58
150, 154, 156, 172, and 178 of the present Judgment, without the corresponding
footnotes, as well as Operative Paragraphs 1 through 15 hereof, in a radio station
accessible to the Saramaka people. The time and date of said broadcasts must be
informed to the victims or their representatives with sufficient anticipation.
197. The State must publish the relevant parts of the Judgment, in accordance with
paragraph 196(a) of the present Judgment, at least once in each publication within a year of
notification of the present Judgment. The State must also broadcast the relevant parts of
the Judgment, in accordance with paragraph 196(b), within a year of notification of the
present Judgment.
C.2)
Measures of Compensation
198. The Court has developed in its jurisprudence the concept of material and immaterial
damages and the situations in which said damages must be compensated.212 Thus, in light
of said criteria, the Court will proceed to determine whether measures of pecuniary
compensation are warranted in this case, and if so, the appropriate amounts to be awarded.
C.2.a) Material Damages
199. According to the evidence submitted before the Tribunal, a considerable quantity of
valuable timber was extracted from Saramaka territory without any consultation or
compensation (supra para. 153).
Additionally, the evidence shows that the logging
concessions awarded by the State caused significant property damage to the territory
traditionally occupied and used by the Saramakas (supra paras. 150-151). For these
reasons, and based on equitable grounds, the Court considers that the members of the
Saramaka people must be compensated for the material damage directly caused by these
activities in the amount of US$ 75.000,00 (seventy-five thousand United States dollars).
This amount shall be added to the development fund described infra (paras. 201-202).
C.2.b) Immaterial Damages
200. In the previous chapter the Court described the environmental damage and
destruction of lands and resources traditionally used by the Saramaka people, as well as the
impact it had on their property, not just as it pertains to its subsistence resources, but also
with regards to the spiritual connection the Saramaka people have with their territory
(supra paras. 80-85, and 150-151). Furthermore, there is evidence that demonstrates the
suffering and distress that the members of the Saramaka people have endured as a result
of the long and ongoing struggle for the legal recognition of their right to the territory they
have traditionally used and occupied for centuries (supra paras. 64(a), 64(b), 64(c), 64(f),
64(h), 65(a), 65(b), and 65(f)), as well as their frustration with a domestic legal system
that does not protect them against violations of said right (supra paras. 178-185), all of
which constitutes a denigration of their basic cultural and spiritual values. The Court
considers that the immaterial damage caused to the Saramaka people by these alterations
to the very fabric of their society entitles them to a just compensation.
201. For these reasons, and on equitable grounds, the Court hereby orders the State to
allocate US$ 600,000.00 (six hundred thousand United States Dollars) for a community
development fund created and established for the benefit of the members of the Saramaka
212
Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez, supra note 205, para. 50; Case of Cantoral Benavides v. Perú.
Reparations and Costs. Judgment of December 3, 2001. Series C No. 88, paras. 53 and 57, and Case of Bámaca
Velásquez, supra note 49, para. 43. Cf. also Case of La Cantuta, supra note 179, paras 213 and 216, and Case of
the Miguel Castro Castro Prison, supra note 8, paras. 423 and 430.
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