rights for all segments of its population.35 These responses are emblematic of the Dominican
Republic’s refusal to directly recognize the discrimination and marginalization faced by Dominicans
of Haitian descent or even acknowledge the existence of a single case of statelessness36 and serve
to highlight the State’s use of inclusive and cooperative rhetoric while simultaneously enacting
discriminatory policies and refusing international collaboration.
IV.
The Dominican Republic’s national legal framework regarding nationality
laws and human rights
14.
In recent decades, the Dominican Republic has restricted the enjoyment of the right to a nationality
for Dominican-born descendants of migrants through its legal framework. Beginning with the
Constitution of 1929, the Dominican Republic granted citizenship through the principle of jus soli
(“right of the soil”) to any person born in the country, with the exception of children born to foreign
diplomats and children born to persons in transit.37 The 1939 Migration Law established that the
concept of “in transit” applied to persons in the country for ten days or fewer, with the purpose of
reaching another destination.38
15.
In 2004, the Dominican Republic enacted Migration Law 285-0439, which in Article 36 expanded the
“in transit” exemption to apply to all non-residents and established a new system for the acquisition
of Dominican nationality, effectively depriving the children of those born to parents with an
irregular migratory status from Dominican nationality, in violation of the Constitution in place at
the time.40
16.
On January 26, 2010, the Dominican Republic adopted a new Constitution, which in Article 18.3
explicitly states that children of foreigners “residing illegally in the Dominican territory” are not
entitled to Dominican nationality.41 At the same time, Article 18.2 states that “those who enjoy the
Dominican nationality before the entry into effect of this Constitution” are Dominicans. 42
Furthermore, Article 74 establishes that human rights treaties, pacts, and conventions have
constitutional hierarchy, and that norms concerning fundamental human rights and their
35
República Dominicana. Presentación del 4 informe de la República Dominicana del Pacto Internacional de Derechos
Económicos, Sociales y Culturales: 59 Sesión del Comité.
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CESCR/Shared%20Documents/DOM/INT_CESCR_STA_DOM_25322_S.pdf.
36
Fernández, Leonel. “En República Dominicana, No Existe La Apatridia.” 18 de enero de 2016. Leonel Fernández.
https://leonelfernandez.com/articulos/en-republica-dominicana-no-existe-la-apatridia/.
37
Constitución Política de la República Dominicana, proclamada 20 de junio de 1929. Art. 8.
38
Reglamento de migración número 279, del 12 de mayo de 1939. Sección V. Proclamada en la Gaceta Oficial No. 6593.
http://www.acnur.org/fileadmin/Documentos/BDL/2001/0241.pdf?file=fileadmin/Documentos/BDL/2001/0241.
39
Ley General de Migración Núm. 285-04, de 15 de Agosto de 2004. Proclamada en la Gaceta Oficial No. 10291.
40
Observatorio Migrantes del Caribe. Estado de la cuestión de la población de los bateyes dominicanos en relación a la
documentación. OBMICA. Editora Búho: República Dominicana. Enero 2014; Ley 285/04.
41
Constitución Política de la República Dominicana, proclamada el 26 de enero de 2010. Publicada en la Gaceta Oficial No.
10561.
42
Id.
7