[www.inewsguyana.com] – Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Irwin LaRocque, has reiterated the Community’s call on the Dominican Republic to take steps to “right the wrong” resulting from a ruling on nationality made by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic.
The ruling retroactively stripped tens of thousands of nationals from the Dominican Republic, mostly Haitians, of citizenship and rendered them stateless.
The Secretary General was speaking at a ceremony where Haiti’s first plenipotentiary representative Peterson Benjamin Noel handed over his letters of credence at the CARICOM Secretariat’s offices Turkeyen, Georgetown, Guyana.
LaRocque noted that the Bureau of the Conference of the Heads of Government on behalf of the entire Community condemned the ruling, which violated regional and international human rights obligations. He said CARICOM would continue to provide support to Haiti as it fights for the respect for the rights and citizenship of members of its Diaspora.
The Secretary General also remarked on the considerable progress made by Haiti, as it continued its reconstruction following the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. He said the thoughts and prayers of CARICOM would continue to be with the people of Haiti as they commemorate the anniversary of this tragedy on 12 January.
He noted that St Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Dominica would also be dealing with the aftermath of the devastating effects of a climatic event that hit hard during the Christmas season and conveyed his sympathies and support to those affected. [Caribbean News Now]
