News Americas, SANTO DOMINGO, DR, Weds. Oct. 12, 2011: Nearly 1,600 birth certificates belonging to residents of Haitian descent have been annulled by the Dominican Republic government, a migrant advocacy group charged Tuesday.
Sonia Adames, director of Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Services, told reporters Tuesday that an investigation by the group found that 48 percent of Haitians surveyed have been unable to register their children as Dominican citizens.
She said 72 percent of those affected are between 15 and 30 years old and have been unable to find a job, open a bank account or enroll in school as a result.
Several local and international nonprofit groups have filed complaints similar to Adames’ charges with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, which is still holding hearings on the matter.
A government official denied anyone had been wrongly denied a birth certificate and said a a 2007 measure that he approved to reduce the use of fake documents has not led to unnecessary confiscations or annulments of birth certificates for people of Haitian descent.
