12 | Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic 5. 6. 7. mainly Dominicans of Haitian descent; retroactively depriving them of their nationality; and relegating them to the status of stateless persons, i.e., persons whom no State claims as its citizens under its laws. This situation has disproportionately affected people of Haitian descent, who frequently are identified as such, correct or incorrectly, based on the national origin or migratory status of their parents, skin color (especially those with a dark-colored skin), language ability or surnames, constituting a violation of the right to equality and non-discrimination. The Commission notes that over the years that it has monitored this situation and during his visit to the Dominican Republic, it has not received complaints or information on Dominicans of foreign descent, who were not of Haitian descent, who had faced barriers in recognition of their nationality, in access to the civil registry, as well as their identity documents. The new interpretation of the Constitutional Court retroactively deprived of their right to Dominican nationality to tens of thousands of people who had been considered Dominican during all of their lifetime, many of which were registered at birth as Dominican nationals by the competent authorities, and who throughout their lives had been granted other identity documents such as identity cards, electoral ID cards and passports. The arbitrary deprivation of nationality and the lack of recognition of the juridical personality of the affected group has placed them in disadvantage in the enjoyment of some of their human rights, as well as in a situation of extreme vulnerability of becoming victims of violations of many other human rights. Along with this order of ideas, the Commission considers that the interpretation given by Dominican authorities regarding the right to a nationality pursuant to application of the jus soli principle, as it has a discriminatory impact on persons of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic, is not compatible with the obligations stemming from international human rights law. Regarding this, the Commission observes that judgment TC/0168/13 disproportionately affected persons already subject to many forms of discrimination, especially on the basis of the criteria of race, national origin, and/or the migratory situation of their parents or their poverty. During the visit, the IACHR visited nine bateyes in various places of the country and observed the conditions of poverty, exclusion, and discrimination in which the inhabitants there lived. Poverty disproportionately affects persons of Haitian descent, and this situation is connected with the obstacles they encounter in terms of access to statistics registration and identity papers. Their lack of papers or the fact that these papers have been withheld, destroyed, or are being investigated, has made these persons face obstacles in terms of education, health, decent employment, entering into contracts, getting married, among others. The Commission’s monitoring of this situation over the years has highlighted a series of impediments preventing Haitian immigrants from regularizing their migratory situation in the country, which in turn entailed facing other obstacles to register their sons and daughters born in Dominican territory in the Civil Registry Office so that they can obtain identity documents certifying their Dominican nationality. The difficulties involving the interpretation of the clause of “in transit” foreigners by various authorities have, in practical terms, led to a situation whereby children are being impacted by the irregular migratory status of their parents, Organization of American States | OAS