The Dominican Republic on Tuesday rejected accusations of alleged deportations of Haitian minors after they were allegedly separated from their parents.
The country’s Directorate General of Migration has indicated that there are no cases of minors who have been separated from their parents, according to data in which they point out that more than 150,000 foreigners have been returned to their country since 2020.
«At all times and in compliance with the laws of the Dominican Republic and international treaties, all deportations are carried out in total and absolute respect for the dignity of persons and their human rights,» the country’s director general of migration, Venancio Alcántara, has assured in statements collected by the Dominican Presidency office.
In this line, Alcántara has detailed that there are specific procedures when minors are involved in the process. «At all times the minors are with their parents and, when these have not been located, the minors are referred directly to the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) which is in charge of their care», he indicated.
The clarification of the Director General, the Government’s statement adds, comes after CNN affirmed that «the Dominican Republic expelled this year hundreds of children to Haiti without their families».
CNN’s information is based on data provided exclusively by a UNICEF spokesperson to the television channel, in which he indicated that the United Nations agency for children would have received at least 1,800 unaccompanied children that the Dominican immigration authorities delivered to Haiti since the beginning of the year.
UNICEF also indicated that «many minors arrive without identity documents», being «sent» to the country among deported adults.
The Haitian government reproached the Dominican Republic for its «inhuman and degrading treatment» of Haitian migrants, after the wave of deportations had raised doubts even in the United Nations, which last week also expressed its concern about this context.
Port-au-Prince has echoed «shocking images» reported by the media to urge Santo Domingo to give «a respectful treatment with human dignity» to those who cross to the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola, shared by both countries.
The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, already warned last week that his government «will continue to repatriate Haitian citizens who are illegally in the country», arguing that migration management is the exclusive responsibility of the national authorities.
Under this premise, Abinader dismissed as «unacceptable and irresponsible» the criticisms of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who demanded the cessation of «forced returns» due to the political, economic and social crisis in which Haiti is immersed.
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».
