-8-
21.
Also, in this 2011 Order, the Court indicated that “the award of any new concession in
these territories after December 19, 2007, the date of which the Judgment was notified, without
the consent of the Saramaka and without previously conducting social and environmental impact
assessments, would constitute a direct violation of the Court’s ruling and, consequently, of the
international treaty-based obligations of the State.” 13
22.
The Court observes that the information forwarded by the representatives in this regard
is closely related to compliance with operative paragraphs 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the Judgment.
Furthermore, in this case, since notification of the Judgment, the Court has been monitoring its
execution pursuant to the articles of the Convention that regulate this competence. 14 Moreover,
within this framework, the Court has even held two private hearings on monitoring compliance
(2010 and 2013) in order to supervise implementation of the Judgment, and has also issued an
Order in this regard (supra having seen paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 8).
23.
Consequently, the Court considers that, in the instant case, the analysis and assessment
of the information provided concerning the mining exploitation project on Saramaka territory is
related to monitoring compliance with the Judgment, so that it is unnecessary to adopt
provisional measures in relation to this aspect. 15
24.
In this regard, the Court recalls that the States Parties to the Convention that have
accepted the Court’s contentious jurisdiction are bound to obey the obligations established by
the Court. This requirement includes the State’s obligation to inform the Court of the steps
taken to comply with the measures ordered by the Court in its decisions. The prompt
observance of the State’s obligation to advise the Court how it is complying with each element
ordered by the latter is essential in order to assess the status of compliance with the Judgment
as a whole. 16
25.
Based on the procedure of monitoring compliance with the Judgment in this case, the
State must forward the Court a complete, detailed and specific report on the alleged award of
the mining concession on the Saramaka territory to IAMGOLD, in which it must indicate: (a) the
scope and content of the said concession, (b) whether the Saramaka People was consulted and
what measures were taken to this end; (c) whether the said concession was preceded by
environmental and social assessment studies, and (d) if applicable, the benefits for the
Saramaka People; all of this pursuant to operative paragraphs 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the Judgment.
THEREFORE:
THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS,
in exercise of the authority conferred on it by Article 63(2) of the American Convention and
Articles 27, 31(2) and 69 of the Rules of Procedure,
13
Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname. Monitoring compliance with judgment, supra, nineteenth considering
paragraph.
14
Cf. Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community. Provisional measures with regard to Nicaragua.
Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of November 26, 2007, twelfth considering paragraph.
15
16
Cf. Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community, supra, eleventh considering paragraph.
Cf. Case of Barrios Altos v. Peru. Monitoring compliance with judgment. Order of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights of September 22, 2005, seventh considering paragraph, and Case of Abril Alosilla et al. v. Peru.
Monitoring compliance with judgment. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of May 22, 2013, sixth
considering paragraph.