Suriname Progress Report on the Implementation of the Montevideo Consensus 2013-2018
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Suriname Progress report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus 2013-2018 Compiled by Ministry of Home Affairs Yvonne Towikromo Michele Jules Chitra Mohanlal Marvin Towikromo Julia Terborg (Consultant) Paramaribo, March 2018 Table of Contents Preface 3 Abbreviations 4 Part one: National Coordination Mechanism and Process 6 Part two: General description of the country 7 Part three: Implementation of the Montevideo Consensus 11 Chapter A: Full integration of population dynamics into sustainable development 11 Chapter B: Rights, needs, responsibilities and requirements of girls, boys, Adolescents and youth 20 Chapter C: Ageing, social protection and socioeconomic challenge 27 Chapter D: Universal access to sexual and reproductive health services 33 Chapter E. Gender Equality 44 Chapter F: International migration and protection of the human rights of all migrants 52 Chapter H: Indigenous peoples: interculturalism and rights 57 Conclusions 61 Statistical Annex 62 2 3 ABBREVIATIONS A.O.V General Old-age provision ADeKUS Anton De Kom University of Suriname AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome AVRR Assisted Voluntary Return and reintegration BEIP Basic Education Improvement Project Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, punishment and eradication of violence Belem do Para against women BGA Bureau Gender Affairs BOS Bureau for Educational Information and Study Facilities BPfa Beijing Platform for action BUPO International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CARICOM Caribbean Community and Common Market CBB Central Bureau for Civil Affairs (Centraal Bureau voor Burgerzaken) CBvS Central Bank of Suriname CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women CERD Convention on the elimination of racial discrimination CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CSOs Civil Society Organizations DCIV Department Criminal Information ECLAC Economic Commission Latin American and the Caribbean EUR Euro Fiso Function Information System Government GBS General Bureau of Statistics GDP Gross Domestic Product GEI Gender Equality indicators HDI Human Development Index HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus ICPD International Conference on Population and development ICT Information and Communication Technology IDB International Development Bank ILO International Labor Organization IOL Advanced Teacher Training Institute IWGDS Institute for women, Gender and Development studies KJT Children and Young people phone LGBT lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender MDG Millennium Development Goal MESECVI Follow up Mechanism for the Implementation MICS Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey MoESC Ministry of Education, Science and Culture NBG National Bureau for Gender policy Neet Not employed, in education or training NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NJI National Youth Institute 4 NSO Suriname’s National Statistics Office Padf Pan American Development Foundation, PANCAP Pan Caribbean Partnerships against HIV/AIDS PLOS Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation PSA Persons of Surinamese descent (Personen van Surinaamse afkomst) S.A.O Labor Mobilization & Development Foundation S.B. Statute book (Staatsblad) S.P.W.E Foundation Productive Work Units SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SVB Social Insurance Bank (Sociale Verzekerings Bank) UN IGME United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNFPA United Nation Population Fund UNSD Statistical Division of the United Nations UNWOMEN United nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of women UPR Universal periodic Review USD US Dollar VOJ Secondary Education for Juniors (Voortgezet Onderwijs voor Senioren) VOS Secondary Education for Seniors (Voortgezet Onderwijs voor Senioren) VSB Surinamese Business Association (Vereniging Surinaams Bedrijfsleven) YAM Youth Advisory Movement YUR Youth Unemployment Ratio 5 PART ONE: NATIONAL COORDINATION MECHANISMS AND PROCESS Based on the statutory task of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry is responsible, inter alia, for the civil status and population accounts in all Suriname. The CBB (Centraal Bureau voor Burgerzaken) is responsible for carrying out this task, which includes the sustainable delivery of reliable and complete civil registration, integration and integration policies and registration of foreigners. In addition, the ministry is responsible for the optimal participation of women in the development process in Suriname and ensures a balanced emancipatory women's policy, taking into account specific Surinamese characteristics. The role of the Ministry of Home Affairs within the government and Surinamese society is one in which it is the core of the service. It is primarily to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. Expertise and motivation are essential concepts within the Ministry to achieve the stated goals. In this time of globalization, it is more than ever necessary to make every effort to realize the goals of the debates to meet the international community, it is also of paramount importance to ensure that the principles such as the rule of law, good governance and, in particular, the principles of democracy. It is therefore also necessary that the Ministry of Home Affairs issues innovative and creative policies to not get behind with developments in the world. The mutual control exercised by States should not be underestimated, and it is therefore crucial for the State of Surinam to ensure that the principles are ensured and respected. The increased focus on human rights in the world forces us all to respect each other and to assist each other as much as possible to ensure the minimum living standards we are all entitled to. It is the task of this Ministry to make policy, based on the foregoing, aimed at helping citizens as much as possible and fulfilling the ministries central role as a public service provider. Given the tasks of the Ministry of Home Affairs it acts as the national coordination mechanism for the Regional Conference on Population and Development. In 1994, the state of Suriname committed itself to the ICPD Program of Action. Subsequently, she adopted the Montevideo consensus on population and development in 2013 and committed itself to the Sustainable Development Goals by 2015. These commitments oblige the state to comply with the provisions aimed at the development of the population to achieve sustainable development. In order to fulfill these international obligations, the Surinamese government has made various attempts to formulate a population policy in the past. For example, a policy document on population policy for the period 2005-2010 was compiled in April 2005. Important remarks were that this policy was not placed within the context of a broader government policy framework as: the 2006-2011 Development Plan was not yet established; the policy defined did not reflect government priorities because the elections were held on 26 May 2005 and the government statement was only presented to the DNA in September 2005 and; last but not least, the policy was not based on the objectives of the expected policy dynamics and their impact on population size, growth and composition and subsequent challenges and opportunities for the future development of the country. Based on this, the government has decided to develop a modified population policy based on the principles and objectives set in the multiannual development plan 2006-201. In 2007, the then Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation instituted an Interdepartmental Population Policy Committee for a period of one year. This committee consisted of representatives from various ministries and the Bureau for Statistics. The main task of the committee was to design a population policy for 2009 - 2014 based on available data and input from relevant stakeholders. UNFPA has provided support in this process. The efforts of this committee resulted in a concept population policy 2009 - 2014 which, however, has not been elevated to Suriname's population policy. In the Development Plan 2017 – 2022, the Government of Suriname has expressed its desire to give more guidance to a population policy for which a Migration Institute will be set up, which will be under the President of Suriname. On this basis, the Ministry of Home Affairs, on its own initiative and partly by virtue of its responsibility, took the first step in developing a population policy. This resulted in the document 6 entitled "Contours of a Population Policy, Suriname in Transformation", which was revised in 2016. The efforts made so far have not yet yielded the desired result. The preparation of Suriname's national report for the Montevideo Consensus was led by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The composition of the report was done under the supervision of a consultant. In gathering data, both government reports and reports from civil society and non-governmental organizations were consulted. Various ministries and Non-Governmental Organizations have provided information depending on their task. In finalizing the report validation meetings were held in which both government and Non- Governmental Organizations participated. PART TWO: GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY Geographic Suriname lies on the north-eastern part of the continent of South America, borders on the Atlantic Ocean in the north, Guyana in the west, French Guiana in the east, and Brazil in the south. Suriname is divided into 10 administrative districts. Its capital city is Paramaribo. The country, which is largely covered