involved many thousands of persons. 143 In this regard, it has been pointed out that, during that decade, the Dominican Republic expelled to Haiti thousands of Haitians and an unknown number of Dominicans of Haitian descent. On several occasions, “the Dominican authorities have conducted mass expulsions of Haitians and Dominico-Haitians, rounding up thousands of people in a period of weeks or months and forcibly expelling them from the country.” 144 In its 1991 Annual Report published in February 1992, the Inter-American Commission reported that “starting on June 18, 1991, the Dominican Government has conducted mass expulsions of Haitians, involving many thousands to date [and, in this regard,] practices of the Dominican Government and its agents have been reported that violate the Convention.” Also, in 2009, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights underlined information indicating that “between 20,000 and 30,000 immigrants are expelled each year with no chance to appeal as a result of systematic discrimination because of race, skin colour, language and nationality, despite the fact that many have valid work permits and visas and some are in fact Dominicans with no family ties in Haiti.” Moreover, the representatives have provided documents which mention that the last “wave” of mass expulsions took place in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1999, when deportations of 35,000, 5,000, 25,000 and 20,000 Haitians respectively were recorded. 145 168. Meanwhile, the State “affirm[ed] that a national immigration policy based on racial profiling or skin color would be inoperable, because the Haitian physiognomy is very similar to [that of] a large part of the Dominican population.” In this regard, the Court notes that several international organizations have indicated otherwise, and have referred to the alleged racism not only on the strict basis of phenotypic traits that reveal African descent, but also on the basis of perceptions relating to the general aspect of those with dark skins. According to the report of the United Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the independent expert on minority issues, “anti-Haitianism,” which has a strong racial component, has played a very important role in the expulsion process. 146 Thus, they indicated that “These procedures were noted to be particularly targeting those who are presumed to be “Haitians”, a determination that would be mainly based on skin colour, without distinguishing between Haitians, Dominicans of Haitian descent and black 143 Case of the Yean and Bosico Girls Vs Dominican Republic, para. 109.10. Expert witness Bridget Wooding referred to “several peaks” of “mass expulsions” during the 1990s, stating, in particular, that “there were numerous abuses in a single month’; for example, in November 1999, 20,000 persons were expelled” (cf. Expert opinion provided by Bridget Frances Wooding before the Court during the public hearing). 144 Human Rights Watch indicated in its report that “[o]fficial statistics indicate that the government returned 14,639 Haitians in 2000, 17,524 in 1999, and 13,733 in 1998” (Human Rights Watch, Illegal People: Haitians and Dominico-Haitians in the Dominican Republic, p. 17). In this regard, expert witness Bridget Wooding, referring to the “predominant migratory model” since “at least the 1960s,” asserted that this is a “model known as ‘mass regulative deportations’,” which is a category for sociological analysis. She explained that this signified that “there is no effective regulation at the point of entry [of migrants into the State’s territory] and yet the authorities, the State, try to regulate through a process of mass regulative deportations” (cf. Expert opinion provided by Bridget Wooding during the public hearing). 145 Cf. 1991 Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; United Nations, Summary prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 – Dominican Republic, A/HRC/WG.6/6/DOM/3, of 27 July 2009, Available at: http://daccess-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/146/92/PDF/G0914692.pdf? OpenElement, and Minority Rights Group International, “Migration in the Caribbean: Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Beyond,” James Ferguson, July 2003 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, annex A06, fs. 3099 to 3143). 146 United Nations, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diène, and the independent expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, para. 91. According to these sources “ill-treatment and abuse during deportation is common.” The authorities who conduct deportation ‘sweeps’ confiscate legitimate identification documents, including identity cards and birth certificates. 55