hAiti called this Tuesday the repatriations carried out by the Dominican Republic against “Haitians and Dominicans descended from Haitians” as “immoral”which he attributed to a discriminatory policy of the border country based on the skin color and nationality of the people.
According to the criteria of
The interim permanent ambassador of Haiti to the Organization of American States (OAS), Gandy Thomasstated during an extraordinary meeting of the Permanent Council of that organization that the repatriations of its citizens are “worrying” and “sad”, and affirmed that his country does not represent a danger to the security of the Dominican Republic.
However, the Dominican minister advisor, Radhafil Rodriguezstated that his country has reiterated on multiple occasions that it cannot assume the role that corresponds to the international community in Haiti and defended the repatriations of “Haitians in irregular migratory status.”
He added that the Dominican Republic cannot give up safeguarding the well-being and protection of its national security and its citizens.
The meeting was called at the request of Haiti, after the Dominican Republic announced last week the beginning of a repatriation process for undocumented Haitians that seeks to achieve the 10,000 people per week.
“This (the repatriations) further aggravates the situation in Haiti, something that no one in the region wants (…). What is happening in the Dominican Republic with Haitian and Dominican citizens of Haitian descent is alarming,” he stated for his Thomas, who denounced that the human rights of these people are violated.
For Thomas, The repatriations fuel hate speech and assured that they “even” violate the Dominican Republic’s own legal framework, stating that this country is a signatory of several international agreements that condemn the violation of human rights and discrimination.
He also considered that Haiti “is convinced” that both nations can coexist together, and affirmed that the Dominican Republic must recognize the “inestimable contribution” to its economy of Haitian workers, many thousands of them working in the construction sector and many others in agricultural plantations.
Rodríguez, however, said his country cannot do more for Haiti.
“We have collaborated with the Multinational Mission for Haiti, we keep border trade open, but public services have been inflated with the attention we provide to irregular migrants,” refuted Rodríguez, who covered the absence of the permanent representative of the Dominican mission, Mayerlin Cordero.
At that point, he assured that last year 38.8% of births in Dominican public hospitals were by Haitian women and that there are currently 146,000 children in public schools, which has meant an investment of 430 million for the State. of dollars.
During the meeting of the OAS Permanent Council, the ambassadors of the United States, Canada, Guyana, Colombia and Panama expressed their considerations and, to a greater or lesser extent, urged the Dominican Republic to respect the human rights of migrants and urged the two countries to maintain a dialogue aimed at seeking understanding.
What does the Dominican Republic say?
The Dominican president, Luis Abinaderinsists that the instability in Haiti generates pressure on the security and health and education services of the Dominican Republic.
According to the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) of the Dominican Republic, in the first half of the year, 67,844 foreigners were deported to their countries, the vast majority of them Haitians (66,227), and just yesterday it stated that, from October 1 to 6 , more than 9,000 people in an irregular situation have been detained and are undergoing a verification process to determine their immigration status in the Dominican Republic and be repatriated to their countries.
In mid-July, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that some 86,000 Haitians had been “forcibly returned” to their country so far this year from neighboring nations, without specifying which ones.
Despite criticism for forced returns to Haiti and calls from multiple sources to stop deportations in the face of the crisis and insecurity in that country, last year 216,000 Haitians were deported from neighboring states, according to the 2023 report of that United Nations agency.
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