The Caribbean Community issued a statement on Thursday, 17 October expressing concern over the recent citizenship ruling (168-13) in the Dominican Republic that it says could leave hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent without a nationality, as reported in Caribbean Journal.
It was the first major pronouncement from CARICOM since last month’s ruling. The ruling orders the government to fast-track residency papers for eligible people born in the Dominican Republic to illegal parents and rejects applying the principle of jus solis, or granting nationality to children born in the Dominican Republic.
“The Caribbean Community notes with regret that the decision goes against pronouncements of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which has repeatedly called on the Dominican Republic to adopt measures to guarantee the right to nationality in the country and to adapt its immigration laws and practices in accordance with the provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights,” CARICOM said in the statement.
CARICOM said it called on the Dominican Republic to “adopt measures to protect the human rights and interests of those made vulnerable by this ruling and its grievous effects.”
www.caribjournal.com/2013/10/17/caricom-concerned-over-citizenship-ruling-in-dominican-republic/