Institutional framework
The Ministry of the Interior is the body in charge of population and development issues on a permanent basis within the Surinamese system. In addition, the same Ministry presides over the implementation and follow-up mechanism of the Montevideo Consensus called the Policy area on Population Development; the delegation of these functions is contained in the legal instrument Decree Task Description Departments. Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the only State body that participates in the mechanism; among its main tasks are: coordinating the implementation of the national population policy; drafting reports on progress in the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus; involving the different stakeholders in population issues; advising the government on population and development issues. Six priority lines of action have been defined for the operation of the Policy area on Population Development: Gender Equality; Health; Migration; Youth; Ageing and the Environment.
Participation
Although there is currently no mechanism to guarantee the participation of civil society in the country's population and development institutional framework, a permanent National Population Commission will be created with the participation of civil society and the private sector, as required by the Constitution, to act as an advisory institution to both the Planning Office and the Ministry of the Interior. In this context, the Unit of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for coordination in population matters will serve as the secretariat of the National Population Commission.
The information on Institutionality comes from the regional survey for the update of the Virtual Platform for the follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, implemented by the technical secretariat in 2023.