Suriname - June 2024

In a landmark ruling, a Suriname court has halted development on hundreds of thousands of hectares of Amazon rainforest, inhabited mainly by Indigenous communities. The injunction was approved by a local court following the petition of 12 Indigenous and Maroon groups that claimed to be at risk of losing approximately 535,000 hectares of their ancestral land to agricultural development. The ruling emphasizes that the government cannot grant land without free, prior, and informed consent from local communities, as such projects could threaten burial grounds, hunting areas, and cultural traditions. Even though there had been previous rulings on the matter coming from international courts, this decision sets a new precedent in Suriname, recognizing territorial rights for Indigenous and local peoples for the first time in a local court.

Sources: Minority Forum, Business and Human Rights Resource Center, Dagbladdewest