13
traditional tenure patterns and laws, “the report […] advocates the use of a zoning
system that conforms to the ‘survey standards of [Suriname].’” Moreover, the report
“appears to deny indigenous and tribal peoples' legal personality in relation to
holding and exercising property rights.” Finally, in response to the report’s
contention that Moiwana Community members want individual land titles, the
representatives indicated that “some [Community members have] decided this
precisely because they have not been provided any information about alternative
sources of credit [and] have been told by State officials that they must accept
individual titles [in order] to secure financ[ing].” The representatives stressed that
“the State cannot simply assign […] collectively owned lands to individuals without
the consent of the N'djuka people as a whole[, as that] would amount to a nonconsensual alienation of collective […] lands.”
23.
During the hearing, the Commission indicated that it valued the steps taken
by the State in order to comply with this obligation. However, it also stated that the
extent of the impact of these measures on the members of the Moiwana Community
is unclear and requested updated information on the State’s work with the UN
Special Rapporteur (supra Considering clause 19). Subsequently, the Commission
affirmed that “the State has not taken specific steps to comply with this measure of
reparation, nor […] duly consulted with the Moiwana people regarding the
implementation of the order.” It further noted that the State did not provide
information on the “Presidential Commission” referred to in its previous report, nor
on the manner in which the SSDI project “has or will have a direct effect in the
present case,” and expressed concern that the State still has not provided the
schedule requested by the Court in February 2010. Finally, the Commission
highlighted “the amount of time that has passed since the order of the Court” and
requested that the Tribunal require specific information on this obligation, as well as
a timeline for the State’s compliance therewith.
24.
The Court values the steps taken in order to achieve compliance with this
order, such as possible consultations with international experts. However, though the
Court recognizes the initiatives of the State aimed at a achieving a national solution
to the land rights issue, the complexity of those initiatives is causing excessive
delays in the State’s compliance with specific orders of the Tribunal meant to
safeguard the land rights of the Moiwana Community in this case. Therefore, the
Court reiterates that pursuant to Article 68(1) of the Convention, the State must fully
and promptly comply with the Judgment regardless of its efforts to comply with other
decisions or to implement changes at a national level (supra Considering clause 3).
Furthermore, in light of the representatives' many concerns regarding the
implementation of this order and, specifically, regarding the Final Report of the
National Commission on Land Rights and the draft report of the Amazon
Conservation Team, the Court reminds the State that measures taken in order to
comply with the Judgment must conform to the specific orders contained therein and
to the Court’s jurisprudence on the property rights of indigenous peoples. 25 Thus, in
order to ensure the property rights of the members of the Moiwana Community, as
25
In the Judgment, the Court found that “the Moiwana [C]ommunity members, a N’djuka tribal
people, possess an ‘all-encompassing relationship’ to their traditional lands, and their concept of
ownership regarding that territory is not centered on the individual, but rather on the community as a
whole. Thus, this Court’s [jurisprudence] with regard to indigenous communities and their communal
rights to property under Article 21 of the Convention must also apply to the tribal Moiwana [C]ommunity
members […].” Case of the Moiwana Community v. Suriname, supra note 8, para. 133.