indigenous and tribal peoples in Suriname enjoyment of their individual and collective
rights, in violation of international law. The Inter-American Court’s judgments address the
legal responsibility of the state of Suriname and do not directly establish the legal
responsibility of the private actors involved. In the Kaliña and Lokono case, however, the
Court admonished that private companies have a responsibility to respect human rights,
including the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, in analyzing the legal responsibility of
Suriname in relation to the relevant corporate conduct. 77 Moreover, the judgments set forth
an authoritative assessment of the content of the land and resource rights of the Maroon
peoples under international human rights law. Therefore, companies that also act
inconsistently with the Inter-American Court’s recognition of Maroon land and resource
rights themselves infringe, or contribute to the infringement of those rights, contrary to the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
77
In Kaliña and Lokono, the Court referred to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights and noted that the “Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on
the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises has
indicated that businesses must respect the human rights of … indigenous and tribal peoples, and pay
special attention when such rights are violated.” Para. 225.