Dominican Republic - IOM recognizes the concerns of the United Nations and the President of the Dominican Republic following the recent decision of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to withdraw the citizenship of an alarming number of people, overwhelmingly of Haitian descent, whose parents were not Dominican citizens.

IOM applauds Dominican President Danilo Medina’s October 8th statement empathizing with people affected by the ruling. His call to resolve the situation in which they now find themselves is commendable and is an important first step towards resolving the issue.

Further steps should include a comprehensive registration of migrants living in the Dominican Republic and an overhaul of the Dominican civil registry to ensure a fair system of allocating citizenship.

“This situation has been compounded by systemic, long-term technical weaknesses in Dominican migration management and a lack of adequate Haitian consular services for citizens abroad, both of which have increased the vulnerability of migrants here,” said IOM’s Chief of Mission in the Dominican Republic Cy Winter.

IOM notes that both countries are working to introduce biometric identity management systems. But institutional cooperation is also needed to ensure that the individual rights of migrants are protected.

IOM works closely with the Dominican Government to provide technical assistance to implement the country’s migration law; to regularize the status of Haitian migrants; and to reduce the vulnerability of all migrants in the Caribbean nation.

For more information please contact

IOM Santo Domingo
Tel. + 1 809 688 81 74
Email: iomsantodomingo@iom.int