The Suriname Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for 2023-2026 sets out the common commitment of the Government of Suriname, workers’ and employers’ organizations, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote Decent Work.1 The ILO has a longstanding programme of cooperation with its constituents in Suriname, including the implementation of two previous DWCPs, between 2014-2016 and 2019-2022. Consistent with the previous programmes, the DWCP for 2023-2026 establishes a firm commitment between all partners to ensure that Decent Work is at the heart of national development as the country seeks to advance its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the period 2023-2026, the ILO will work in partnership with the Government and the social partners to address national decent work challenges. The ILO’s approach reflects the development of a ‘new generation’ of DWCPs that aim to align closely to both national and international development goals and facilitate partnerships to achieve meaningful change. Activities and results identified in the DWCP are based on clear theories of change, developed through consultations with Surinamese constituents. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its commitment to the human rights agenda and the core programming principle to leave no one behind, is central to this third Suriname DWCP. The priorities of the DWCP are based on Suriname’s national development priorities, as articulated in the Multi-Annual Development Plan of the Republic of Suriname (NDP), 2022-2026, which in turn aligns with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The DWCP also aims to continue and build on the achievements and areas of work carried out under the previous DWCP (2019-2022). The DWCP is designed to integrate and find synergies with the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (MSDCF), 2022-2026, and the Country Implementation Plan (CIP) for Suriname. The MSDCF guides the activities and priorities of the UN system in the Dutch- and English-speaking Caribbean, and draws on the findings of the Common Country Assessment (CCA) for Suriname and Caribbean Common Multi-Country Analysis (UN, 2021). These assessments have also served as important data sources for the development of this DWCP. The DWCP also aligns with ILO regional priorities for the Caribbean, as set out in the ILO’s Panama Declaration on the future of work (2018).
