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Protect the rights of children in the Dominican Republic

Background

A year has passed since the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the government of the Dominican Republic to reform its discriminatory birth registration policy, and the Dominican government has failed to comply with the Court’s orders.

  • On October 7, 2005, the Inter-American Court concluded that the Dominican government violated the rights of Dominican-born children of Haitian ancestry by refusing to issue them birth certificates because of their ancestry.
  • The ruling recognized the rights to Dominican nationality and education for Dominican-born children of Haitian ancestry.
  • After months of arguing that the State had no duty to comply with the ruling, the Dominican Government announced before the OAS General Assembly on June 5, 2006 that it fully intended to comply with the October 7, 2005 judgment rendered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. During an OAS General Meeting in June 5, 2006, Carlos Morales Troncoso, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Dominican Republic declared that the DR State accepts the jurisdiction of the Court and publicly announces that it will comply with the rulings of the sentence. However, contrary to this announcement, the DR has failed to follow through with their promises.

By denying nationality to these children, the Dominican government systematically restricts their freedom of movement as well as their access to education and work, thereby ensuring that they remain in isolated, impoverished conditions.

  • An estimated 280,000 Dominican-born individuals of Haitian descent lack documentation, and consequently live in fear of deportation to Haiti, where they have little, if any, ties. Lack of documentation effectively restricts their freedom of movement, forcing them to stay near migrant labor camps, where immigration officers rarely venture.
  • Without a birth certificate, a child in the Dominican Republic cannot advance beyond the seventh grade, and as an adult will be ineligible for a legal job.

The October 7, 2005 ruling ordered the Dominican government to overhaul its birth registration system so that all Dominican-born children may obtain birth certificates, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The ruling also required the government to open its schools’ doors to all children, including Dominico-Haitians.

  • The Dominican government has failed to implement the measures ordered by the Court. In fact, the Dominican judiciary and legislature have taken steps to ensure that the discriminatory policy continues.
  • The refusal of the government to comply with the ruling continues, despite the legally binding nature of the Inter-American Court’s judgments. The Dominican state is obligated to comply because it has ratified the American Convention on Human Rights and has formally recognized the Court's jurisdiction.

Urge Dominican authorities to take immediate steps to reform the birth registration system so that all Dominican-born children have access to Dominican nationality and education, in compliance with the October 7, 2005 ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

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