Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph, who is the acting prime minister of Haiti, says that the Masacre River is a binational river and the use of its water is an inalienable right of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He said that irrigation canals have been opened in Dominican territory for agricultural purposes.
The Haitian government is building an irrigation canal that Dominican farmers say will affect the flow of water of the Masacre River. The river begins in the DR, then flows to Haiti before returning to the Dominican Republic.
Joseph said he is confident that within the framework of the Bilateral Mixed Dominican Republic-Haiti Joint Commission an agreement will be reached on the issue based on dialogue and understanding and a spirit of solidarity.
Claude met on Thursday, 27 May 2021 with Foreign Relations Minister Roberto Alvarez.
In report on the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic stated that both foreign ministers had discussed the matter and agreed to hold a meeting of the Joint Bilateral Commission to advance in the knowledge of the background and possible solutions to the impasse over the construction of the irrigation canal in the northern part of the border on the west bank of the Dajabón or Masacre River.
Alvarez and Joseph lead the opening of the meeting and are leaving the work up to the corresponding technical secretariats. The note on the preliminary meeting expresses that both foreign ministers agree that the interests of both nations must prevail, without either being affected in their purposes.
At the same time, they specified that the solution must respond to the norms of mutual respect, international law and the agreements signed between both countries.
The issue at hand is the decision of the Haitian government to build the canal that around 1,000 farmers in Dajabón, on the eastern side of the border say will affect their crops and all the coastal communities up to Manzanillo in the north. The construction they say violates the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Arbitrage signed by both countries on 20 February 1929. Art. 10 of the Treaty establishes that the parties commit to not do anything nor consent to any work that would affect the flow of the border river waters, as explained by geologist Osiris de León in El Caribe.
Somos Pueblo reports that the work continues at an advanced pace, despite the start of the talks.
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Ministry of Foreign Relations
N Digital
El Caribe
El Caribe
Haiti Libre
Haiti Libre
Listin Diario
El Caribe
El Caribe
Haiti Libre
Haiti Libre
Listin Diario
27 May 2021