UN finds 'deeply rooted' racism in Dominican Republic
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| Published on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 |
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SANTO DOMINGO,Dominican Republic (AFP): A UN delegation called on the Dominican Republic's government to recognize the existence of racism in the country against Haitian immigrants and the black population.
A delegation led by United Nations experts on racism and minority issues released a report which found "deeply rooted racist attitude" against Haitians and blacks in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
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| United Nations experts on racism and minority issues Doudou Diene (C) and Gay McDougall (R), offer a press conference in Santo Domingo. AFP PHOTO |
While the Dominican Republic's laws are not officially discriminatory, its immigration and naturalization rules are applied in such a manner, the delegation found.
In the report, the experts urged the Dominican government to show "political will" to change the situation by "recognizing the existence of the racism and discrimination."
The illegal immigration of Haitians in the Dominican Republic has been a source of tension between the two nations, whose rivalry dates back to the 19th century when the Dominican Republic ended 22 years of Haitian occupation in 1844.
The UN delegation arrived on October 23, headed by UN special rapporteur on racism Doudou Diene and Gay McDougall, an expert on minority relations.
Prior to the delegation's arrival, Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso denied that there was racial discrimination in his Spanish-speaking country.
"We do not persecute Haitians or blacks, as the authors of a defamation campaign against the Dominican Republican have irresponsibly wanted to promote," he said in a statement.
There are between 700,000 and 800,000 Haitians in the Dominican Republic, which has a total population of nine million people, according to various international organizations.
The Dominican constitution allows children born to foreigners in the country to gain citizenship, but the Supreme Court has excluded the newborns of illegal immigrants.
The ruling, which mostly affects children born to Haitians, was condemned by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in October 2005. |
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