descent. 129 Similarly, in 2005, the Human Development Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) issued a National Human Development Report on the Dominican Republic in which it stated that: [As a result of migration and the transformation of the economic model,] the [Dominican] national identity and regional identities are undergoing profound changes […]. These processes are influenced by aspects [such as] the Haitian immigration, which can be represented by the following equivalent: Haitian – cheap labor – rejected negritude – an element that can be expelled. 130 For its part, in 1999, the Inter-American Commission reported, based on pre-1983 sources, 131 that “historically it has been denounced that Haitian workers who cross the border to work in the sugarcane harvest […] have been the victims of a whole array of abuse by the authorities, from assassinations, abusive treatment, mass expulsions, exploitation, deplorable living conditions, and the failure to recognize their labor rights.” 132 161. On other aspects, the evidence provided to the Court reveals that, in the Dominican Republic, Haitians or those of Haitian descent enjoy their own cultural life, religious freedom, and access to services provided by the State or public entities, such as health care, education, and justice, although this is not a restrictive assertion. Thus, for example, expert witness Ferrán Brú stated the following: In 2011, at least 12,000 Haitians were enrolled in Dominican universities and, of these, many attend the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. The State allows different radio stations to broadcast in Creole and French. Religious ceremonies take place that are non-Christian, although they are syncretic, in other words gagá and voodoo rites, in which Haitians and Dominicans take part indiscriminately. There are no cultural or, in particular state, prohibitions against people speaking Haitian Creole, and there is no law that, by its application, makes a distinction among Dominicans based on their racial characteristics. To the contrary, acts of discrimination are penalized. Also, expert witness Bridget Frances Wooding admitted that “Haitian immigrants” have “access to services,” in relation to “health care, […] education [and] justice.” 162. Nevertheless, some factors that are relevant owing to their relationship to the facts of this case should be examined in greater detail: the alleged difficulties for Haitians or those of Haitian descent to register births and to obtain documents, as well as the alleged existence, in such cases, of systematic practices of collective expulsions of Haitians and persons of Haitian descent. These aspects are examined below. A.2. The alleged problem for Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent to obtain official documents 129 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, Mission to the Dominican Republic, A/HRC/7/19/Add.5, p. 2 and paras. 7, 37 and 46. 130 National Human Development Report on the Dominican Republic, Human Development Office of the United Nations Development Programme, 2005, p. 152. 131 The Commission cited: “ILO Report, 1983; Manuel Mandruga, Trabajadores Haitianos en la República Dominicana,” in “1991 Annual Report of the Commission, OEA. Ser.L/V/II. 81, doc. 6, rev. 1, of February 14, 1992. In general, it indicated that its report was “the result of information and opinions […] that the Commission had gathered before, during and after the on-site observation mission carried out in June 1997.” (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on the situation of human rights in the Dominican Republic, October 7, 1999. OAS/Ser.L/V/II.104, para. 317. Available at http://www.cidh.org/countryrep/Rep.Dominicana99sp/indice. htm). 132 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report on the situation of human rights in the Dominican Republic, October 7, 1999. OAS/Ser.L/V/II.104, para. 317. 52

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