Leading case secures recognition of Indigenous People’s land rights

Region: Latin America & the Caribbean
Country: Suriname

Principal organisations: FPP

In October 2000, Saramaka authorities presented a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights claiming that Suriname had not recognized their territorial rights by granting logging and mining concessions on their lands without consultation or their consent. The issue was addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, producing its landmark 2007 Saramaka People v. Suriname decision. Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) supported the Saramaka in their struggle for the full recognition of their rights and the implementation of the Court's decision.