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.