Suriname, with an estimated population of approximately 590,000, is located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America and is the smallest country on the continent. The country faces a complex situation as a country of origin, transit, and destination for human trafficking and irregular migration. As of 22 March 2021, the country had recorded […]
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DETENTION STATISTICS
Migration Detainee Entries
Not Available
2019
DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Does the Country Have Specific Laws that Provide for Migration-Related Detention?
GROUNDS FOR DETENTION
LENGTH OF DETENTION
DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
COSTS & OUTSOURCING
COVID-19 DATA
TRANSPARENCY
MONITORING
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING BODIES
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS (OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE)
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS)
GOVERNMENTAL MONITORING BODIES
INTERNATIONAL DETENTION MONITORING
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & TREATY BODIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CTOCSP, Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
2007
2007
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2007
2007
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 11/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Treaty Body
Human Rights Committee
Recommendation Year
2024
Recommendation Excerpt
Migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees
33...The Committee also regrets the lack of information on measures to ensure that immigration detention is always a measure of last resort applied for the shortest possible period, that the maximum limit of 30 days provided for in article 28.2 of the Aliens Act is respected in practice or that detained migrants are provided with effective access to appeal their detention (arts. 7, 9, 12, and 13)...
c) Ensure that immigration detention is always a measure of last resort applied for the shortest possible period, that statutory limits to the duration of immigration detention are respected in practice and that detained migrants are
provided with effective access to appeal their detention.
33...The Committee also regrets the lack of information on measures to ensure that immigration detention is always a measure of last resort applied for the shortest possible period, that the maximum limit of 30 days provided for in article 28.2 of the Aliens Act is respected in practice or that detained migrants are provided with effective access to appeal their detention (arts. 7, 9, 12, and 13)...
c) Ensure that immigration detention is always a measure of last resort applied for the shortest possible period, that statutory limits to the duration of immigration detention are respected in practice and that detained migrants are
provided with effective access to appeal their detention.
Sources
Human Rights Committee, "Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Suriname," 11 July 2024, United Nations General Assembly, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/3fa13e4b-ceea-4105-af6b-7271f3f2d673
Treaty Body
Committee on the Rights of the Child
Recommendation Year
2016
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 44. "The Committee recommends that the State party, in order to further strengthen the fulfilment of children’s rights, ratify the core human rights instruments to which it is not yet a party, namely, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families."
Sources
Committee on the Rights of the Child, "Concluding Observations on the Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of Suriname," CRC/C/SUR/CO/3-4, 9 November 2016, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fSUR%2fCO%2f3-4&Lang=en
Treaty Body
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Recommendation Year
2018
Recommendation Excerpt
§ 29. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)Allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources to the new government infrastructure to combat trafficking in persons (Schakelketting 2.0), in order to implement the national strategy and national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons, and establish a sufficient number of adequately equipped shelters for victims of trafficking in different parts of the State party;
(b) Investigate, prosecute and adequately punish perpetrators and ensure that victims of trafficking and prostitution are exempted from criminal liability and provided with adequate protection, remedies and reparations, including temporary residence permits, medical care, psychosocial counselling, rehabilitation and reintegration support and compensation;
(c) Adopt a policy to ensure that victims of trafficking in need of protection have access to asylum procedures in the State party and that gender-sensitive identification and referral mechanisms are in place at points of entry and in detention facilities;
(d) Continue to carry out capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, border police, immigration authorities and other law enforcement officers on early identification and gender-sensitive protocols for dealing with victims of trafficking.
(a)Allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources to the new government infrastructure to combat trafficking in persons (Schakelketting 2.0), in order to implement the national strategy and national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons, and establish a sufficient number of adequately equipped shelters for victims of trafficking in different parts of the State party;
(b) Investigate, prosecute and adequately punish perpetrators and ensure that victims of trafficking and prostitution are exempted from criminal liability and provided with adequate protection, remedies and reparations, including temporary residence permits, medical care, psychosocial counselling, rehabilitation and reintegration support and compensation;
(c) Adopt a policy to ensure that victims of trafficking in need of protection have access to asylum procedures in the State party and that gender-sensitive identification and referral mechanisms are in place at points of entry and in detention facilities;
(d) Continue to carry out capacity-building for judges, prosecutors, border police, immigration authorities and other law enforcement officers on early identification and gender-sensitive protocols for dealing with victims of trafficking.
Sources
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, "Concluding observations on the combined fourth to sixth periodic reports of Suriname," CEDAW/C/SUR/CO/4-6, 14 March 2018, https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/document/7c4b362d-b350-4f47-b630-7410f95c9a0f
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
Relevant Recommendations or Observations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2016
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review* Suriname, A/HRC/33/4, 1 July 2016, https://www.upr-info.org/sites/default/files/document/suriname/session_25_-_may_2016/a_hrc_33_4_e.pdf
Recommendation Issued
No
Year Issued
2011
Sources
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Suriname. 11 July 2011. A/HRC/18/12.
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
CBDP, Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belem do Para)2002
2002
APACHR, Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights1990
1990
HEALTH CARE PROVISION
HEALTH IMPACTS
COVID-19
Country Updates
Suriname, with an estimated population of approximately 590,000, is located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America and is the smallest country on the continent. The country faces a complex situation as a country of origin, transit, and destination for human trafficking and irregular migration. As of 22 March 2021, the country had recorded 9,066 cases and 176 COVID-19 deaths. Following the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in Suriname on 13 March 2020, the country shut down its airports, limited social gatherings, and closed schools. A year later, borders remain closed, non-nationals may not enter the country--save in certain circumstances, arriving travellers must carry a negative PCR report carried out 120 hours before departure, and in addition to quarantine upon arrival, arriving travellers are tested and medically screened.
The GDP has been unable to establish the extent to which detention facilities are used in Suriname as part of immigration enforcement procedures or to obtain details on COVID-19 related measures taken to safeguard people in immigration or criminal custody, or those in international protection situations.
According to data from the UNHCR, in 2020 (mid-year data), there were 47 refugees in the country and 1,852 asylum-seekers, compared with 44 refugees and 1,426 asylum seekers in 2019. On 5 May 2020, the World Bank provided US$ 412,000 to Suriname in order for the country to purchase essential medical supplies for the country’s emergency response to COVID-19.
The country has ratified several human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, at the time of writing, the country had not yet ratified other important human rights treaties, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
During its review for the second cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review, Suriname received several human rights recommendations, including: adopting “effective measures to ensure conditions of detention that respected the dignity of prisoners in particular the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) (South Africa) (para 135.34),” and “ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Honduras) (para. 135.15).”
Government Agencies
Ministry of foreign affairs - https://www.foreign.gov.kn/2906-2/suriname/
Immigration and Customs - https://icf.sr/
International Organisations
UNHCR - https://www.unhcr.org/where-we-work/countries/suriname
IOM - https://iom-nederland.nl/en/great-stories/voluntary-return/monitoring-visit-to-suriname
NGO & Research Institutions
Voluntary Suriname - https://www.volunteersuriname.com/
Bureau NGO - https://www.bureaungo.org/
Red Cross Society - https://www.ifrc.org/national-societies-directory/suriname-red-cross
