Dominican Republic denies discrimination against Haitians, reiterates high migration costs

Santo Domingo – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that, in view of the repeated accusations made by Haitian authorities regarding the repatriation of undocumented immigrants, which include alleged State racism, the Dominican Government considered it appropriate to reiterate to the international community its rejection of these accusations.

The institution explained that it sent the document entitled “Dominican Position on essential matters of relations with Haiti, including migration” to the country’s diplomatic corps through a diplomatic note. Likewise, the text was sent to the Dominican diplomatic missions to be communicated to the governments and international organizations to which they are accredited.

It added that the Haitian Government was notified of this document through official channels on Tuesday, October 15.

MIREX explained that in both communications, the Dominican Government rejected the accusations raised by Haitian authorities, assuring that in the country, there is no State policy to discriminate or promote xenophobia, much less mistreat people of any nationality.

The Ministry added that, in this regard, the Dominican Government remains committed to prioritizing the promotion and protection of human rights, both nationally and internationally, and therefore takes any complaint related to these issues seriously.

“The Haitian Government and the international community know very well about the effort we have deployed to bring Haiti back to normalcy. They also know the impact that the uncontrolled growth of migration has on the economy and the stability of a country. However, we have not received any sign of interest from these two sectors in supporting the Dominican Republic in its efforts to achieve better migration governance. However, we do know what we must do to guarantee our stability,” he highlighted in the document.

The Dominican Foreign Ministry also stated that the migratory flow from Haiti to the Dominican Republic dates back to the 1980s and continued to increase in the following years. Both governments signed the Protocol of Understanding on Repatriation Mechanisms between the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti in 1999.

MIREX recalled that in this agreement, the Haitian Government recognized that the Dominican Government has the legitimate right to repatriate Haitian citizens undocumented in Dominican territory and consequently committed itself to “establish migration control posts along the Dominican-Haitian border, to avoid the illegal flow of its citizens to the Dominican Republic,” and to “redouble its efforts to provide its nationals with Haitian identity documents, in the context of the potential migratory flow to the Dominican Republic.” In the document sent to diplomatic delegations, the Foreign Ministry invited to inquire whether the neighboring country has complied with its part of this commitment.

“Since the arrival of President Luis Abinader to the Government, it was decided to implement a policy of Good Neighborliness towards Haiti based on three essential axes: dialogue, mutual respect and solidarity between the two States, and therefore one of the first measures taken was to approach the Haitian Government. This led to the fact that on January 10, 2021, the president met on the border with his counterpart, Jovenel Moïse, and that together they offered a nine-point declaration that instituted a true collaboration program”, the diplomatic note indicates, adding that the agenda agreed by both presidents was truncated with the assassination of Moïse in July 2021. This event also marked a deterioration of security and institutionality in that country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added in this document that irregular immigration implies that the Dominican Government has an unsustainable economic pressure on public services offered free of charge, such as health and education.

“It is regrettable that instead of strengthening efforts to confront the Haitian crisis so that the endogenous causes of emigration from that country cease, the Haitian authorities concentrate on harassing and denouncing the actions of the Dominican Government in application of its regulatory framework, which have been recognized as legitimate by the Haitian State itself,” added the MIREX.

In this diplomatic note shared with the international community, the Foreign Ministry indicated that the Dominican Government remains open to a dialogue with Haiti, which it has been trying to sustain for years to benefit both nations.