On December 10, 1948 the Netherlands, which included its plantation colony of Suriname, joined 47 other countries in ratifying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The International Bill of Human Rights consists of [1] the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; [2] the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and [3] the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols.

Suriname became independent from the Netherlands on November 25, 1975. As an independent country, Suriname ratified both of the International Covenants in 1976.