The Association of Indigenous Village Heads of Suriname (VIDS) has once again voiced fundamental opposition to the proposed Residential and Living Areas Protection Act, issuing an urgent appeal to President Jenny Simons to refrain from enacting the legislation. The organization argues the bill fails to address the core demand of Indigenous communities: legal recognition and protection of their collective land rights, and will instead bring greater uncertainty, intergroup conflict and social unrest.
Representatives of the Traditional Authority of Indigenous Peoples of Suriname gathered in Paramaribo on August 28 and 29, and after extensive deliberations, formally resolved to reject the proposed law. One of the most contentious provisions, VIDS leaders say, is the plan to limit protected areas to a 5 to 10 kilometer radius around established Indigenous villages. This arbitrary boundary, they argue, does not align with the full scope of historical and traditional territories that Indigenous communities rely on for their survival, cultural preservation and collective identity.
“We do not live confined to a 5-kilometer radius,” stated VIDS Chair Muriel Fernandes and Director Cyline France. The organization notes it has already completed official demarcation maps of its traditional living territories, but these documents were not meaningfully incorporated into the draft legislation.
President Simons has previously argued that the law could have prevented high-profile land disputes such as the conflict in Pikin Saron. VIDS, however, challenges this claim, pointing out that the legislation explicitly retains all pre-existing land rights granted to third parties. “These existing rights directly encroach on our collective rights, so conflicts would persist regardless,” Fernandes and France explained. Beyond failing to resolve existing tensions, they add, the bill would allow third parties to continue submitting land development applications outside the narrow protected zones, creating further chaos and uncertainty for Indigenous communities.
A second core objection centers on the legislation’s classification of all traditional Indigenous territories as state domain land. VIDS emphasizes this classification directly contradicts the internationally recognized collective rights of Indigenous and tribal peoples in Suriname, referencing binding frameworks under international law and key rulings from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, most notably the landmark Kaliña and Lokono judgment.
VIDS warns the law will effectively reduce traditional Indigenous lands to small, restricted reserves, leaving all territory outside the arbitrary 5 to 10 kilometer radius available for allocation to outside commercial and third-party interests. The retention of existing third-party land rights, even those that violate Indigenous territorial claims, is particularly unacceptable to the organization: the bill would effectively legitimize and protect encroachments on Indigenous collective rights that have already occurred.
The organization also raises objections to the process by which protected areas will be finalized via state decree. Despite repeated formal requests for information, VIDS says the full text of the proposed executive order has not been released to Indigenous representatives. “We cannot approve or consent to a policy we have no access to,” the organization stated. Additionally, while the law references the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), VIDS argues the legislative process itself never followed FPIC requirements, and the bill fails to protect Indigenous communities from the harm caused by extractive and industrial activities outside designated protected zones.
To illustrate this risk, VIDS points to documented cases of pollution in the Saramacca River and Lawa River, where downstream Indigenous communities have already suffered severe harm from activities originating outside their formal territory. Unregulated gold mining and sand dredging, the group notes, often operate just outside protected boundaries, but still cause irreversible damage to water resources, ecosystems and community health that Indigenous peoples depend on.
Furthermore, VIDS stresses that effective land protection requires robust enforcement mechanisms, which the proposed law lacks. The organization points to longstanding problems of informal and duplicate land grants across Suriname, with no guarantees in the bill that these violations will be addressed or that new rules will be consistently enforced. VIDS representatives note that a year of consultations with President Simons already produced a set of recommended revisions to the draft legislation, but none of these changes have been incorporated into the current proposal.
“What we need is legal recognition of our collective rights and full implementation of the Kaliña and Lokono ruling, not a flawed law that delivers no real protection and will only deepen unrest and dissatisfaction,” the organization said.
The resolution approved by Indigenous village leaders was delivered on Monday to the presidential working group on Decentralization and Land Rights, which has committed to forwarding the document to President Simons. VIDS continues to demand the immediate and full implementation of the Inter-American Court’s Kaliña and Lokono judgment, and the drafting of new legislation aligned with international Indigenous rights standards. The organization also called for the collective rights of Indigenous peoples to be enshrined in Suriname’s constitution.
“This is not a request for a favor. This is a demand for justice,” VIDS stated. The organization emphasized its struggle is not only about land, but about the right to life, equal treatment, human dignity, environmental protection, and the future of Suriname as a whole. While VIDS remains committed to dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes, it says it will not accept any further erosion of Indigenous peoples’ rights.
In its final resolution, VIDS laid out four clear demands for the Surinamese government: reject fake protection of Indigenous lands; reject the legalization of historical injustice against Indigenous communities; reject any further rollback of Indigenous rights; and deliver full recognition, justice and effective protection for Indigenous territorial rights.
