NGOs slam ruling denies citizenship to children of Haitian ancestry

Santo Domingo. – The Jesuit Refugees and Migrants Service (SJRM) will again take the country before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, for authorities; alleged denying of citizenship to Dominicans of Haitian ancestry.

Accusing the Central Electoral Board of “civil genocide,” SJRM executive Sonia Adames criticized Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday which upholds the Board’s Provision 17, ordering civil registrars not to issue birth certificates to children of foreigners who reside illegally in the country.

She said the decision is unconstitutional and the high Court’s ruling leaves them with no other choice than to resort to the international tribunal. “We’ve no longer have any other route than to resort to the International Court of Human Rights.”

Adames said Supreme Court Sentence 460 “is a harsh reversal for the country’s principles of legality.”

Civic group

Citizen Participation’s spokesman Javier Cabreja affirmed that the Supreme Court sentence is inadmissible, because it authorizes a retroactive enforcement of what the current Constitution stipulates regarding nationality.