The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announces a technical cooperation and promotional visit to Suriname. The visit will take place from February 6 to 8, 2023, with the objective of strengthening the Commission’s relations with the country and promoting the technical cooperation mechanism; also institutional strengthening on human rights standards between state and non-state actors.
The delegation will be led by Commissioner Stuardo Ralón, First Vice-President and Rapporteur for Suriname and Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Second Vice-President. They are accompanied by a team of specialists from the Executive Secretariat representing different technical areas.
The IACHR’s will have meetings with authorities and representatives of the State, as well as with representatives of non-state actors. The IACHR will promote technical cooperation on prioritized human rights issues. Also on the agenda is a set of training workshops on the Inter-American Human Rights System, the mechanisms of the IACHR, and their strategic use. The workshops are meant for representatives of state institutions, civil society organizations, and other relevant actors.
The visit will be conducted within the framework of the actions that the IACHR highlighted as priorities when approving its Strategic Plan 2023-2027, particularly with respect to Program 17 on Prioritized Attention to the Caribbean. For its part, the arrival of the delegation in the country also responds to a medium-term work plan over the coming months agreed with the State, and it takes place 10 years after the Commission’s last visit in 2013.
The IACHR highlights the collaboration and willingness of the State of Suriname to host this visit.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their respective countries of origin or residence.
