Dominican Republic stands firm on deportation of pregnant foreigners

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic yesterday strongly rejected the statement from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in which it asks the country not to expel pregnant migrant women, a state position that attracted the support of political parties and a broad social base.

The IACHR called for respecting the principle of non-refoulement and ensuring the effective protection of the population in human mobility, especially pregnant Haitian migrants.

At once, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex) described the declaration of the IACHR as “unfair and inopportune” and affirmed that the country complies with the principle of non-refoulement of people who are in danger of being subjected to torture or political persecution, that in the case of irregular pregnant migrants, it affirmed, does not apply.

Mirex said that it’s a “massive and exceptional pressure” on the Dominican public health services, given the lack of them in Haiti. “The Dominican State has the right and the duty to control this situation to avoid the collapse of sexual and reproductive health services in our public network of hospitals.”