Press Release - 03-08-02

President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan recently promised that "everyone who abuse women in Suriname will face stiff penalties and long term prison terms". This statement was made on February 19, 2002, when he signed the ratification instrument to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, (the Convention of Belem do Para).

The official signing of the treaty was witnessed by: Her Excellency Liesbeth Venetiaan-Vanenburg, First Lady, His Excellency Jules R. Ajodhia, Vice President, Her Excellency Maria Levens, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Her Excellency Urmila Joella-Sewnundun, Minister of Home Affairs, His Excellency Ram Sardjoe, Speaker of the National Assembly, Her Excellency Ruth Wijdenbosch, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, invitees of the Cabinet of the President and of the Ministries of Foreign and of Home Affairs, as well as representatives of women's organizations and the press.

President Venetiaan emphasized that his Administration will take all necessary measures to ban and punish the phenomenon of violence against women. He urged the community to help the government in fighting this evil and stressed that specific measures will be taken and sanctions will be given in order to fight problems relating to the phenomenon of domestic violence. According to the President the signing of the OAS Convention was just a first step towards dealing with this serious problem.

The Convention was discussed in detail by the National Assembly and approved on December 13, 2001.

By ratifying this treaty Suriname has explicitly committed itself to the principals and objectives contained in the Convention, and to conduct policies, which prevents, punishes and bans violence against women. Further more all-necessary measures will be taken to put the Convention into effect, such as among others the submission of reports to international human rights organizations and institutions. Suriname will therefore expose its policies regarding women's rights to the judgement and scrutiny of the international community. But more importantly the Convention will be of good use for the further development of mechanisms to tackle the issue of violence against women more effectively.

Today, (International Women's Day) Ambassador Illes will deposit the ratification instrument to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States giving Suriname the privilege to become the thirty-first member of the OAS who has ratified the Convention of Belem do Para. With this step the OAS will come one step closer to its goal of getting all thirty-four member-States in ratifying this significant hemispheric instrument.

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