By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The Board of Ministers in Suriname has sanctioned a bill for Suriname to accede to the ‘Inter American Convention against Illicit Manufacturing of and trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and similar devices’, the Ministry of Justice and Police has announced.

The bill was tabled by justice minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi. He argued that, due to the negative effects of “these activities” on the security of every nation in the region, the jeopardising of the well-being of people, their socio-economic development and their right to live in peace, while improving security in the region is imperative, it is necessary for Suriname to accede to the convention.

Furthermore, signing on to the convention will improve cooperation, sharing of intelligence, technical and judicial assistance between the member states, while training of personnel is also a possibility, the ministry said in a statement.

The authorities noted that more and more criminal organisations are trafficking firearms into the country, while in some cases firearms were stolen from depots of security forces and several of these stolen weapons eventually ended up in the hands of criminals in other countries.

“This Convention gives Suriname the opportunity to enhance international cooperation with governments of member states in the Western Hemisphere. Suriname will also be in the position to fight illicit trafficking of fire arms in cooperation with other countries,” read the statement.

On November 14, 1997, Suriname signed a memorandum of understanding to accede to the convention. With the approval of the Board of Ministers, the bill has to be reviewed by the Board of State, a principal advisory board to the President, after which the National Assembly, Suriname’s parliament, will have to sanction it.