Suriname

Governance and the Rule of Law

• Suriname seemed to have overcome the second wave of COVID-19 cases it experienced in early 2021, yet increased transmission of the virus in April may signal the beginning of a third wave. The government has responded by implementing total lockdowns over the weekends and tightening curfews and shopping restrictions throughout the month of April.
• Newly-elected president Chan Santokhi faces an escalating economic and health crisis as outgoing president and former dictator Dési Bouterse leaves politics after 40 years.
• President Santokhi confronts the challenge of restoring an economy in crisis from the Bouterse administration’s economic management and the COVID-19 crisis. 
• In September, Suriname devalued its currency, the Surinamese dollar, by nearly 90% against the US dollar, leading to a spike in fuel prices. This development is important for contextualizing the impact of the crisis on Suriname’s economy. 
• Suriname has officially requested support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country implements a new financial plan aimed at strengthening its macroeconomic outlook and addressing its public debt crisis.
• Nearly all of the country’s first 75,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed. Suriname hopes to vaccinate 90,000 people before 2022, and is participating in the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX). 
• In order to finance the purchase of vaccines, Suriname plans on creating a National Fund of donations for vaccine purchases. This will be funded by private sector donors and non-governmental organizations.
• According to a survey from the University of Suriname conducted in December, 60% of people in Suriname are willing to receive  the COVID-19 vaccine. The country hopes that vaccine education campaigns will lead to an even more favorable view of the vaccine. 
• Given Suriname’s ethnically diverse population, vaccination education campaigns must focus on reaching out to people across ethnic and religious backgrounds. Indigenous populations, in particular, are reluctant to receive the vaccine.  The government has recognized the need to conduct vaccine educational outreach programs and has launched several multilingual vaccine information campaigns across the country. 
• The pandemic has disproportionately struck Suriname’s working class (especially mine workers), setting up clashes between unions and enterprises.

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Growth and Innovation

• Falling commodity prices for gold and oil had already battered the Surinamese economy before the pandemic hit; Suriname thus entered the crisis in a position of vulnerability.
• As a country with a primarily commodity-export based economy, Suriname is only expected to have suffered a contraction of 0.2% in 2020 according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates. Its economic outlook in 2020 was one of the most promising in the Caribbean region, along with fellow commodity-exporters Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. 
• Even without the impact of COVID-19, Suriname lacks sufficient hard currency to pay its debt. As of July the country is considered to be in restricted default.
• The Surinamese government has contracted with Lazard, a French Investment Bank, as it restructures its debt as part of the Santokhi Administration’s economic reforms.
• Panic buying caused ATMs to run dry and the departure of tourists created a shortage of Euros in a cash-dependent economy that will struggle to stabilize without tourism. 
• Private sector enterprises have formed the Su4Su campaign, aiming to solicit donations from the Netherlands and avoid a drop-off in remittances. It has raised over €1 million.
• The Surinamese economy is the most dependent on mining in the world; if the Rosebel gold mine is shut down due to COVID-19 concerns, the economic impact will be profound.

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Social and Cultural Inclusion

• Suriname’s first peak of cases was blamed locally on migrants from neighboring countries, particularly French Guiana, carrying the virus and ignoring border closures.
• The pandemic has stoked tensions surrounding illegal immigration, with the government asking businesses to withhold services from those suspected to be in Suriname illegally.
• Asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants — mostly Cuban, Venezuelan, and Dominican — are especially vulnerable to the health and economic impacts of COVID-19 in Suriname. Many of them have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and are living in unsafe conditions without access to sufficient food or healthcare.
• Several foundations, government ministries, and international organizations have partnered to create a digital map of organizations providing assistance to victims of domestic violence, as COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions contribute to heightened levels of violence 
• Poor weather and unreliable infrastructure have hampered the government’s attempts to monitor isolated indigenous peoples on the border with Brazil.
• Suriname’s indigenous peoples are beholden to the pandemic response not just of their own government, but also the country’s neighbors—including Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil.
• COVID-19 poses a health threat to the wellbeing of the Wayana Peoples in the southeast of Suriname, who lack access to modern medical facilities and testing. Suriname’s government deployed a Medical Mission to the community of Apetina this Summer, finding 30 cases of COVID-19. These cases have been treated using the Wayana’s traditional medicinal practices. 
• Limited information is available as to the extent of COVID-19’s spread in indigenous communities, but any further spread of the virus could have devastating impacts on these indigenous communities. 
• In Wayana communities, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a renewed focus on traditional practices. The isolation brought about by the pandemic has led people to return to traditional methods of food preservation methods, as well as a focus on food sovereignty and sustainability, which had previously fallen to the wayside in light of the threats of floods and pollution from mining. 
• In mid-February, schools reopened after a nearly-two month closure due to increased spread of COVID-19. In response to a potential third wave of COVID-29, schools have once again closed. 
• Students in the country’s interior are experiencing disproportional educational setbacks during virtual learning, with many students having a lack of access to internet devices. These challenges are only compounded by existing disparities in access to clean water, sanitation, and electricity. 
• As a result of its partnership with the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Development Programme, the government has provided expanded access to resources for women facing gender-based violence.

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Select resources for Suriname:

Governance and the Rule of Law:

Consulytic. (n.d.). Het Coronavirus in Suriname. https://www.consulytic.com/dashboards/corona/. 

Culverhouse, S. & Richardson, L. (2020, May 29). Suriname: Implications of an opposition election victory. Tellimer. https://tellimer.com/article/suriname-implications-of-an-opposition-electi.

Dunkley-Malcolm, J. (2020, September 29). Suriname extends curfew, reopens border to international flights from Netherlands. CARICOM Today. https://today.caricom.org/2020/09/29/suriname-extends-curfew-re-opens-border-to-international-flights-from-netherlands/.

Government of Suriname. (n.d.) Covid-19 homepage. https://covid-19.sr/.

International Federation of the Red Cross. (2020, May 5). Suriname Red Cross COVID-19 preparedness profile. https://go.ifrc.org/emergencies/4198#additional-information.

International Monetary Fund. (2020, November 20). IMF Statement on Technical Discussions with Suriname. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/11/20/pr20350-suriname-imf-statement-on-technical-discussions-with-suriname.

MacDonald, S. (2020, March 10). Suriname and the Need for Good Governance. Center for Strategic & International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/suriname-and-need-good-governance.

Palis, A. (2020, January 16). Enquête: Meerderheid ondervraagde Surinamers wil Covid-19-vaccinatie. DWTonline.com. http://www.dwtonline.com/laatste-nieuws/2021/01/16/enqu%C3%AAte-meerderheid-ondervraagde-surinamers-wil-covid-19-vaccinatie/.

Stikvoort, Arjen. (2020, November 16). Suriname start mogelijk begin 2021 Covid-19-vaccinatiecampagne. De Ware Tjid. http://www.dwtonline.com/laatste-nieuws/2020/11/16/suriname-start-mogelijk-begin-2021-covid-19-vaccinatiecampagne/.

Growth and Innovation:

Boerboom, H. & Kurmanaev, A. (2020, March 25). Economic Crisis Prompts a Showdown, and a Shutdown, in Suriname. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/world/americas/suriname-economic-crisis.html. 

Dagblad De West. (2020, October 8). President: ‘Suriname kiest voor Lazard’. https://dagbladdewest.com/2020/10/08/president-suriname-kiest-voor-lazard/.

Fitch Ratings. (2020, July 13). Fitch Downgrades Suriname’s LT-FC IDR to ‘RD’. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/fitch-downgrades-suriname-lt-fc-idr-to-rd-13-07-2020. 

Hall, M. (2020, March 27). Covid-19: Which mining economies will suffer most from the pandemic? Mining Technology. https://www.mining-technology.com/features/mining-economies-will-suffer-from-coronavirus-pandemic/. 

International Monetary Fund. (n.d.). Policy Responses to COVID-19. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#S. 

Khadan, J. (2020, May). COVID-19: Socioeconomic Implications on Suriname. Inter-American Development Bank. https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/COVID-19-Socioeconomic-Implications-on-Suriname.pdf. 

Social and Cultural Inclusion:

Indigenous Youth Caucus. (n.d.). The Mulokot Water Protectors and COVID-19. UN Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. https://www.un.org/youthenvoy/2020/08/the-mulokot-water-protectors-and-covid-19/.

International Fund for Agricultural Development. (2021, February 1). Indigenous food systems are at the heart of resilience. https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/story/asset/42430200.

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). (2020, June 2). Mobilizing COVID-19 relief for transgender sex workers in Guyana and Suriname. https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/featurestories/2020/june/20200602_twinkle. 

Nelson, Z. (2020, August 7). Perseverance and Adaptation in the Face of COVID-19. The Amazon Conservation Team. https://www.amazonteam.org/perseverance-and-adaptation-in-the-face-of-covid-19-how-the-global-pandemic-is-impacting-our-indigenous-partner-communities-in-suriname/?fbclid=IwAR00LfU8iCJI0Ti-8nQ3B1kjLRgnMPtIrZpNAIBdyBmXeWoT8b4put5vwfY.

Stikvoort, Arjen. (2020, July 1). Migranten vallen door Covid-19 en recessie tussen wal en schip. DWTonline.com. http://www.dwtonline.com/laatste-nieuws/2020/07/01/migranten-vallen-door-covid-19-en-recessie-tussen-wal-en-schip/.

Suriname Herald. (2020, June 18). VIDS monitort Sipaliwini via netwerken in Brazilië. https://www.srherald.com/suriname/2020/06/18/vids-monitort-sipaliwini-via-netwerken-in-brazilie/. 

United Nations Development Programme. (2020, September 28). COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker. https://data.undp.org/gendertracker/.

Vereniging Van Inheemse Dorpshoofden In Suriname. (2020, March 26). Maatregelen Van Inheemse Dorpen Tegen COVID-19. https://vids.sr/maatregelen-van-inheemse-dorpen-tegen-covid-19/.