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Haiti’s Foreign Minister, Dominique Dupuy, met with a delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on October 2, 2024, to address the safety and rights of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. The meeting, led by Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees, focused on migrant security and the ongoing efforts to provide identity documentation for Haitians living in the neighboring country.
Dupuy described the discussions as productive, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the rights of displaced Haitians and ensuring they have access to legal documentation. “Our exchanges addressed the situation of internally displaced persons and the security of migrants, particularly in the context of providing support for access to identity documents for Haitian nationals in the Dominican Republic,” Dupuy said.
The meeting also comes in the context of UNHCR’s ongoing appeal for international protection of Haitian nationals. In March 2024, UNHCR urged countries not to forcibly return Haitians, stating that they should be treated as refugees due to the deteriorating conditions in Haiti. The agency reiterated its stance that all Haitians, including those whose asylum requests were denied, should not be repatriated involuntarily.
Despite these appeals, the Dominican Republic has maintained its firm stance on deporting undocumented Haitian migrants. The Dominican government, citing national interests, stated that its policy remains aligned with current legislation, which allows for the repatriation of individuals residing illegally in the country. This position was reaffirmed in a March 2024 statement by the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to UNHCR’s request.
