E/C.12/1995/6 page 2 B. Positive Aspects 3. The Committee welcomes the signing of the 1992 Peace Accord, which ended the armed conflict in the interior region of the State party, and the subsequent disarming of the paramilitary groups involved in the conflict. 4. The Committee welcomes the special consideration accorded to human rights within the Constitution of Suriname and the accession by the State party to a number of international human rights instruments. In this connection, it takes note of the economic, social and cultural rights enumerated in Chapter 6 of the Constitution. 5. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the National Institution for Human Rights, which is authorized, inter alia, to draft and submit reports to the various international monitoring bodies, study international standards and legislation, promote international cooperation, and investigate complaints of alleged violations in the area of civil and political rights. The Committee also welcomes the establishment of the National Women’s Bureau within the Ministry of Internal Affairs to promote the human rights of women. 6. The Committee welcomes the Government’s active efforts to reconstruct and further develop the national economy, including the Structural Adjustment Programme that is being implemented since 1993. It notes with appreciation that the Programme contains a social safety component developed to protect the most economically vulnerable groups. C. Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the Covenant 7. The Committee notes with deep concern the economic crisis faced by the State party due in part to the deterioration of the terms of trade for its principal export, bauxite, and the ensuing phenomena of inflation and recession. The Committee is concerned that the prolonged economic crisis has given rise to high levels of structural unemployment and is limiting the Government’s ability to implement programmes that ensure the promotion and protection of the economic, social and cultural rights in the State party, especially its ability to fully implement those provisions of the Peace Accord concerning the development of the interior of the country. The Committee acknowledges that such financial constraints may create difficulties with respect to the consolidation of democracy following the signing of the 1992 Peace Accord. The Committee notes that some important external assistance, such as vaccination services from PAHO/WHO, have been suspended due to the State party’s inability to pay its contributions to international organizations that provide such services. 8. The Committee notes with concern that women in Suriname still do not fully enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights, due in part to traditional customs and attitudes toward women. This situation manifests itself, among other ways, in the form of violence against women and discrimination in employment. 9. The Committee is further concerned about the Government’s inability to collect relevant data on the level of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights in the State party. In this regard, the Committee regrets the lack of