 Once again, the role and responsibility of CARICOM is part of public debate as the region tussles over the September 23rd ruling of the Dominican Constitutional Tribunal that “foreigners with no residence permit in the country must be equated with the category of foreigners in transit, under which their children are not eligible for Dominican citizenship, even though they were born in Dominican territory.”
Some members of the Caribbean Community have been vocal and unambiguous in their positions. Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has written to President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, not once, but twice since then, urging him to act swiftly “to correct the Court’s prejudicial denial of the human and citizenship rights of persons of Haitian descent born in your country.”
UWI Professor Emeritus Norman Girvan, a former Professorial Research Fellow at The UWI Graduate Institute of International Relations has been an outspoken advocate for CARICOM action.
“It is very important for CARICOM to act as a single bloc—a bloc of 14 states which has voting power in several regional and international fora—to exert the maximum effort to see that this ruling is reversed,” he said. “The ruling is inconsistent with several international conventions and rulings to which the Dominican Republic is a party, and especially a 2005 ruling of the Inter American Court on Human Rights which reiterates the principle of jus soli—the right of citizenship to persons born within a country.”
“CARICOM is in a position to influence the course of events in this matter by blocking the DR’s application for admission to CARICOM and the Caribbean Development Bank and pressing for suspension of the DR from Cariforum and PetroCaribe,” he said. “If the ruling is implemented it will render stateless and vulnerable thousands of native-born Dominicans, who have lived and established families in their country of birth for up to 83 years. These persons will find it increasingly difficult to send their children to school, access medical services and secure employment.”
“It is a repugnant and racist situation which the regional community should vigorously oppose,” he said.
Professor Girvan also attended a demonstration on November 6, staged by the UWI-based arts group, Jouvay Ayiti, outside the Office of the Prime Minister. Using masquerade in a strategy they call “mas action,” the group depicted several traditional mas figures that were adapted for the particular message.
The group presented a petition of 800 numbers to the Embassy of the Dominican Republic and the Office of the Prime Minister.
On November 26, a CARICOM statement was issued after a meeting in Port of Spain, which condemned the September ruling, calling it “abhorrent and discriminatory.” It called on the Government of the Dominican Republic “to take the necessary political, legislative, judicial and administrative steps urgently to redress the grave humanitarian situation created by the ruling,” and asked “regional and hemispheric countries and organisations to lend their voice to urge the Dominican Republic to right this terrible wrong.”
This is the full text of the CARICOM statement issued on November 26, 2013.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) condemns the abhorrent and discriminatory ruling of September 23, 2013, of the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic on nationality which retroactively strips tens of thousands of Dominicans, mostly of Haitian descent, of citizenship rendering them stateless and with no recourse to appeal
It is especially repugnant that the ruling ignores the 2005 judgement made by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) that the Dominican Republic adapt its immigration laws and practices in accordance with the provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights. The ruling also violates the Dominican Republic’s international human rights obligations. Furthermore, the ruling has created an environment where, with the abrogation of rights that flow from citizenship, arbitrariness can flourish as illustrated by recent media reports of the forced deportation to Haiti of persons claiming to be Dominican and with no linguistic or familial ties to that country.
The Caribbean Community reiterates its call to the Government of the Dominican Republic to take the necessary political, legislative, judicial and administrative steps urgently to redress the grave humanitarian situation created by the ruling. The Community also calls on regional and hemispheric countries and organisations to lend their voice to urge the Dominican Republic to right this terrible wrong.
The Community welcomes the intervention by Venezuela to assist in resolving the issue but given the grave humanitarian implications of the court ruling the Community cannot allow its relationship with the Dominican Republic to continue as normal. In that regard, the Community, at this time, will suspend consideration of the request by the Dominican Republic for membership of the Caribbean Community. Furthermore, the Community will review its relationship with the Dominican Republic in other fora including that of CARIFORUM, CELAC and the OAS. It cannot be business as usual.
CARICOM supports the visit of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and will request an advisory opinion from the Inter American Court of Human Rights. The Community will also consider the introduction of a Resolution at the United Nations General Assembly condemning the ruling.
Moreover we call on the global and regional community to pressure the government of the Dominican Republic to adopt urgent measures to ensure that the jaundiced decision of the Constitutional Court does not stand and that the full citizenship rights of persons of Haitian descent, born in the Dominican Republic are guaranteed. The Caribbean Community accords this matter the highest priority.
CARICOM is prepared to engage the Dominican Republic but the government of the Dominican Republic must show good faith by immediate credible steps as part of an overall plan to resolve the nationality and attendant issues in the shortest possible time.
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