Dominican Republic deputies rebuff the UN on ‘statelessness’

Santo Domingo.- The Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved resolution in rebuke of an alleged international campaign aimed at accusing the Dominican Republic of creating stateless people.

Deputies Vinicio Castillo, Víctor Gómez, Luisín Jiménez, Elías Serulle, Marino Collante and Graciela Fermin warned that an international gathering hosted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to be held at the Hague next Wednesday will be the scene to accuse the country.

"The UNHCR which Mr. Gonzalo Vargas Llosa directs aims to present the case of Juliana Deguis Pierre as a stateless person when she is not," says the resolution.

They affirm that Law No.169 -14 combines a fair and humanitarian solution to foreign nationals born in Dominican territory, children of foreign parents in an irregular migratory situation and rules out the presence of any stateless person in the Dominican Republic

“The Central Electoral Board has been complying with law No169-14 that grants civil identity documents in favor of Juliana Deguis Pierre as well as another thousand people who were in the same situation, accrediting them as Dominican nationals in their identity documentation," the lawmakers said in the resolution.