REPORT Nº 68/05 PETITION 12.271 ADMISSIBILITY BENITO TIDE MÉNDEZ, ANTONIO SENSIÓN, ANDREA ALEZI, JANTY FILS-AIME, WILLIAM MEDINA FERRERAS, RAFAELITO PÉREZ CHARLES, BERSON GELIM, ET AL. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC October 13, 2005 I. SUMMARY 1. On November 12, 1999, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter "the Commission" or the “IACHR”) received a petition lodged by the Human Rights Clinic of the Berkeley University of California School of Law (Boat Hall), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), and the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) (all hereinafter “the petitioners"1), against the Dominican Republic (hereinafter, the State). Initially the complaint did not specify the names of alleged individual victims; subsequently however, the petitioners identified the following individuals as possible victims: Benito Tide Méndez, Antonio Sensión, Andrea Alezi, Janty Fils-Aime, William Medina Ferreras, Rafaelito Pérez Charles, and Berson Gelim, all Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin and residents of the Dominican Republic (hereinafter, the alleged victims). In their complaint, the petitioners claim that the State has a policy of deportation2 and expulsion of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian origin that has given rise to human rights violations against Haitian workers, documented and undocumented alike, as well as against documented and undocumented Dominicans of Haitian origin. The petitioners contend that this policy has impinged on the rights of the alleged victims and that the rights violated are set forth in Articles 3 (Juridical Personality), 5 (humane treatment), 7 (personal liberty), 8 (due process guarantees), 17 (right of the family), 19 (rights of the child), 20 (nationality), 22 (movement and residence), 24 (equal protection) y 25 (juridical protection), all of them in connection with Article 1.1 (obligation to take measures) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter, the Convention). 2. The State claims that the repatriation process is grounded in domestic law and incorporates due process guarantees including the individual processing of cases and the right to a defense and legal counsel. It further states that the process is carried out through a joint decisionmaking process with the Haitian government, especially through a bilateral commission established in 1996, and that these measures have been improved upon through domestic legal reforms and inter-country cooperation. The State also asserts that the Dominican State has the irrenunciable right, as an attribute of sovereignty, to repatriate foreigners residing in the country illegally, and that this does not contravene any treaty or convention signed by the Dominican State. 3. After analyzing the positions of the parties, the Commission concludes that it is competent to take up the complaint lodged by the petitioners and that the case is admissible under Articles 46 y 47 of the American Convention. The Commission also resolves to publish the instant report in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the OAS and to notify both parties. II. PROCESSING BEFORE THE COMMISSION 4. On November 17, 1999, the Commission received a petition with a request for precautionary measures and registered it as case 12.271, in accordance with its rules of procedure in force at that time. On November 22, 1999, during its 105 regular session, the Commission asked the State to adopt precautionary measures. On November 24 and 29, 1999, the Dominican State submitted additional information, without prejudice to a subsequent response. On November 1 See infra para. 5, in which the Human Rights Clinic of the Columbia University School of Law are added as petitioners in the case 2 The term deportation is used to refer to the removal of foreigners and the term expulsion for the removal of nationals from their own territory. Original written complaint submitted by the petitioners in the file before the IACHR, pp. 1-10. 1