IACHR condemns attacks on rights defenders in the Dominican Republic

October 16, 2024

Washington, DC – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the attack perpetrated in the Dominican Republic against the headquarters of the Sociocultural Movement for Humanitarian and Environmental Work (MOSCTHA), an organization that advocates for migrants' rights. The IACHR calls on the Dominican State to preserve the safety of MOSCTHA's staff so they may do their work without intimidation, as well as the safety of beneficiaries who visit the organization's offices.

On October 2, the Dominican Republic's Security and National Defense Council announced the immediate implementation of a plan to deport more than 10,000 irregular migrants per week. Several civil society organizations went on to denounce that this entails various violations of the human rights of migrants and stateless persons, among others by allowing mass deportations, deportations of unaccompanied children, confiscations of personal identification documents, and overcrowding in migrant detention facilities.

MOSCTHA informed the IACHR that, on October 8, groups in favor of the new migrant deportation policy surrounded the organization's headquarters. Attackers reportedly demanded to speak to MOSCTHA staff, while they shouted stigmatizing slogans against Haitians. MOSCTHA staff requested protection from the National Police, but said they did not receive protection.

The IACHR notes that these events took place in a broader context marked by racism, xenophobia, and other forms of hostility against Haitians and human rights defenders that the IACHR already documented in the past.

The Dominican State condemned all acts of violence against human rights defenders and acknowledged the role played by human rights defenders as key actors within civil society, as well as the essential contributions they make to the design and validation of public policies to promote and protect human rights. The Dominican State said that, on October 8, the National Police did go to MOSTCHA's headquarters to provide protection and assistance in case the protest endangered personal integrity or private property.

Concerning its migration policy, the State said that it was trying to improve governance and the management of large migrant inflows while respecting the principles of a social and democratic State and the rule of law. The State stressed that all actions would comply with the country's laws and that Dominican authorities remained open to cooperating with the international community. The State noted that all deportations would be conducted on an individual basis, in keeping with the applicable international standards, and would be supervised by the authorities of competent jurisdiction.

The IACHR stresses how important the work of human rights defenders is for democracy and the rule of law in all societies. The IACHR further notes that unlawful entry and other arbitrary or abusive forms of interference with the facilities of human rights organizations or their members' homes undermine the actions of these organizations in defense of human rights.

The IACHR therefore calls on the State to protect the safety of all human rights defenders, so they may do their work without harassment or threats linked to that work. In this case, the State's obligation goes beyond providing material means to protect defenders' personal integrity or ensuring that its own officers will not interfere with defenders' full exercise of their own human rights. It also requires addressing the structural causes that undermine the safety of rights defenders, in order to create appropriate conditions for them to be able to exercise their own rights.

Finally, the IACHR calls on States in the Americas to work toward expanding regular channels for international migration. This requires the adoption and implementation of specific mechanisms that help not only to reduce irregular migration, but also to address its economic, social, and security-related causes by enabling decent living conditions and ensuring the exercise of human rights in migrants' countries of origin to put an end to forced displacement.

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 248/24

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