Dominican Republic should snub Human Rights Commission: Top official

Santo Domingo.- Central Electoral Board (JCE) president Roberto Rosario on Thursday said the Dominican Republic shouldn’t attend a hearing of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) which starts Monday, because in his view, the entity met recently in the country and stated a contaminated position on the Government’s plan to regulate undocumented foreigners.

"From our point of view a new scenario of pressure is being staged, responding to interest groups," Rosario said in a letter to Foreign Affairs minister Carlos Morale.

He also called improper for the Commission to choose the officials to represent the country, "since it’s the Foreign Ministry’s exclusive domain to determine who represents the Dominican State.”

Meddling

"We cannot under any circumstances tolerate one or more international organizations exert pressure on our country with attitudes that violate diplomatic norms and question our national sovereignty. It’s our duty and of the Dominican State to preserve the mandates and regulations that our Constitution dictate, as a free and sovereign country, to allow the permanence of any foreign citizen, provided that their stay in our country is duly registered."