Lawyer Vinicio Castillo Seman has called on the Dominican government to counteract what he described as the “slanderous and offensive international campaign” by Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Richard Casimir. Castillo says that the Haitian government official is spreading false information when he claims that the Dominican Constitutional Court ruling, which calls for fast-track procedures to regularize the status of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic as foreign residents and not Dominican nationals, would leave hundreds of thousands of citizens of Haitian origin stateless.
Castillo stressed that the Haitian Foreign Minister knows that the Article 11 of the Haitian Constitution establishes that “any person born to a Haitian father or Haitian mother who are themselves born Haitians and have never renounced their nationality at the time of birth has Haitian nationality of origin.” Castillo said that the Constitutional Court has not removed Dominican nationality since the people concerned have not legally acquired it.
The announcement was made during a forum held to analyze the scope of Ruling 168-13 of the Constitutional Court on Dominican nationality to foreigners that took place on Sunday, 20 October. During the same forum, the participants agreed to push for the prosecution of people securing false identity papers.
Former judge Juan Miguel Castillo Pantaleon said that they would appeal to the Office of Freedom of Access to Information to request the documentation of everyone who has illicitly obtained their birth certificates and IDs, or document forgery, identity theft from living or dead persons. He said that information is public and they could prosecute those responsible. Vinicio Castillo said he does not understand why local prosecutors have not taken people who have forged documents to court. Jose Miguel Vasquez, Cristina Aguiar, Juan Manuel Rosario and Trajano Vidal Potentini also took part in the event.
www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9696-haiti-denationalization-towards-a-dominican-diplomatic-cons-offensive.html
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/10/21/i407584_foro-denuncia-una-campaaa-internacional-contra-repablica-dominicana.html
www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2013/10/20/296562/Abogados-someteran-ONG-seinvolucren-en-suplantar-actas