Dominican government willing to face ‘tainted’ human rights scrutiny

Santo Domingo.- Despite the Electoral Board’s (JCE) warning Thursday that the OAS Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR) "prepares a new scenario for pressure” against Dominican Republic, the Foreign minister Carlos Morales on Friday announced he’ll send a representative to defend the Government against charges by groups, that Haitian offspring face denationalization and discrimination.

He said ambassador at large Rhadys Abreu, a human rights expert, will attend the IACHR hearing to be held in Washington, 4pm March 24.

The Commission is expected to discuss the right of Dominicans of Haitian origin to a nationality, in the wake of the Constitutional Court ruling, which the IACHR calls part of a denationalization policy.

Among the local organizations to lodge complaints against the Dominican Government figure the Pedro Bonó Center, the Jesuit’s Border Solidarity, the Socio-Cultural Movement for Haitian Workers and the Caribbean Immigrants Observatory.

Warning

JCE president Roberto Rosario had warned that the IACHR has shown a “tainted position” regarding the Government’s plan to regulate undocumented foreigners in Dominican Republic.