Roberto Rosario warns against Dominican Republic joining Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Santo Domingo.- Former president of the Central Electoral Board (JCE), Roberto Rosario, warned this Friday about what he described as the risks of the Dominican Republic potentially acceding to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), calling those who promote such a move “enemies of the homeland.” His statements followed reports of alleged efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to regularize the country’s status before the international human rights body.

Rosario recalled his participation in a Dominican delegation that visited the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington after Constitutional Court ruling 168-13. The delegation, led by then-President Danilo Medina and composed of senior government officials, sought to explain the scope of the ruling. According to Rosario, representatives of the Court stated at the time that the Dominican Republic was obligated to amend its Constitution to align it with the Court’s decisions regarding access to citizenship.

He said this position prompted a strong response from then presidential legal adviser César Pina Toribio, who defended national sovereignty and rejected what he described as interference in the country’s internal affairs. Rosario concluded that, based on this experience, any proposal for the Dominican Republic to join the Inter-American Court of Human Rights represents a threat to sovereignty and should be firmly opposed.