Indigenous communities of Suriname received compensation after five years
Admin GHRTV
Source: Nu.nl
According to the Surinamese news Channel ‘’ Starnieuws’’, the inhabitants of eight indigenous villages in the country finally received compensation from Suriname. The awarding of this compensation was ruled by the Inter- American Court of Human rights(IAHRM) in 2016. The court ruled that the indigenous communities human and property rights had been violated. The verdict given by the IAHRM in 2016 stated that Suriname had to deposit 1 million dollars ( 850,000 euro) in a community fund by 2019. Suriname did not award this compensation back in 2019 as the country did not have the money back then.
The money that the eight villages received this year through the fund, has to be used for projects in the fields of health, education, food supply and security.
In 2016, the IAHRM determined that Suriname must recognize the human and land property rights of the Kali'na and Lokono peoples. The country must not permit economic activities that could disrupt the way of life of the people.
The main complaint that the two communities who are living, near the border with French Guiana on the Marowijne River made to the IAHRM in 2007 was that Suriname had their residential areas reclaimed by outsiders' companies. The large American aluminium producer Alcoa is one of those companies.
Two of the villages that received compensation from the fund are Lagamankondre and Christiaankondre. In response to the verdict, residents of the villages stated in 2016 that they consider it important that their habitat is protected. The majority of the population lives from agriculture and fishing.
