Chapter 2 The Right to Nationality and Judgment TC/0168/13 of the Constitutional Court | 127 province of San Pedro de Macorís; Batey 62, Batey Como Quieras, Batey Hoyo Puerco, and Batey Guaymate, in the province of La Romana; and Batey 6, in the province of Bahoruco. In the course of these visits, the IACHR observed the conditions of poverty, exclusion, and discrimination in which their inhabitants lived who were for the most part sugar cane cutters. 306. Since its early years, the Commission has observed with great concern the living conditions in the bateyes and the working conditions of the cane cutters during the sugarcane harvest in the Dominican Republic. 304 During its visit to that country in 1991 and again in 1997 305 and in its 2001 follow-up report, 306 the IACHR noted that the working and living conditions in the country were extremely harsh. 307. During its visits to the bateyes in December 2013, the Commission observed that living conditions were extremely precarious and that some of the situations the inhabitants experienced, even though they might be similar to those of persons living in poverty in the Dominican Republic, were inhuman and degrading. Human rights organizations informed the Commission that persons living in the bateyes, most of whom are Haitian immigrants and their descendants born in the Dominican Republic, continued to be victims of racial and ethnic discrimination and human rights violations. 308. The Commission also received information to the effect that sugarcane plantation workers living in the bateyes still faced restrictions on their right to freedom of movement and residence as they were obliged to live in bateyes that were enclosed and monitored by armed guards and where women were allowed in only on weekends, in many cases to offer sexual services to the workers. 309. The Commission was also informed that in some cases the cane cutters continued to be paid in vouchers rather than in cash. These vouchers were not accepted in local establishments but could only be used in company stores. It was also reported that wages were very low and that the workers and their families could barely subsist. 310. In general, the Commission observed precarious conditions in the bateyes—the areas where the cane cutters live. Although the lodgings are provided free of charge, they are inadequate, with neither electricity nor waste water evacuation. Overcrowding and the lack of hygiene, drinking water, and latrines constitute serious problems. These deficiencies create conditions conducive to illnesses like diarrhea, malaria, and tuberculosis. 304 305 306 In a report published in 1965, the IACHR, referring to living conditions in the bateyes, said “[t]hese workers (cane cutters) live in barracks (bateyes) that are overcrowded, without sanitation or drinking water.…Some of them do not have beds or take turns using them. They have little or shabby clothing and some do not have shoes and cannot walk to work. Most are seriously undernourished and many, especially the children, require medical care.” See, IACHR, The Situation of Political Refugees in the Americas.” Report prepared by the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.11 Doc. 7, November 2, 1965, p. 542. During its visit in 1997, the Commission visited four bateyes: San Joaquín, Culata, and Mata los Indios, on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, and Batey Nº 5, in the province of Barahona, pars. 18, 335, and ff. IACHR, Follow-Up Report on Compliance with the Recommendations of the IACHR on the Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic, 2001. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | IACHR