Haiti, Dominican Republic Hold Talks on Citizenship Ruling
Above: the meeting in Santo Domingo
By the Caribbean Journal staff
A delegation from Haiti visited Santo Domingo on Friday to discuss the recent Constitutional Court decision that could strip hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the Dominican Republic of their citizenship, according to a Senate statement.
Depending on how it is implemented, the ruling could apply to anyone born to foreign parents in the country since 1929.
Reinaldo Pared Perez, President of the Dominican Republic’s Senate, received in his office a delegation of Haitian legislators and recently-recalled Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Fritz Cineas.
It was led by Simon Dieuseul Desras, president of the Haitian Senate, along with Senators Wencesclass Lambert, Jean Baptiste Bien Aime and Jocelerme Privert, along with Cineas.
Pared was accompanied by Senator Prim Pujals and Pastor Vazquez, an official at the Dominican Republic’s Embassy in Haiti.
The ruling led the UN to issue a statement urging the Dominican Republic to protect the rights of Haitians born in the country.
The two sides reportedly agreed to form a joint commission to discuss the ruling.
