Dominican Republic faces more charges at Human Rights Court

Santo Domingo.- The Center for Justice and international Law (CEJIL) on Thursday said on October 8 and 9, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will take up a case against Dominican Republic for the alleged detention and expulsion of six families by Dominican Republic Immigration agents.

It said the case stems from the alleged latent structural discrimination against the Dominican population of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants who’ve lived in the country for several years.

The CEJIL, the Haitian Women’s Movement (MUDHA), Groupe d’Appui aux Rapatriés et Réfugiés (GARR), and the human rights clinic of Columbia University’s School of Law, in New York, will represent the alleged victims at the Inter-American Court hearing to be held in Mexico City during its next extraordinary session.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights had already condemned the country in a similar case a few years ago, when Dominican girls of Haitian parents Dilcia Oliven Yean and Violeta Bosico were awarded damages for the government’s denial of their birth certificate.