23 members of the Saramaka people have a right to use and enjoy the natural resources that lie on and within their alleged traditionally owned territory; fifth, whether and to what extent the State may grant concessions for the exploration and extraction of natural resources found on and within alleged Saramaka territory; sixth, whether the concessions already issued by the State comply with the safeguards established under international law; seventh, whether the lack of recognition of the Saramaka people as a juridical personality makes them ineligible under domestic law to receive communal title to property as a tribal community and to have equal access to judicial protection of their property rights; and finally, whether there are adequate and effective legal remedies available in Suriname to protect the members of the Saramaka people against acts that violate their alleged right to the use and enjoyment of communal property. A. THE MEMBERS OF THE SARAMAKA PEOPLE AS A TRIBAL COMMUNITY SUBJECT TO SPECIAL MEASURES THAT ENSURE THE FULL EXERCISE OF THEIR RIGHTS 78. The Commission and the representatives alleged that the Saramaka people make up a tribal community and that international human rights law imposes an obligation on the State to adopt special measures to guarantee the recognition of tribal peoples’ rights, including the right to collectively own property. The State disputed whether the Saramaka people could be defined as a tribal community subject to the protection of international human rights law regarding their alleged right to collectively own property. The Court must therefore analyze whether the members of the Saramaka people make up a tribal community, and if so, whether it is subject to special measures that guarantee the full exercise of their rights. 79. First of all, the Court observes that the Saramaka people are not indigenous to the region they inhabit; they were instead brought to what is now known as Suriname during the colonization period (infra, para. 80). Therefore, they are asserting their rights as alleged tribal peoples, that is, not indigenous to the region, but that share similar characteristics with indigenous peoples, such as having social, cultural and economic traditions different from other sections of the national community, identifying themselves with their ancestral territories, and regulating themselves, at least partially, by their own norms, customs, and traditions. A.1) The members of the Saramaka people as a distinct social, cultural and economic group with a special relationship with its ancestral territory 80. According to the evidence submitted by the parties, the Saramaka people are one of the six distinct Maroon groups in Suriname whose ancestors were African slaves forcibly taken to Suriname during the European colonization in the 17th century.61 Their ancestors escaped to the interior regions of the country where they established autonomous communities.62 The Saramaka people are organized in twelve matrilineal clans (lös), and it is estimated that the contemporary size of the Saramaka population ranges from 25,000 to 61 This fact is recognized by the State (Merits, volume II, folio 291). Cf. also Testimony of Head Captain and Fiscali Wazen Eduards during the public hearing at the Court held on May 9 and 10, 2007 (transcription of public hearing, pp. 3-4). 62 This fact is recognized by the State (Merits, volume II, folio 288). Cf. also Testimony of Head Captain and Fiscali Wazen Eduards, supra note 61 (transcription of public hearing, p. 4), Expert opinion of Professor Richard Price during the public hearing at the Court held on May 9 and 10, 2007 (transcription of public hearing, p. 57), and Expert opinion of Salomon Emanuels during the public hearing at the Court held on May 9 and 10, 2007 (transcription of public hearing, p. 67).