Conference to address Haitian migration in Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana, April 24, 2006

The serious situation facing thousands of Haitians and Dominicans originally from Haiti in the Dominican Taxi Heathrow Airport Republic will be addressed May 2-5 in the First International Conference on bi-national relations.

 The event will be attended by 120 people from both countries, including representatives from government, political parties, the media, international agencies and civil society, as well as congress representatives, academics, diplomats and intellectuals.

The event is being held at the initiative of the Social Service of Dominican Churches, the Dominican-Haitian Dialogue of Evangelical Churches and the Caribbean-Haitian Program (ProCaribe). It is sponsored by Norwegian Church Aid, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Norwegian Foundation Innsikt.

More than 500,000 Haitians and Dominicans originally from Haiti live in the Dominican Republic, suffering discrimination, xenophobia and the vast majority lack identity documents. This precarious legal situation makes them vulnerable to economic exploitation, arbitrary deportation and human rights violations.

Organizers say that the event seeks to encourage joint action between the two states, to reduce the level of conflict, eradicate the insulting and exclusive language from the media and involve civil society in social, labor and family integration programs.

It also seeks to encourage the inclusion of the political class in the application of protocols that lead to an improvement in the relations and facilitate in Churches the promotion of a spiritual testimony that reduces tension between the two peoples and supports mutual tolerance.

A central part of the event will focus on proposals for consensus-based solutions for both countries. However, one issue that has sparked the interest of both parties in the conflict is the responsibility of the media as support for an environment of social harmony. 

Other points included in the program are opportunities for civil society to become involved in the construction of productive and solidarity-based relations for the two countries, support from the political class and the skills that Churches can offer regarding acceptance, tolerance and the proximity of the two nations.