Legislative framework and definition of discrimination

1.The status of the draft law on “Equal treatment of women and men” is still the same as reported. It is important to mention that although the draft Revision of the Civil Code does not include a specific definition on discrimination, the principle of equality between men and women is integrated in that draft revision. For example: joint exercise of parental authority; decision on the surname of the child (the choice can be made between the surname of the father or the mother or for a combination of both). Unlike the draft Revision of the Civil Code, the Revision of the Penal Code, approved in 2015, contains a definition on discrimination (article 126a). This definition is applicable to both men and women and is line with CEDAW. In addition, article 500a of the Revised Penal Code, which deals with occupational discrimination, sexual orientation is explicitly mentioned as a ground for discrimination.

Visibility of the Convention

2.There are no cases (e.g. divorces, alimony, custody, protection orders) in which the provisions of the Convention have been referred to by domestic courts. However, indirect reference is being made to the Convention. For example, in domestic violence cases reference is made to the Law on Combating Domestic Violence and in this law the convention is mentioned as one of the considerations which have led to the drafting of the law. The same goes for stalking cases. The convention has been translated into Dutch, our official language; the General Recommendations have not yet been translated. CEDAW and other international instruments regarding the rights of women have been widely disseminated within government and non-government institutions and organizations, such as ministries, parliament, court of justice, NGOs, libraries, and the general public. The Convention and the General Recommendations have not yet been systematically integrated into capacity-building programs for lawmakers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, or the police and other law enforcement personnel. During the drafting of the combined 4th to 6th periodic report of Suriname the Bureau Gender Affairs in 2012, held consultation sessions with CSOs/NGOs dealing with women/gender issues, during which the content of CEDAW was presented.

3.In October 2017 government officials participated in a Human-Rights Based Approach/CEDAW training, held in Paramaribo, Suriname in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In this training both the convention and the list of issues were addressed, so as to enable participants to understand the scope of the convention and how to respond to the list of issues. In October 2017 the Ministry of Justice and Police started to train her personnel in gender and gender related issues. In this training CEDAW and the CEDAW List of Issues are also addressed. Each week a group of officials including law enforcement personnel are being trained. The training which is being carried out in collaboration with the Bureau Gender Affairs will be continued in 2018. The training should lead to execution of a gender sensitive policy by the Ministry of Justice and Police.

Access to justice

4.While no special mechanisms or procedures are in place for women to enforce their rights under the Convention, it should be noted that women have access to justice through the usual proceedings of the courts. The government provides legal assistance and legal aid free of charge to the financially weak irrespective of sex, through the Legal Aid Bureau (Bureau Rechtszorg) of the Ministry of Justice and Police. Free legal assistance includes counselling services in all areas of law provided by legal officials, and if necessary, clients are referred to lawyers who are paid by the government for their services. For example, in cases of domestic violence the Legal Aid Bureau (Bureau Rechtszorg) provides legal assistance specifically to women victims and serves judicial sentences to the perpetrator through employed process servers. The Legal Aid Bureau (Bureau Rechtszorg) aims to thus ensure the quality of legal assistance and aid provided. No evaluation has been conducted on these services being provided by the Legal Aid Bureau (Bureau Rechtszorg).

National machinery for the advancement of women

5.In 2015 the National Bureau for Gender Policy was renamed Bureau Gender Affairs.

6.The organizational structure and the various positions are being finalized. For the continuous strengthening of the national machinery for the advancement of women, various capacity-strengthening initiatives were offered for staff of the Bureau Gender Affairs and for Gender Focal Points (GFPs), such as a training in conducting a time-use survey, training on the development of gender indicators and the collection of gender data, a basic training in gender equality and gender mainstreaming, an in depth train-the-trainers in gender, and recently in October 2017 a training on Human Rights-Based Approach in which CEDAW was included as a case study.

7.The National Committee on Gender Legislation, an ad hoc committee installed in December 2013 for a one year period, submitted proposals on amending legislations to the Minister of Home Affairs. After December 2014, the mandate of the committee was not extended.

8.For an effective functioning of the Gender Management System (GMS), the Bureau Gender Affairs formulated, in collaboration with the GFPs, the job description for GFPs and submitted this in 2016 to Minister of Home Affairs for consideration and approval.

9.Within the GMS, the GFPs are responsible for gender mainstreaming within their respective ministries and their responsibility is to ensure that gender is incorporated in projects and programs and/or that they work on a gender responsive annual budget of their own ministry. The Bureau Gender Affairs provides the national mechanism with technical assistance.

10.In December 2016, the Ministry of Justice and Police launched the National Human Rights Institute. The planning is that a transition period will be implemented in 4 years, wherein the institute will be arranged in such a way that it will comply with the requirements according to the Paris Principles. This means that in this period the Institute will be made into an independent institution. In the final phase of this transition, the Institute will thus completely stand alone. This institute will deal with the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. Also, a general ombudsman will be linked to this institute. The ombudsman will be divided into two divisions, being one for children and one for adults.

11.The provisions relating to anti-corruption have been significantly sharpened and renewed in the revised Penal code. With regard to the issue of corruption, the Penal Code book 2 titles 7, 25 and 28 under crimes against public authority, deception and misconduct, specific acts of corruption are punishable. However, the approach to corruption should not be restricted to a (repressive) criminal justice approach but should also focus on prevention. In this regard, the Anti-Corruption Act was approved by The National Assembly (parliament) on August 31, 2017 to address the problem of corruption in the public sector in an early stage. This law includes the introduction of regulations to prevent and combat corruption in the public sector and applies to everyone; in other words, it is gender neutral. This law can lead to advancing the confidence of citizens and entrepreneurs in public administration. However, the accompanying government policy still needs to be formulated, and the practical implementation in relation to human rights is yet to be discussed.

Extraterritorial obligations

12.There are several laws on industries such as gold, petroleum and agribusiness, although women’s rights are not specifically addressed in these acts. Illustration of the national legislation in this regard are:

Gold, petroleum and agribusiness

•Mining Decree (Decreet Mijnbouw) S.B. 1986 no. 28 as last amended by S.B. 1997 no. 44;

•State Order on Mining Installations (Besluit Mijnbouwinstallaties) S.B. 1989 no.38;

•Petroleum Act (Petroleumwet 1990) S.B. 1991 no. 7, z.l.g. bij SB. 2001 no.58;

•Drilling Act (Wet betreffende het doen van boringen) G.B 1952 no. 93;

•Export Regulation on Agriculture, Horticulture and Forest Products (Uitvoerverordening van Landbouw-, tuinbouw-, en boschproducten) G.B. 1936 no. 77;

•Plant Protection Act (Plantenbeschermingswet 1965) G.B. 1965 no. 102 as last amended by S.B. 1980 no. 116);

•Plant Protection Decision (Plantenbeschermingsbesluit) G.B. 1965 no. 142;

•Nuisance Act (Hinderwet 1930) G.B. 1930 no. 64 as last amended by SB. 2001 no. 63).

Agribusiness

•Plant Protection Act (Plantenbeschermingswet) of 8 September 1965 on the prevention and control of sicknesses and diseases in crops as last amended by G.B. 1972 no. 163, S.B. 1980 no. 116;

•Pesticide Act (Bestrijdingsmiddelenwet) of 7 December 1972 G.B. 1972 no. 151 on the regulation of trade and use of pesticides; Amendment of the Pesticide Act S.B. 2005 no. 18;

•Animal Diseases Prevention and Control Act (Landsverordening van 3 april 1954 ter voorkoming en bestrijding van dierziekten) GB 1954 no. 23. Although there is no official citation title in the act, it is referred to as the Animal Diseases Prevention and Control Act;

•Meat and Other Animal Products Inspection Act (Wet inspectie vlees en overige dierlijke produkten (expanding the old meat inspection act SB 2017 no. 17);

•Animal Welfare Act (Wet dierenwelzijn) of 16 January 2017 on animal welfare and further amendment to the Penal Code S.B. 2017 no. 4;

•Milk Act (Landsverordening van 9 mei 1959 regelende de uitoefening van bedrijven tot bewerking en verwerking van melk alsmede de verkoop van consumptiemelk) GB 1959 no. 39;

•Draft Law on animal feed for animal production (Conceptwet op diervoeders van dierlijke productie).This is still an internal draft. It includes rules for animal production taken from the last Meat Inspection Act and the Animal Welfare Act.

13.Their main purpose is to regulate the activities, while providing safeguards for human beings, the environment, and animals. For the agricultural sector, there is legislation which aims at enforcing food safety, sanitary inspections, licensing, etc. Control mechanisms are in place within the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries for monitoring compliance with the laws and to ensure that the activities do not negatively impact human rights (not specifically women’s rights) or endanger environmental, labour, health and other standards in general.

Temporary special measures

14.After the activities held in the framework of the 2015 general elections to increase awareness of the importance of equal participation in public life and decision-making positions, no temporary special measures have been taken. Nor have temporary measures been taken with regard to male-dominated sectors of employment and to tackle intersecting forms of discrimination faced by disadvantaged groups of women, specifically Maroon women, women in the interior, and women with disabilities.

Stereotypes

15.The State acknowledges that patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted gender stereotypes play a role in Surinamese family and society. Various activities have been organized to tackle this issue namely:

16.In December 2015, the training on “Domestic violence intervention for communication experts from the Government, media workers and artists” was conducted, in which 11 men and 20 women participated. The purpose of this training was to develop engagement practices aimed at eliminating violence against women and to provide them with tools to create productions (for example newspaper articles and music). This group of communicators can play a leading role to combat domestic violence. A formal assessment has not been conducted, but after the training one journalist wrote an article about domestic violence in a daily newspaper. The same journalist wrote another article during the Zika epidemic in Suriname in 2016. He pointed out that the focus should not only be on (pregnant) women in the prevention and protection of Zika but should also focus on men.

17.As of January 2016, the Ministry of Home Affairs has provided training in gender and gender-related issues to several staff in various ministries, faith-based organizations and NGOs. No structural evaluation has taken place yet to assess all the trainings.

18.After a successful lobby of the Bureau Gender Affairs, gender has been incorporated since 2016 in the curricula of courses provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to civil servants. Gender stereotyping is one of the topics that is addressed in these courses.

19.A short evaluation has revealed that the students have a better understanding of gender and gender-related issues.

20.In 2017, there was a training for media workers in the district of Nickerie by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The paragraphs dealing with gender stereotyping in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and CEDAW were included in the training.

Gender-based violence against women

21.In 2014, the Steering Committee on Domestic Violence presented the National Policy Plan 2014–2017 on Domestic Violence to the Minister of Justice and Police for approval. This plan is still in draft and is currently being updated by the Council on Domestic Violence, which was installed in June 2017 by the Minister of Justice and Police. The Minister has committed to implement this draft plan.

22.Although the impact of the Law Combating Domestic Violence and the Penal Code regarding revisions on criminalizing on marital rape has not yet been studied and the National Policy Plan on Domestic Violence is still in draft, the following data can be presented.

Number of victims of domestic violence since 2009 registered at the police

Year	Male	Female	Total	% female
2009	342	1 574	1 916	82
2010	518	1 033	1 551	67
2011	364	1 095	1 459	75
2012	202	1 237	1 439	86
2013	233	1 220	1 453	84
2014	369	1 496	1 865	80
2015	757	999	1 756	57
2016	305	946	1 251	76

Number of cases of rape in family (including marital rape) registered at the police

Year	Number
2014	20
2015	28
2016	32

Women’s death at the hand of an intimate partner or former partner

Year	Number
2009	1
2010	4
2011	0
2012	6
2013	3
2014	7
2015	10
2016	13

Source: Police Corps of Suriname.

Number of cases of violence against girls and adolescents, adult women and elderly women which were prosecuted, in proportion to the total number of reports of violence against women

Period	Number of police reports, of which the result of the investigation is documented in a process file and submitted at the Public Prosecutor’s Office (criminal cases)	Number of cases that are concluded at the court (criminal cases)
2013 (October–December)	16	3
2014	195	24
2015	170	21
2016 (January – July)	52	6
Total	433	54

Source: Public Prosecutor’s Office, information dated August 2016.

Number and percentage of criminal proceedings for the crime of femicide, homicide, murder, versus number and percentage of criminal cases with judgment (conviction or acquittal) for the crime of femicide, homicide, murder.

Period	Description	Total Number
2014	Murder	20
	Homicide	3
	Femicide	3
	Criminal proceedings	23
	Judgment	3 femicide cases are concluded in court and the suspects are sentenced.
2015	Murder	23
	Homicide	5
	Femicide	7
	Criminal proceedings	21
	Judgment	2 femicide cases are concluded in court and the suspects are sentenced, while the other 5 cases are still pending in court.
2016 (Jan– July)	Murder	8
	Homicide	4
	Femicide	1
	Criminal proceedings	2
	Judg ment	1 case of femicide still pending in court

Source: Public Prosecutor’s Office (information dated August 2016).

Number of appeals for protection orders in cases of domestic violence submitted at the civil court:

Session year October–September	# of appeals*
2013–2014	420
2014–2015	418
2015–2016	412
2016–2017 (February)	195

Source: report of a workshop of the Foundation Stop Violence against women, March 2017.

*These appeals for protection orders mostly regard new cases.

23.Since 2014, four cantonal judges have been appointed for Paramaribo and surrounding area for the duration of two session years to deal with protection order appeals in cases of domestic violence, besides their existing regular duties. For the district of Nickerie one judge has similarly been appointed. The number of appeals has increased to such an extent that every judge in a session year concludes around 100 new appeals; has to deal with an average of 12–16 new appeals per month; considers at least 3–4 new appeals each week; and at least 3 to 4 cases are being tried in one session each week.

24.The Law on Combating Domestic Violence provides protection in an early stage and through a fast procedure. Protection takes place by the imposition of commands and prohibitions on the defendant, which are contained in a protection order. Protection orders are issued by the civil cases cantonal judge. The assessment with regard to the outcomes of these measures will be conducted in 2018.

25.Currently there is only one government shelter for women victims of domestic violence and her children up to 12 years old. For safety reasons this shelter is located at a secret address. Since 2012, an average of 12–15 clients have been accommodated each year. The shelter provides practical guidance (when visiting the police, family doctor, emergency room if necessary and for making appointments with the employer and transportation of the children to school); emotional guidance through conversations; legal/emotional guidance when requesting a protection order, visiting the court, prosecution office or the Bureau for Family Law Affairs. The services provided by the shelter are evaluated regularly for improvement.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

26.The Penal Code with regard to trafficking in persons was revised in 2015 and has been brought more in line with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, including the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. The revision includes first of all an extension of the jurisdiction, which means that the Penal Code of Suriname is also applicable to Surinamese persons who commit trafficking in persons outside Suriname. Secondly, the revision includes the preclusion of criminal proceedings by laps of time. Generally, the term of preclusion commences on the day after the criminal offence has been committed. Exception is made in cases where trafficking is committed against a person who has not yet reached the age of 18 years. The term of the preclusion commences in these cases on the day the victim turns 18 years. Thirdly, apart from sexual exploitation other purposes of trafficking have been included, such as forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, and removal of organs. Fourthly, for mutual balance between the maximum penalties, the sentences have been increased.

27.The statistics of the police show the following:

Year	# of cases	# of arrests	# of custody	# of men in custody	# of women in custody	# of records	# of victims
2015	17 (9 TIP/ 8  Smuggling)	20	20	12	8	45	13
2016	39 (3 TIP/ 36  Smuggling)	63	38	34	4	69	5
2017 (Jan –Oct )	15 (4 TIP/ 11  smuggling)	37	34	18	16	27	5

28.Shelter is available for female and child victims of trafficking in persons and is for safety reasons located at a secret address. The shelter provides accommodation including food and other necessities to more than 20 victims. A separate shelter is also available for male victims of trafficking in persons and is for safety reasons located at a secret address.

29.Awareness programs on trafficking are being carried out for Maroon communities and women and girls in the interior. These programs are broadcasted in the languages Dutch, Sranan Tongo and Aucan (local language of one of the Maroon communities) through Radio Kojeba, as this radio station is popular among the Maroon community. The Maroon community has responded positively to these broadcasts through call-in possibilities with the public.

30.Apart from the above, information on trafficking in persons is frequently provided via media (television, radio, newspaper) and the website of the Police of Suriname. In collaboration with other stakeholders, more awareness programs are prepared to be implemented shortly specifically for the interior.

31.The state party is in the process of gathering information and will respond during the dialogue with the committee.

Participation in political and public life

32.Despite the absence of an action plan to introduce a quota system, progress has been made to increase the representation of women in public life and political decision-making positions.

33.After the 2015 general elections, the BGA sent a letter to the media, including the daily newspapers, with a call to political parties that for the government coalition to nominate and appoint women on equal terms with men for various public decision-making positions.

34.The activities mentioned in the report (para. 75) have resulted in an increase of women in The National Assembly (parliament). Currently there are 14 women (28 per cent) and 38 men in The National Assembly (parliament). The participation of women at the local level has also improved.

35.For instance, the proportion of female members of the District Councils (local government) increased from 32% in 2010 to 37% in 2015, while the Local Councils (local government) showed an increase from 36% to 42% in 2015. Between 2010 and 2017, the proportion of female District Commissioners increased from 27% to 29%.

36.As mentioned in the state report (para. 87), as of 2010 the female judges dominated within the court of justice, the proportion of female judges to male judges increased from 63 per cent in 2013 to 74 per cent in 2017.

37.Suriname has 20 agricultural cooperatives with 802 members. The representation of women within these 20 cooperatives is 31 per cent. 6 of these 20 cooperatives are led by women.

Education

38.There are 28 schools for children with disabilities in Suriname. These are mainly located in the three areas of Paramaribo and the rural districts of Wanica and Nickerie. There are no measures in place to increase accessibility for Indigenous and Maroon girls with disabilities, living in the interior, or girls belonging to minority groups and living in poverty situations.

39.The vocational training institute operated by the Ministry of Labour provides training accessible to both men and women. In the promotion of the training through (social) media, a special emphasis is placed on female students in non-traditional vocations. The social and financial benefits of participating in these trainings are also highlighted during the promotion activities.

40.Data shows that more women than men attend the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, and are thus also represented at technology, mathematics and science based studies at the tertiary level. The enrolment rate for e.g. the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics for women is 73%.

41.With regard to sexual and reproductive health and rights the curriculum focuses on improving communication, raising self-awareness, and the ability to make responsible choices leading to healthy sexual relationships. Under the Basic Education Improvement Project (BEIP) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO) was contracted in 2011 to develop a curriculum framework for an 11-year basic educational program in Suriname.

42.The overall objective of the multiphase program is to increase the learning outcomes of students in the education system of Suriname from pre-primary through junior secondary education nationally, and improve the internal efficiency and quality of the new basic education system. From September 2010 to March 2011 a large group of stakeholders from the education field, under the guidance of SLO, worked on both the curriculum framework and the educational curriculum.

43.Data disaggregated by age and region on the dropout rates of girls owing to pregnancy is not yet available.

44.Since 2016, a pregnancy protocol has been established by the Ministry of Education Science and Culture through a ministerial decision so as to ensure regulation at secondary schools and prevent school principals from taking their own decisions on removal of pregnant adolescents and mothers from school.

45.With regards to pregnant adolescents who drop out of the formal school system, they are offered an opportunity to continue their education through training-courses offered by the Ministry of Labour and NGOs.

46.Since 2016, a pregnancy protocol has been established by the Ministry of Education Science and Culture through a ministerial decision so as to ensure regulation at secondary schools and prevent school principals from taking their own decisions on removal of pregnant adolescents and mothers from school.

47.The Bureau Gender Affairs, with support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries and the United Nations Development Fund, recently started phase one of the project Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in the district of Nickerie. The aim of the project is to economically empower (unemployed) women, so that they will be able to generate an own income. A training in plant propagation techniques has already been carried out.

48.The agricultural cooperative Wi Uma fu Sranan is the first women’s agro‑cooperative in Suriname (launched in February 2016). It consists of 40 Maroon women. This cooperative aims at jointly developing the interior of Suriname by increasing employment opportunities for Maroon women.

49.The cooperative is active in the districts of Brokopondo, Saramacca, Para and Wanica, and works with strategic partners, including the government. Currently the cooperative produces and sells a variety of cereals made from cassava.

50.The draft law on Sexual Harassment has been presented by the Ilse Henar Hewitt Foundation to the Ministry of Labour and it is the intention to finalize this draft into law in 2018.

51.As far as paid maternity leave is concerned, the status of the draft Civil Code is the same as reported, and regulates only maternity leave for women. In the draft Civil Code women will have the right to paid maternity leave for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 14 weeks.

52.Apart from this, the Ministry of Labour has drafted a bill on maternity protection. The Maternity Protection Act will regulate the leave of the mother and the father in the private sector and was already approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2017. This bill has to be submitted to the State Advisory Council. The Maternity Protection Act will include new provisions with regard to occupational safety and health, as well as breastfeeding.

53.With regard to the amendment of the Civil Servants’ Act (Personeelswet), no progress has been made.

54.The State party envisages collecting sex-disaggregated data on occupational segregation, both horizontal and vertical. In this regard, two measures will be taken. The first measure is to install a Labor Market Information System, which is currently in progress. The second measure is to update the Workers Registration Act, which is currently outdated and no longer applied. This act will be updated in 2018. These measures are taken with a view to strengthening endeavours to enforce the principle of equal pay for work, in line with ILO Convention No. 100. With respect to this, two ad hoc committees have also been established by the Minister of Labor to prepare the Equality of Treatment Act and the Violence at the Workplace Act, to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

Health

55.With reference to the allocation of the national budget to women’s health and to meet the basic sexual and reproductive health needs of women, the Ministry of Health allocates a proportion of its budget to these areas of health with activities and projects being executed. Unfortunately, this proportion of the budget is not expressed in a percentage of the annual budget and cannot be extracted as such.

56.Articles 355, 356 and 357 of the Penal Code have not been amended and no progress has been made to legalize abortion. Abortion is currently not legally permitted for any reason. There is no explicit legal exception to save the life of the mother, although in practice this exception is applied.

57.With regard to access to contraceptives, persons with a health insurance have access to the contraceptives. Those who do not have a health insurance have to pay out of pocket or they can obtain the contraceptives through the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing. Contraceptives in the interior are provided through the Medical Mission. Through the Malaria Program of the Ministry of Health, contraceptives are also distributed in the interior. In 2017 an agreement has been signed with NGO’s to also distribute contraceptives in the mining fields while conducting their outreach programs.

58.The National Strategic Plan (NSP) for a multisectoral approach to HIV in Suriname 2014–2020 places emphasis on the prevention of contracting HIV/AIDS by high-risk groups, namely women in prostitution and women working as prostitutes in the mining field in the interior, man having sex with man, LGBT and youth as well as the need to reduce stigma and discrimination against women living with HIV.

59.With regard to the inclusion of HIV prevention programs for married women or women in other kinds of conjugal relationships, these target groups have not been mentioned specifically.

60.The guiding principles for the NSP do mention, for example, that resources and capacities for counselling services and providing contraceptive should be increased to meet the unmet needs of HIV positive women and their partners, and to integrate HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B screening and pregnancy testing within sexual reproductive health and Maternal and Child Health services, in order to reach women and their partners.

Social and economic life

61.No assessment has been made on the impact of legislative reform (Minimum Hour Wage Act, National Benefits Pension Act and National Health Insurance Act) and the issuance of social benefits as listed in paragraphs 164 to 175 of the report on decreasing the level of poverty experienced by women. Although no assessment has been made on the impact of austerity measures on women, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing still provides social services to eligible disadvantaged groups/ individuals.

Disaster risk reduction and climate change

62.The interior is a specific focus area for the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management (NCCR) because of the increasing frequency of flooding and the vulnerable situation of the population, who are highly dependent on their natural environment for their daily subsistence. NCCR strives to ensure the effective participation of Indigenous and Maroon women during its activities in the interior, among other things, during the coordination of emergency assistance where women are usually the recipients. An increasing number of the traditional authorities of the Indigenous and Maroon peoples (captains or chiefs, and basyas or assistants) with whom NCCR works are female and many villages have women’s organizations. These authorities and organizations are involved at the community level when disaster management is discussed, including response and prevention. Furthermore, NCCR is currently in the process of training regional district administration offices (Bestuursdienst) in disaster management procedures and planning, where a substantial number of the staff is female and from the local communities.

63.The National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname (NIMOS) is the main environmental management policy and advisory body and research institute within the government. NIMOS coordinates a number of environment-related projects. Currently there are two projects in which both men and women must participate proportionately.

64.These projects are:

The Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP)

65.This project is designed to strengthen the capacity of countries in the Caribbean to invest in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies, as prioritized in their Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).

66.With regard to the second outcome Adoption and implementation of mitigation and adaptation technologies, the project should indicate the specific roles, anticipated benefits and the negative outcomes on both men and women.

67.One of the projects of the J-CCCP which is being implemented by Ministry of Regional Development implemented early 2017 named Enhancing access to drinking water for the Maroon community of Asigron Brokopondo, 42% of the persons participating were women, while there were 47.8% female-headed households. The youth (of which 53% girls) and elderly (of which 55% women) also participated.

Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (Redd+).

68.According to NIMOS, the REDD+ program can only succeed when all stakeholders are involved in all stages of the process. From February 2017 until June 2017, information-sharing sessions were held in the different Maroon and Indigenous communities. The communities were informed about climate change, the current phases of the REDD+ project, and how REDD+ can contribute to Suriname and the different specific target groups such as women, children, youth, etc. Consultations to develop an REDD+ National strategy have also taken place in different Maroon and Indigenous communities. During these information-sharing sessions and consultations the participation of the women of these communities was a requirement. Women participated at different levels in the framework of the REDD+ National Strategy.

69.The information-sharing sessions are ongoing. The last REDD+ consultation regarding the REDD+ National Strategy was held in September/October 2017.

70.In the information sessions, 487 persons from 59 Maroon and Indigenous communities participated, of which 54% women.

Rural women, Maroon women and indigenous women living in the interior

71.Suriname’s National Development Plan 2012–2016 has not been formally evaluated due to the lack of indicators and targets. It is worth mentioning that The National Assembly (parliament) has recently adopted a Development plan 2017–2021.

72.In order to pay specific attention to the development of the Indigenous peoples and Afro-Surinamese peoples of the interior/Maroons, two new directorates were established in the Ministry of Regional Development in 2016, namely:

73.Directorate for the Sustainable Development of the Indigenous peoples and Directorate for the Sustainable Development of Afro-Surinamese peoples of the interior/Maroons.

74.Both directorates aim to achieve sustainable development for the Indigenous and the Afro-Surinamese peoples of the interior. The main task of these directorates is to develop programs, projects and activities deemed necessary for systematically improving living conditions and building the capacity of the Indigenous and Afro‑Surinamese communities in Suriname, based on the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

75.The directorates further serve as bodies that identify, stimulate, facilitate, supervise, evaluate, and adjust development initiatives in the Indigenous and Afro‑Surinamese communities of the interior.

76.The directorates do not focus specifically on gender aspects in these tribal communities. Nevertheless, there are developments that contribute to gender, in particular where increasingly more women are represented in the structures of the traditional authorities of both groups.

Disadvantaged groups of women

77.The Constitution of the Republic of Suriname states in article 8 paragraph 2 that no one shall be discriminated against on the grounds of birth, sex, race, language, religious origin, education, political believes, economic position or any other status

78.Women with disabilities, Maroon women and Indigenous women have less access to employment due to the general lack of opportunities in the rural area. Worth mentioning in this regard is that with the opening of the hospital “Marwina” in the district of Marowijne, employment opportunities is created for locals.

79.With regard to access to financial services, ATM machines have been placed in the district of Brokopondo by three banks namely the Finabank, Surinaamse Postspaarbank (SPSB) and the Godo Bank . To facilitate the elderly and persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing introduced the so-called Moni Karta in 2017 as an alternative automation of the payment system. The Moni Karta is a debit card on which the various financial benefits provided by the government will be made available every month for the eligible persons.

80.In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing provides social services for disadvantaged groups who are eligible.

81.The government policy of providing basic health insurance (BaZo-kaarten) for all persons in the age groups 0 to 17 years and over-60 years applies equally to women with disabilities, Maroon women and Indigenous women. Earlier this year the Ministry of Regional Development assisted with the distribution of health insurance cards to people in the interior.

82.As far as access of rural women to health services is concerned, several providers (government and non-government) offer healthcare in the rural areas to all, irrespective of gender. It is also worth mentioning that a new hospital “Marwina” was constructed in the district of Marowijne and will be open to the public in January 2018. To execute different surgeries an operation room and some specialist clinics will be built. Missions of eye and orthopedic surgeries will be executed. The services that will be provided will be aligned with the needs of the local community. This hospital will work together with the different health care centres of the Regional Health Department.

83.Furthermore a health care centre has been built in other parts of earlier mentioned district. Also the construction of a health care centre in Moengo, a resort in the district of Marowijne, has already started.

84.Women with disabilities, Maroon women and Indigenous women have access to education. They can enrol in the primary and secondary schools; there is land and water transportation available to reach the education facilities; there are boarding schools for those who live far from the education facilities, as well as development opportunities through so-called “nucleus centres”.

85.With regard to the systematic separation of girls from women in detention it can be stated that the separation of girls from women in detention at the Central Penitentiary Institution takes only place for sleeping accommodation. Kitchen and sanitary use is jointly taking place.

Equality in marriage and family relations

86.The CEDAW report already stated that the draft revision of the Civil Code was considered by the State Council in July 2011 and submitted to the President of the Republic of Suriname to forward to The National Assembly (Parliament). This draft revision of the Civil Code was updated in 2016–2017 and preparations are currently being made for submission once again.

87.The status of the ID legislation is the same as reported.

88.There is no national strategy for prevention and elimination of child marriage/ union.

Optional Protocol and amendment to article 20, paragraph 1

89.As reported, the nature of the conditions which must be in place prior to the ratification of the Optional Protocol are more or less legislative. This includes revision or abolition of existing gender discriminatory legislation and preparation/ adjustment of certain laws to strengthen the position of women, for example a law on paid maternity leave for employees in the private sector, a law on the prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, and a law on equal treatment of men and women. Additionally, institutional measures should also be put in place, such as a special complaints department/committee. The acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning the Committee’s meeting time remains under consideration by Suriname.