The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has urged the Dominican Republic authorities to stop forcibly returning Haitians to the western edge of the island of Hispaniola.
«A week ago I called for a halt to deportations to Haiti, given the humanitarian and human rights crisis facing the country. I am concerned to see forced returns of Haitians to Haiti from the Dominican Republic continue,» Turk said in a statement.
According to the UN High Representative, Haiti does not currently meet the adequate security conditions for the «safe, dignified and sustainable» return of migrants given the «incessant armed violence and systematic human rights violations».
«I also call on the authorities of the Dominican Republic to redouble their efforts to prevent xenophobia, discrimination and related intolerance based on national, racial or ethnic origin or immigration status,» Turk concluded.
Turk himself last week called on the international community to act as soon as possible to resolve the current crisis in Haiti, a country that «is on the brink of the abyss» due to a succession of emergencies ranging from the political to the humanitarian, including growing insecurity.
The appearance of a cholera outbreak – more than 2,600 cases have already been recorded – and the upsurge in violence, especially in the metropolitan region of Port-au-Prince, are just two of the latest fronts that the poorest country in the western hemisphere must now fight. In just one week in October, more than 70 people were killed by armed gangs.
The activity of these groups has also resulted in blockades of fuel and humanitarian aid, at a time when 4.7 million people, almost half of the population, are facing severe levels of food insecurity. The UN has detected for the first time in Haiti extreme levels of malnutrition, comparable to famine situations.
