First wave of Haitian deportees leaves Dominican republic.
| Autor | Giron, Crosby |
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have announced that more than 200 people have been deported back to Haiti since the deadline to join the Regimen Especial de Naturalizacion y Regularizacion de Extranjeros (Plan for the Regularization of Foreigners) elapsed (NotiCen, June 26, 2014). The government also announced that "tens of thousands" of Haitians have voluntarily returned to their country after the deadline expired on June 17.
Amnesty International (AI) has expressed concern that thousands of people are being forcibly expelled. In fact, 32% of the 6,000 Haitians interviewed by AI between June 17 and Aug. 13 said they had been deported.
The interviews also revealed that 27% of those interviewed claimed they had been born in the Dominican Republic and 3.8% said they had Dominican identification papers. This contradicts the Dominican government's pledge to respect human rights and its assurance that no one who had been born in the country would be deported.
For this reason, AI has insisted that "it is crucially important that the Dominican Republic should establish clear protocols that guarantee that people who have the right to Dominican nationality are not expelled from the country." AI says that, if mistakes are made, the Dominican authorities must take steps to facilitate the return of people who have the right to Dominican nationality.
Although AI has been able to confirm that many Dominicans of Haitian origin have obtained ID papers or are in a position to obtain them, many others have not been able to regain their Dominican nationality despite the regularization plan implemented by the government. One of the most serious concerns is the fate of people who have no other nationality and who risk becoming stateless and being arbitrarily deported to Haiti.
International organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have often spoken out about immigration issues in Caribbean states and have stated that they hope the Dominican authorities can adopt immigration policies that respect human rights.
PARLACEN weighs in
The Dominican authorities have been bolstered in their stance by a recent resolution by the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) in support for its immigration policy. In the general assembly held on Aug. 28, PARLACEN also urged the international community to support Haiti so that it can develop the necessary institutional capacity to provide ID papers and generate employment.
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