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News > Dominican Republic

Hate Crimes Against Haitians to Be Investigated

  • Haitian migrants in a shelter, Monterrey, Mexico, Sep. 21, 2021.

    Haitian migrants in a shelter, Monterrey, Mexico, Sep. 21, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 29 September 2021
Opinion

In the Dominican Republic, "many hate crimes have enjoyed complete impunity in recent years," Haitianos RD spokesperson Roudy Joseph denounced.

On Tuesday, human rights defenders asked the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic to investigate "lynchings, death threats, and other hate crimes with racist and xenophobic motivations" perpetrated against Haitian immigrants.

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The Haitianos RD organization delivered a letter to the Attorney General Miriam German in which the complaints of human rights violations carried out since 2019 were reiterated. In that year, activists made the first complaint about a serious hate crime, when Haitians Victor Pierre and Esil Homme Atul were lynched in Santiago City.

"Many hate crimes, however, have enjoyed complete impunity in recent years," Haitianos RD spokesperson Roudy Joseph denounced and pointed out that the request for an investigation of hate crimes has received support from over 5,000 people from 20 countries.

"We hope that the Attorney General will do due diligence in the face of this very serious situation that threatens human rights and fundamental freedoms. We hope that she will take the pertinent actions in compliance with what the laws and the Constitution establish."

To avoid the perpetuation of impunity, a first step would be to convene a hearing with human rights defenders and the immigrant community to analyze actions that the Attorney General's Office could carry out according to its powers.

The situation of Haitian migrants in other Latin American countries also remains precarious. On Tuesday, Panama's Foreign Affairs Minister Erika Mouynes warned of a possible increase in migration flows towards the United States. According to this official, over 65,000 people would be crossing Panamanian territory with the intention of reaching the U.S. frontier.

"For months, we have been sounding the alarm about this," she recalled at a time when thousands of Haitians are trying to reach Panama from Colombia.

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