A/HRC/18/12 the reduction of absolute poverty, improved access to safe drinking water and continued efforts for the achievement of universal primary enrolment. Barbados suggested that Suriname accelerate the process of treaty ratification and called on treaty bodies and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance for the implementation of treaties. 62. Jamaica noted initiatives of Suriname undertaken over the last two years, including the establishment of the Human Rights Bureau, and activities carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme to strengthen the framework for the promotion and protection of human rights, including a human rights assessment, capacitybuilding and a media communication strategy. Jamaica further noted the special focus being given to vulnerable groups such as women, children, youth and the elderly, as well as the emphasis being placed on education and health. 63. The delegation thanked the States for their comments and took note of the concerns that still remained, such as education in the interior, the rights of indigenous peoples and Maroons, especially their collective human rights and land rights, the rights of women and children, death penalty, prison conditions, ratification of treaties and so forth. 64. The delegation underscored that, despite financial and economical constraints, promoting and protecting human rights was of great value to Suriname and that it had committed itself to enhancing human rights. It was engaged in the process of discussing and collaborating with non-governmental organizations. It was also working with fellow countries to learn from them, and the opportunity for the universal periodic review was a process from which it was learning. 65. As for education, the delegation furthermore stated that the situation in the capital and other areas in Suriname was quite acceptable, while serious concerns remained in the interior, because of the fact that those were rural areas and very deep in the Amazon rainforest. One particular problem was finding qualified teachers willing to go there and work in hard conditions. Those were the matters being looked at carefully, and projects and programmes were being developed by the Ministry of Education. 66. On the issue of abolition of death penalty, the delegation reiterated that the Penal Code was being revised. The draft revised Penal Code contained no reference to capital punishment. 67. The delegation stated that it had concrete plans to involve stakeholders in its commitment to indigenous peoples and Maroons concerning their collective land rights, because Suriname was very diverse and there were more than six ethnic groups. Suriname would like all these groups to be involved in the process to reach the solution for the issue of Maroons and indigenous peoples. The delegation furthermore stated that the situation in Suriname was somewhat different from other Latin American countries which had indigenous peoples. The Maroon community in Suriname was not small and in fact larger than indigenous communities, and they had been living in the interior for more than three hundred years. The judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights stated that they should have the same rights as indigenous peoples. In some areas, there was a clear overlap of land rights matters. Therefore, it was just not a matter of copying what had happened in other countries in the region. Suriname needed to find a Surinamese solution, and that was why Suriname would ask for some time to deal with this matter. 68. Regarding prison and detention conditions, much progress had been made, however, Suriname was making every effort to make the situation better, particularly in lock-ups and the police detention facilities. 69. As for ratification of international human rights instruments, the process in many countries was lengthy, and Suriname at the current stage still had a way to go in ratifying 11