THE RISK OF STATELESSNESS 50 YALE HUMAN RIGHTS & DEVELOPMENT L.J. 2017 [Vol. 19 Nevertheless, many states have viewed the statelessness protection regime with skepticism, and resisted international control over what they consider to be a sovereign matter. One major situation of statelessness is currently playing out on the island of Hispaniola, where the right to Dominican nationality for the children of Haitian migrants has been the topic of heated debate for decades. On one side of the debate, human rights advocates have argued that persons born to migrants in the Dominican Republic have acquired Dominican nationality under the Constitution as a matter of birthright.11 On the other, Dominican authorities have argued that an exception to the Constitutional rule of birthright nationality excludes from Dominican nationality the children of non-resident migrants, the vast majority of whom are Haitian.12 For these children with a disputed claim to Dominican nationality, much is at stake, including access to education, prospects for employment, legal identity, and protection from the collective expulsions that have swept the Dominican Republic for years.13 A main point of contention in the Dominican nationality debate is whether children of Haitian descent who are denied Dominican nationality are left stateless. This is more than semantics; it is significant both politically and legally if this population is classified as stateless. In political terms, it matters whether Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent are left stateless if they are denied Dominican nationality because stateless persons are covered by the mandate of the UNHCR.14 The UNHCR’s engagement in any such situation brings to bear technical and financial assistance that may not be available otherwise, as well as legitimacy in political spheres.15 In legal terms, it matters whether Dominican-born 11. See Human Rights Watch, Dominican Republic: Thousands at Risk of Deportation to Haiti (June 30, 2015), https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/30/dominican-republicthousands-risk-expulsion-haiti [https://perma.cc/4W8C-GU3S]. 12. See Monique A. Hannam, Soy Dominicano – The Status of Haitian Descendants Born in the Dominican Republic, 47 VAND. J. TRANSNAT’L L. 1123, 1143 (2014); Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 130, ¶ 121 (Sept. 8, 2005). 13. Amnesty Int’l, “Without Papers, I Am No One”: Stateless People in the Dominican Republic, AI Index AMR 27/2755/2015, at 42-48 (Nov. 2015), https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/without-papers_stateless-people-dominican-republic.pdf [https://perma.cc/AYJ2-UNPV] [hereinafter Amnesty Int’l Report on Stateless People in the Dominican Republic]. 14. See G.A. Res. 3274 (XXIX) (Dec. 10, 1974); G.A. Res. 31/36 (Nov. 30, 1976); see also G.A. Res. 50/152, ¶¶ 14-15 (1995) (encouraging UNHCR to continue to help stateless persons); G.A. Res. 61/137, ¶¶ 2-4 (2006) (recognizing UNHCR’s work). 15. The UNHCR has set up operations in the Dominican Republic and been instrumental in efforts to support civil society in its response to shifting Dominican nationality policy in recent years. See UNHCR, The Caribbean: Factsheet (Mar. 2017), http://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/UNHCR%20The%20Caribbean%20Factsheet% 20-%20March%202017.pdf [https://perma.cc/A3PG-NZQD] (noting that the UNHCR maintains a country office in the Dominican Republic); see also UNCHR, UNHCR Urges Dominican Republic to Refrain from Deportations of Stateless Individuals (June 19, 2015), http://www.unhcr.org/558417759.html [https://perma.cc/W4DY-MTTY] (summarizing a press briefing by a UNHCR spokesperson outlining the UNHCR’s positions on the status of stateless residents of Haitian descent). Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3111529