Dominican leader tells UN “stateless” Haitians issue ‘not up to me’

Santo Domingo.- UN representative in the country Lorenzo Jiménez on Friday asked president Danilo Medina to meet with a Committee of the sons of Haitian parents born in the country on concerns they don’t have identity documents, often referred to as a “stateless” situation.

Although Medina agreed to the request, he clarified that it’s a case under the jurisdiction of another Dominican government power, the Central Electoral Board), in which he doesn’t have any say.

Jiménez provided the information after meeting with the president, who affirmed that all UN agencies seek to hold regular meetings to follow up on their programs.

"On the topic on Dominicans of Haitian descent, and the President is extremely respectful of the separation of powers, he said it’s an issue that has been in the spotlight for many years, with many facets and as such, it concerns the State’s highest office, but cannot have more incidence than what it already has because it’s a another State power,” Jimenez said.

The UN official added that the meeting dealt with several topics of interest, among them education, poverty and its various ways of measuring, and on sexual and reproductive health and human rights.