.

Para 39) ... Regarding the OP-CRC-IC, the relevant departments of State are studying the effect, impact and consequences that such ratification will have on the nation.

Para 72) On September 25th, 2015 the National Assembly approved the accession of Suriname to the CRPD ...

National Report:
Para 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).

Para 52) The national strategy to combat trafficking in persons, titled 'Roadmap Suriname Combating Trafficking 2014-2018', was approved by the Council of Ministers on April 16, 2014 (Order 2014, no. 383). The strategy lays down the common theme through which all stakeholders will work together in the fight against trafficking in persons. Implementation of the policy will be evaluated, in part, based on the following projected outputs:
- The scope of trafficking in persons in Suriname has been adequately mapped in accordance with international reporting obligations;
- A comprehensive and detailed analysis of the stakeholders has been made and partnerships are formalized;
- The community is informed about this phenomenon, nationwide;
- There are formal structures in place to continuously combat trafficking in persons;
- There is a comprehensive legal framework, and relevant conventions have been ratified and implemented.

Para 53) To implement the national strategy to combat trafficking in persons, adoption of new or amended legislation is not necessarily required. The proposal regarding the new government infrastructure for combating trafficking in persons, namely 'CHAIN Structure 2.0' has also been approved. The strategy and the new government infrastructure go together. The new infrastructure is, in fact, necessary to successfully carry out the strategy.

Para 54) When the new government infrastructure, contained in the CHAIN Structure 2.0 comes into effect, all ministries will be compelled to obey the infrastructure in the fight against trafficking in persons.

Para 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.

Para 57) From the statistics obtained from the Public Prosecutor with regard to cases of trafficking in persons occurring in the period 2004 through August 2015, it appears that in this period 40 cases of trafficking in persons were investigated and prosecuted. The suspects were convicted and sentenced for sexual exploitation, forced labor, whether or not including sexual exploitation and smuggling of persons. In 20 of the 40 cases the victims were younger than 18 years of age. Poverty is an important risk factor for trafficking in persons. This was expressed during the treatment of penal cases involving trafficking in persons. The State argues that if people are taken out of poverty, the chance to become a victim of trafficking in persons also decreases. In line of this view, three social laws were adopted in 2014 within the framework of the eradication of poverty. These laws work preventively when it comes to trafficking in persons. 58. Within the framework of prevention of trafficking in persons, the State regularly publishes warnings through the media and the internet to make society aware of misleading calls for job application. With regard to the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of trafficking in persons, the State has introduced fast-track proceedings in cases of labor violations involving exploitation in the workplace (Ministerial Order of October 24, 2014, J. No.14/0566, S.B. 2014 no. 1).

Para 58) Furthermore, training and workshops were provided for relevant groups so that cases of trafficking in persons can be detected at an early stage.

Para 59) The government has provided training for, among others, members of the judiciary, law enforcement officials, immigration officers and groups from civil society. The efforts in this area will be intensified. With regard to foreign victims of trafficking in persons, the government is considering various legal alternatives to deportation.

National Report:
Para 25) The Government of Suriname (Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs) has submitted the Bill on Equal Treatment in Employment to The National Assembly (the Parliament) in 2019. This Bill prohibits among others discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, LGBT individuals in the labour market and related labour issues.

UN Compilation:
Para 15) The United Nations country team stated that the Government of Suriname had not sufficiently taken the necessary steps to adopt legislative and other measures to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and that it had not intensified measures to prevent and sanction violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. There were also no legal regulations that specifically addressed the status of transgender persons.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 10) JS1 stated that still little progress could be reported towards the enactment and adoption of necessary robust and comprehensive legislation and policies to effectively prevent and punish all forms of rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all settings.
Para 35) JS1 stated that the right to family life through marriage was exclusively guaranteed for couples of opposite sexes by Article 80 in conjunction with Article 138 of the Civil Code. It noted that the Civil Code was under review, but that so far no attention had been given to the aspect of discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity of Article 80.

National Report:
Para 15) The Ministry of Justice and Police is in the process of drafting legislation to revise the Civil Code to address the situation in which women employed by companies in the private sector without the benefit of a Collective Labor Agreement, have no legal coverage for maternity leave services by their employers. Paid maternity leave for the private sector has been added to the draft Civil Code. Some companies have included paid maternity leave in their Collective Labor Agreement. For civil servants, paid maternity leave is covered by law.

Para 20) In 2013, the Ministry of Home Affairs installed the Commission on Legislation on Gender, comprising of representatives of various ministries, civil society including women's organizations, and the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. The Commission was tasked with, among others, identifying gender discriminatory laws and regulations, and proposing amendments to them. In January 2016, a working group was installed to amend the Personeelswet (Act on the regulation of the legal status of civil servants). With respect to government issued ID-cards, no act exists that regulates this.

Para 21) In 2014, Suriname's National Assembly amended the Act on Regulation of the Surinamese Nationality and Residency (S.B. 2014 no. 121). Previous language of this Act was in violation of international standards, by differentiating in the treatment of men and women with respect to acquiring and losing the Surinamese nationality through marriage and divorce, enabling only non-national women (not men) who marry a Surinamese man to become a Surinamese national. The 2014 amendment reverses decades of gender discrimination in nationality laws. It brings Surinamese law in line with international standards, in particular, article 9 (1) and (2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), by removing all differentiations between men and women with respect to acquiring and losing the Surinamese nationality.

Para 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.

Para 24) Amendment of articles 15 (2), 41, 57, and 73 (1) of the Election Act, took place in March 2005. The list of candidates and the election register no longer automatically register married women or widows under the name of their husband or late husband. Women are now being registered under their maiden name and have an option to make a special request to add their husband's name. During the general elections of 2010, for the first time one-thousand three-hundred and sixty (1360) married women made use of this option and registered under their maiden name, adding the name of their husband, while another 297 registered adding the name of their late husband.

Para 25) Draft legislation on "Sexual harassment at the Workplace" has been formulated as a combined effort of the Ilse Henar Foundation for Women's Rights (NGO) and the National Bureau for Gender Policy of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and as a result of the 3 year program (2008-2011) on the prevention and elimination of sexual harassment at the workplace, as implemented by the Foundation. Discussion on the draft is continuing at several national platforms, involving all relevant stakeholders.

UN Compilation:
Para 16) Concerning universal periodic review recommendation 73.23, UNHCR welcomed the decision by Suriname to amend Law No. 4 of 24 November 1975 on Nationality and Residence to ensure gender equality in the transmission of nationality. According to UNHCR, in July 2014, the National Assembly of Suriname had passed the Draft Law on Nationality and Residency (Ontwerpwet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap), amending the 1975 Law. The new law gave women the same right as men to confer their nationality to their spouses and introduced important safeguards to prevent statelessness due to loss of nationality.

Para 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.