OAS Calls for Dominican-Haitian Dialogue, Support for Displaced

The Organization of American States has recommended support for displaced people and dialogue between the Dominican Republic and Haiti as a means to address heightened tensions between the two countries recently flared by the Dominican Republic's controversial immigration policy.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro presented observations and recommendations on Wednesday from the OAS mission in the Dominican Republic and Haiti earlier this month when delegates met with government officials and civil society groups from both countries to assess the migration situation.

[LIVE] #OASSG @Almagro_OEA2015 presents report of OAS mission to #DomRep-#Haiti http://t.co/IlfzbSAVZh pic.twitter.com/0GTu60kk6B

— OAS (@OAS_official) July 29, 2015

“It is recognized that the Dominican Republic has the right, as a sovereign country, to establish and implement its own immigration policy,” said Almagro to the OAS meeting. “Haitian authorities recognize this right of the Dominican Republic, however, they point out that any transfer of people must be carried out according to established and agreed upon international standards.”

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The Dominican Republic has defended its regularization plan as a sovereign issue despite the policy being widely criticized as discriminatory and anti-Haitian, while Haiti has condemned the Dominican Republic for fomenting a humanitarian crisis on the shared Caribbean island.

The OAS made five recommendations focused on promoting bilateral dialogue and mechanisms to protect the rights of displaced people. Almagro also offered for the OAS to facilitate the recommended dialogue process.

Among the recommendations, the report requests that “national authorities and the international community seek mechanisms to help the displaced persons, in particular the most vulnerable.”

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Welcoming the recommendations, Haitian President Michel Martelly said on his twitter account that he thanked the OAS for the report on the behalf of Haitian people and that he supported the proposal for bilateral dialogue between the two countries.

Au nom du Peuple Haitien, je remercie l'OEA pour son rapport. Je me félicite pour les recommendations faites.

— Michel J. Martelly (@MichelJMartelly) July 28, 2015

“In the name of the Haitian people, I thanks the OAS for its report. I am pleased with the recommendations made.”

Nous encourageons notamment le dialogue bilatéral et la nécessité d'un mécanisme d'entente pour un processus de rapatriement ordonné.

— Michel J. Martelly (@MichelJMartelly) July 28, 2015

“We encourage such bilateral dialogue and the need for an agreed upon mechanism for an orderly repatriation process.”

The report acknowledges that displaced populations have been forced into “surviving in precarious conditions,” but opted not to include figures, warning that statistics about the number of people who have already crossed the Dominican-Haitian border cannot be confirmed.

The shared Caribbean island of Hispaniola has recently been pushed to the brink of a migration crisis as tens of thousands of Haitian-Dominicans face mass expulsion from the Dominican Republic and poverty-stricken Haiti lacks the resources to support a massive influx of migrants.

Refugee camps springing up on #DomRep- #Haiti border. @NPRnews http://t.co/6HX1ujghzB http://t.co/YTaSnDgxOf pic.twitter.com/n6iCOwWehb

— CIP Latin America (@CIPLatinAmerica) July 28, 2015

Half a million Haitian descendants living in the Dominican Republic instantly became stateless people when a 2013 Dominican court decision stripped them of citizenship retroactively. With limited spaces in the government's regularization plan and challenges navigating the process, the recent government-imposed deadline for undocumented migrants to register with immigration authorities was essentially a deportation order for Haitian-descendants.

RELATED: The Origins of Anti-Haitian Sentiment in the Dominican Republic

Human rights activists say the immigration law just shows the Dominican Republic's long history of discrimination against Haitians.

Anti-Haitian sentiments and violence have deep roots that analysts link to the colonial history of the shared island of Hispaniola and historical development of economic and racial hierarchies.

WATCH: On Just Cause, Piedad Cordoba explores the legal abuses committed in the Dominican Republic against citizens of Haitian descent based on changes to the country's laws and constitution