Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Suriname (Ratification: 2017)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Scope. Public Service. The Government reiterates in its report that the Ministry of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs will request the Minister of Home Affairs to repeal any discriminatory provision in the Civil Servants’ Act, including the discriminatory provisions that reduce a woman’s entitlement to annual leave due to pregnancy and childbirth and that allow for the possibility of terminating the labour contract of a female civil servant when she marries. In the meanwhile, the Minister of Home Affairs has informed that the latter provision is not applied in practice and is “a dead letter”. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the regulations for civil servants mandated under the Equality of Labour Treatment Act, the Violence and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, and the Maternity Protection Act have not yet been adopted. The Committee urges the Government to: (i) repeal any discriminatory provision in the Civil Servants’ Act; and (ii) take the necessary steps to ensure the adoption of the mandated regulations for civil servants under the Equality of Labour Treatment Act, the Violence and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act, and the Maternity Protection Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.

Articles 1 to 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour and national extraction. Indigenous and tribal peoples. The Committee notes with concern that the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Collective Rights Act has not yet been adopted. It notes from the Government’s report of 2024 on the national review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action +30 that various activities have been implemented to improve the livelihoods of indigenous and tribal peoples, including: pilot rice production projects, training in climate-smart agricultural practices, business coaching, and delivery of agricultural tools and machinery. On the other hand, the Committee notes that the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concerns about, among others: (1) reports indicating that the State is selling or leasing public lands to private entities before the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Collective Rights Act is adopted; and (2) the fact that judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the rights of Indigenous and tribal peoples, particularly in the cases of Moiwana Community v. Suriname (2005), Saramaka People v. Suriname (2007) and Kaliña and Lokono Peoples v. Suriname (2015), have been only partially implemented (CCPR/C/SUR/CO/4, 28 August 2024, para. 47). The Committee also notes that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is concerned about: (1) the lack of measures taken to address pervasive and persistent discrimination against indigenous and tribal peoples in respect of property rights and with regard to the enjoyment of their cultural and economic rights in natural reserves established on their ancestral lands; and (2) the limited access of those living in remote areas to adequate public services, education and healthcare (CERD/C/SUR/CO/16-18, 21 September 2022, paras 23 and 29). The Committee furthermore notes from the End of mission statement by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent following its country visit to Suriname (24 March to 2 April 2025): (1) the difficult access for children of African descent to secondary and high schools reportedly due either to the lack of such schools in the districts where they live, or to the poor quality of education; and (2) the lack of employment opportunities and economic empowerment, with securing loans being a singularly humiliating and exhausting experience because of prolonged application process. The Committee urges the Government to: (i) take all necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Collective Rights Act without further delay; (ii) take proactive measures, in consultation with the social partners and the concerned groups, to eliminate discrimination and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation for indigenous and tribal peoples, including measures to improve access to education, promote and ensure access to material goods and services required to carry out an occupation, such as secure access to land, and access to credit and resources, without discrimination, and protect the rights of the concerned communities pending the official recognition of their rights, and (iii) provide detailed information on the measures taken in respect of all the above.

Equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women. The Government indicates that: (1) no special measures were taken to address discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation neither under the Gender Vision Policy Document 2021–35 nor under the National Development Plan 2017–2021; and (2) no specific measures were adopted to tackle the multiple forms of discrimination in employment and occupation faced by rural women, Maroon women and indigenous women, nor to favour shared family responsibility between men and women and address gender stereotypes affecting women’s access to and advancement in employment and occupation. The Committee notes from the Beijing+30 national report that the Bureau Gender Affairs of Ministry of the Home Affairs (MoHA), regularly provides training and information sessions on gender and gender-related issues, including gender biases and stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the family and society, to various target groups on own initiative or at the request of organizations. Since 2021 gender is included in the curricula of the Higher Vocational Education of the Civil Servants of MoHA. The Committee emphasizes that legislative measures to give effect to the principles of the Convention are important, but not sufficient to achieve its objective. Proactive measures are required to address the underlying causes of discrimination and de facto inequalities resulting from discrimination deeply entrenched in traditional and societal values (see 2012 General survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 856). The Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to eliminate discrimination and to ensure genuine equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation. The Committee requests detailed information on the concrete and targeted measures adopted for this purpose, including: (i) robust initiatives aimed at addressing and overcoming the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination experienced by rural women, Maroon women, and indigenous women in the world of work; and (ii) comprehensive policies and programmes designed to promote equitable sharing of family responsibilities between men and women.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.