Gonsalves calls for Dom Rep suspension from CARIFORUM

St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has called for the suspension of the Dominican Republic from the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) as the fallout continues from the Constitutional Court ruling that could render stateless, thousands of people of Haitian descent living in the Spanish-speaking country.

In a November 11 letter to President Danilo Medina, the St Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister said he had also written to Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, recommending that the Dominican Republic be suspended from the Caracas-led PetroCaribe initiative.

"As you are aware that the 1X Summit of Petrocaribe is scheduled for Caracas on December 16, 2013. If the situation for the citizens-by-birth of the Dominican Republic of Haitian descent is not favourably altered, I intend to raise the matter forcefully at this Summit," Gonsalves wrote.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM, as well as the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), have criticised the ruling made on September 23, with the IACHR saying that it "retroactively modifies legislation that was in effect from 1929 to 2010, and thus would strip Dominican citizenship from tens of thousands of people born in the Dominican Republic".

SERIOUS QUESTION

CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque said the ruling "raises a serious question about the status of the numerous" Dominican Republic nationals of Haitian extract," while St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves in a letter to President Danilo Medina said the court's decision was "unacceptable in any civilised community".

The international human rights group, Amnesty International and the Organization of American States have also expressed concern over the ruling and the US-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) said the ruling had turned the Dominican Republic into a "ticking time bomb".

- CMC