Assembly Speaker in Suriname wants legislation to deal with suicide

PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The Speaker of the National Assembly in Suriname, Ashwin Adhin, says he intends to pilot private member’s legislation that will make suicide prevention legally mandatory.

He said the proposed legislation would oblige the government to implement structural measures, set measurable goals and provide annual accountability, as he used recent police statistics to show that 22 cases of suicide and suicide attempts were registered in June, compared to 12 in April and 14 in May.

“A plan obligates no one; a law obligates everyone,” Adhin told a public lecture on suicide prevention by the Global Indian Organisation (GIO), Chapter Suriname, presenting the organisation with a consultation document which, in his view, can serve as the basis for a Suicide Prevention Act.

Adhin, underscoring the seriousness of the problem, said Suriname has been among the countries with a high suicide rate for years, well above the global average, and that many “behind each of those 22 [cases] stands a family.”

Adhin said that Article 354 of the Penal Code criminalises inciting or assisting suicide, but not attempted suicide itself.

He said that this approach is important, noting, “Article 354 does not condemn the desperate person; it protects him. The law shows him the way to care.”

The Speaker of the National Assembly, while endorsing the motion calling for a national suicide prevention programme, said that by itself, it is insufficient.

“Suriname does not lack plans, but it does lack implementation,” he said, noting that a legal regulation must prevent suicide prevention from becoming dependent on individual policy choices or governments.

Adhin spoke of experiences in other countries, noting that Japan legally codified its approach in 2006 and, according to him, saw the suicide rate drop significantly thereafter.

He said Sri Lanka achieved results by banning the most dangerous agricultural poisons, while Guyana has also had a Suicide Prevention Act since 2022.

Adhin praised the government for making the crisis line 114 permanent, noting that people in a crisis situation must be able to receive direct help day and night.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.