Dominican Activists Visit New York To Denounce Government’s Revocation Of Citizenship of People Of Haitian Descent

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Two activists from the Dominican Republic will be in New York City this week to speak about a recent court decision that revoked the citizenship of hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent.

They will host a press conference at the headquarters of SEIU Local 1199 where they will present their recommendations for the restoration of the rights of thousands of Dominicans who have been dispossessed by the court decision. The recommendations will also be presented simultaneously during a press conference in Santo Domingo.

Ana María Belique is a human rights activist who has worked for years with Movimiento Reconoci.do, a group dedicated to defending the right to nationality of Dominicans of Haitian descent. As a young Dominican born to Haitian migrant parents, Ms. Belique is directly affected by the ruling.

Juan Bolívar Díaz is an award-winning journalist who writes for the newspaper Hoy and hosts the television program Uno Mas Uno. Mr. Bolívar Díaz is a founding member of the Committee of Solidarity with Denationalized Persons, a group of prominent Dominican journalists, lawyers, artists, activists, and other public figures. Along with Reconoci.do, the Committee of Solidarity has been a leading voice in the societal mobilization against the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling TC168-13.

Ms. Belique and Mr. Bolívar Díaz will also deliver the keynote address during the event “Citizenship and Human Rights in the Dominican Republic: A Discussion on the Constitutional Tribunal Ruling 168-13,” which will take place that evening at 6pm at Lehman College’s Lovinger Theatre.

The Dominican Republic has drawn worldwide condemnation for rendering as many as 200,000 of its own citizens stateless. In a recent public statement, Amnesty International called upon the Dominican government to address this grave human rights violation. “The situation is dramatic and needs an urgent solution. The Dominican Republic cannot postpone facing up to its responsibilities any longer. Dominicans of Haitian descent are being denied access to their identity documents not only since September 2013, but for over a decade now, with their lives in total limbo.”   


WHO: Ana María Belique and Juan Bolívar Díaz, Dominican activists

WHEN: Tuesday, May 13 at 10am

WHERE: SEIU Local 1199, 330 West 42nd Street

 

 

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