The Trump Organization, Haitian immigration and the Dominican vote in the UN and OAS were topics raised during the US Senate confirmation hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee for appointed ambassador Robin Bernstein on 7 March 2018.
During the hearing, the Florida businesswoman committed to use her skills honed in the private, public and non-profit sectors in the United States to strengthen ties with the Dominican Republic. She spoke with pride of being the second woman US ambassador appointed to the country, after career diplomat Donna Hrinak.
She spoke after remarks by US Senator Ben Cardin who urged her “to understand the sensitivity of maintaining the objectivity of the mission in the Dominican Republic”. Cardin had expressed there is concern in Congress over continuing Trump Organization business activities in the Dominican Republic.
In her remarks during the hearing, Bernstein mentioned her Jewish heritage and expressed her alignment with human rights and her pleasure to come to a country that had welcomed Jewish refugees during World War II.
During the hearing, Bernstein answered a question by US Senator Cardin who spoke of “hundreds of thousands of stateless persons of Haitian descent living in the country”. Bernstein said she would work with US Embassy staff to help these to get passports. She said she would try and work with new ambassador in Haiti, Michele Sison, “if should there by any issues where we could partner together and try to make sure that the restoration of the people that are, quote, stateless have their rights.”
With the statement, the ambassador-to-be seemed to be acknowledging the failure of the Haitian government to provide its citizens with official documents, including passports. This delay is one of the main reasons for the lack of completion of the Haitian status regularization procedures begun by the Dominican Republic in 2014. The process, which should have lasted 18 months, has been delayed year after year as the Dominican government continues to extend the temporary permits to those waiting to secure Haitian documentation.
Most of the people living in Haiti are technically stateless because of the difficulties in obtaining an official Haitian government-issued identity document. The lack of documentation creates major problems for many Haitian who migrate to the Dominican Republic through illegal crossing points to find work, receive health and enroll in educational institutions.
The ambassadorial nominee also pledged to work to better align the Dominican Republic to US vote in international forums such as the United Nations and OAS, responding to concerns expressed by Senator Marco Rubio. Senator Rubio criticized the Dominican Republic for not supporting recent US positions on Israel and Venezuela.
Responding to the statements, Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas told Diario Libre: “We will have to properly inform the ambassador when at the proper time, but we understand that the Dominican Republic is a sovereign country.” He made the statement prior to traveling to Chile for the inaugural ceremony of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.
See the full video of the statements by Bernstein and the legislators at the hearing.
C-Span
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
12 March 2018
