Dominican officials’ performance at Human Rights hearing ‘shameful’

New York.- The deputy director of City University of New York (CUNY) Center for Dominican Studies on Wednesday called "shameful" the country’s performance the hearing of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR) in Washington, where in his view the Government envoys revealed the State’s lack of interest in resolving the plight of the thousands of Haitian immigrants affected by the Constitutional Court ruling he affirms strips them of Dominican nationality.

Anthony Stevens Acevedo said the Dominican delegation’s comments "ranged from embarrassing to disappointing, leaving the impression that Dominican Republic’s current Government, an Administration of the so-called disciples of Juan Bosch, doesn’t harbor any serious concern to resolve with dignity the limbo in which thousands of Dominicans descendants of Haitian immigrants are mired in."

The CUNY professor and prominent Haitians’ rights activist said he was disappointed by the delegation that went to the hearing from New York, after listening to the concerns and fears expressed by the human rights defenders from the Dominican Republic, and the response by government representatives. "They were completely evasive and uninformed, deferring practically all questions to the various government agencies which would be responder afterwards.”

The also member of the groups "Dominican x rights" and "We Are All Dominican" said none of the government official was able to adequately answer a single one of the questions posed by the Commissioners, justifying with the response that they must first consult with the Central Electoral Board.