El Siglo news commentator, Orlando Gil, says that apparently Haiti wants to obtain migration concessions from the DR in exchange for its vote in favor of the DR sitting on the UN Security Council. Mexico aspires to the same post. Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Relations Phillipe Antonio Joseph has said that Haiti has not decided on its vote. He also says that Haiti would not use it to press for an improvement of relations between both countries. Gil interprets this as a warning to Dominican authorities that Haiti wants the concessions. Congress is studying a new Migration Bill, in general favorable to increased Haitian migration. The migratory issue is the most difficult between the two nations. Haiti wants the DR to legalize the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who live in the DR. For years, the authorities have avoided the issue, fearing this would only stimulate more immigration, increasing the burden on social services in the DR. For more information on the DR’s diplomatic efforts as of late to win the UN Security Council seat, see Caribbean expert John Collins’ recent report on the DR’s efforts to obtain the seat at http://www.thecaribbeaninvestor.com/article.shtml?browser_query=varticle&field=249
