Politics
Dominican authorities pledge to safeguard the basic rights of Haitians and their descendants
(PRNewswire) – During a historic and frank dialogue at the border town of Ouanaminthe, Dominican authorities pledged to enact measures to safeguard the basic rights of Haitians and their descendants living in the Dominican Republic.
Both countries noted that dialogue around this divisive issue was conducted in a tone of mutual respect and serenity and that it was “frank, constructive and enlightening.”
Recognizing the sovereign right of the Dominican Republic to enact migration policy, Haitian Prime Minister Lamothe requested guarantees that the government of that country will enact specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights of people of Haitian descent who have been affected by the ruling of the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal.
Dominican authorities headed by Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo provided those guarantees and pledged that within the next few weeks they will put forward additional legislation to respond to all cases that have been left out of their existing plan to provide documents to Haitians who are illegally working in that country.
Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe considered this a major breakthrough noting that, “This outcome is a direct result of our government’s efforts to address the circumstances stemming from the Dominican ruling.”
Since September the Haitian government followed a combined bilateral and multilateral approach aimed at engaging the Dominican government into a constructive dialogue about these issues. Haiti directly engaged in conversations with the Dominican government sponsoring meetings between the private sectors of both countries to insure that important channels of communication remained open.
At the same time, Haiti engaged institutions like the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the European Union, the United Nations, and the government of Venezuela in the conversations with the Dominicans. This approach culminated at the Special Summit of Petro Caribe in early December 2013 where, under the auspices of President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, both countries agreed to meet in Ouanaminthe on January 7.
