VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0192/01 0381633
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071633Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0098
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 4784

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000192 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SMIG CASC HA DR
SUBJECT: OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVE CONDEMNS DR BIRTH 
REGISTRATION SYSTEM 
 
REF: A. 07 SANTO DOMINGO 479 
 
     ¶B. 07 SANTO DOMINGO 2495 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: EmbOffs met with representatives of the 
Soros affiliated Open Society Justice Initiative to discuss 
the Dominican Republic,s birth registration policy, 
especially how it adversely affects Dominicans of Haitian 
descent.  The Justice Initiative highlighted deficiencies 
with the country,s current birth registration system, and 
discussed other related issues with documentation.  These 
issues remain a continuing concern for the Embassy as the 
GODR has not shown sufficient will to acknowledge and address 
the issue.  End summary. 
 
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Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) is an 
operational program of the Open Society Institute, an NGO 
founded and chaired by George Soros.  The Justice Initiative 
states that it pursues law reform activities grounded in the 
protection of human rights, and contributes to the 
development of legal capacity for open societies worldwide. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Dominican constitution grants citizenship to all 
children born on Dominican soil, except for the children of 
diplomats and the children of persons who are "in transit." 
In 2004 the Dominican Congress modified provisions of its 
immigration law to exclude from eligibility for Dominican 
citizenship the children of non-resident mothers (Ref A). 
The non-resident category includes tourists, travelers in 
transit to other countries, temporary workers, persons who 
entered the country legally but overstayed their visas, and 
undocumented migrants.  The Dominican Supreme Court upheld 
the law,s constitutionality in 2005. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Justice Initiative Condemns Current Birth Registration 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On January 28 EmbOffs met with OSJI representatives 
Julia Harrington, Indira Goris and Liliana Gamboa. 
Harrington, a Senior Legal Officer with the Justice 
Initiative, stated that the Dominican Republic has 
implemented legislative and bureaucratic measures that have 
rendered a number of Dominicans of Haitian descent 
effectively or functionally stateless.  The 2004 immigration 
law created the Registry of Foreigners or "Pink Book" ("libro 
de extranjeria" or "libro rosado"), which allows children 
born in the Dominican Republic of non-resident mothers to be 
registered in the special Registry of Foreigners.  The 
Registry does not confer citizenship.  The parent must take 
the special birth certificate to the parent,s corresponding 
Embassy or Consulate to request citizenship for the child 
(Ref A).  Harrington highlighted that although the law allows 
for documenting children of non-resident mothers in the 
Registry of Foreigners, the law also deprives Dominicans of 
Haitian descent of what she considers a lawful constitutional 
right to a Dominican nationality. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In addition, the Justice Initiative claims to have 
documented cases of the Central Elections Board (JCE) putting 
on administrative or investigative review requests for copies 
of birth certificates or national ID and voting cards 
(cedulas) of individuals who look Haitian or whose parents 
are of Haitian descent.  Both Harrington and a previous UN 
report state that the JCE has issued Circular 17, relating to 
suspicious documents, which gave instructions allowing 
working level officials to question or confiscate documents 
belonging to those of Haitian descent (Ref B).  Sonia Pierre, 
Director of the Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women (MUDHA), 
has reported similar incidents.  (Note: To date, the Embassy 
has not been provided with a copy of Circular 17 from any 
source.  End Note.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) Harrington also stated that the implementation of 
the Registry of Foreigners has been less than adequate citing 
that, to date, there are only thirty-seven known cases of 
children born to non-resident mothers registered in the 
Registry, of which seventeen are children born to Haitian 
mothers.   (Note: The JCE told EmbOffs that full 
implementation of the Registry began in December 2007 and 
corroborated the number registered to date. End Note.)  In a 
previous meeting with PolOff in December 2007, the mayor of 
Dajabon, a town along the border with a significant Haitian 
population, seemed genuinely unaware of the Registry of 
Foreigners for non-residents and stated that Haitian mothers 
who give birth in her city did not have a special 
 
registration process nor were they issued a special document 
of birth.  Haitians who give birth must go to the Haitian 
consulates to acquire a birth certificate. 
 
------------------------------------- 
GODR Efforts to Improve Documentation 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The JCE highlighted to PolOff in previous meetings its 
efforts to improve birth registration and documentation, one 
of which was to create the Registry of Foreigners in March 
¶2007.  In fact, Embassy officers actively encouraged the 
establishment of this Registry, since American children whose 
parents were "in transit" in this country were also denied 
birth documentation in its absence.  Through the Registry, 
these Amcit children now obtain a birth document that can 
subsequently be presented here when their parents apply for a 
Consular Report of Birth Abroad. 
 
¶8. (U) While registration of persons of Haitian descent 
remains controversial, the JCE appears to be making strides 
in registering Dominican children.  The JCE opened a mobile 
civil registration unit in the town of Salcedo, Hermanas 
Mirabal Province.  A JCE judge told PolOff that the JCE plans 
to deploy five of these mobile units within three years with 
the goal of registering as many as 18,000 undocumented 
children.  The JCE also inaugurated a newer, more modern 
facility in Santo Domingo for the Second Circumscription of 
the local Civil Registry.  The opening of the facility, which 
JCE officials expect to handle over 2,100 applicants a day, 
is timely as officials also reported that political parties 
are bringing 600-700 individuals a day to register for a 
cedula. 
 
¶9. (U) JCE officials highlight the modernization of the civil 
registry systems stating that to date over seventy-six 
percent of birth certificates are scanned and available 
online.  The JCE has also developed an online system for 
Dominicans living abroad to request birth documentation and 
to register to vote for upcoming elections.  The new Second 
Circumscription facility has equipment that can issue a 
cedula within hours. 
 
¶10. (U) Government officials, including a JCE judge, 
participated in August 2007 in the first Latin American 
Regional Conference on Birth Registration and Right to 
Identity, an event organized by UNICEF, OAS and Plan 
International.  The judge told PolOff that attending the 
conference was "productive and gave him ideas on how to 
approach the problem of documentation." 
 
---------------------- 
Other Areas of Concern 
---------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Although the JCE claims that most birth 
certificates are now available online, the JCE,s current 
computer systems are inadequate in several areas.  Presently, 
only four out of 152 civil registry locations have conditions 
ready for new computerized systems.  Many civil registries do 
not have adequate building facilities, much less the adequate 
communication systems necessary for a centralized linked 
computer records system.  The current system also does not 
include features such as single registry per citizen, no data 
alterations, track changes, transaction traceability and 
integrated biometric information.  Lastly, the system since 
its initial deployment in 2005 has not incorporated recent 
requirements such as the Registry of Foreigners.  The JCE has 
contracted a technological consortium to build such a system; 
however, a commercial dispute has delayed its full 
implementation. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The Registry of Foreigners and the mobile civil 
registry units do not address the issues of other 
undocumented persons.  Many are undocumented adults who are 
second or third generation descendants of Haitian migrant 
workers, whose parents and grandparents themselves did not 
have documents.  A JCE judge told PolOff that these 
undocumented persons are not Dominicans.  He argued that they 
are not functionally stateless, as the Haitian constitution 
provides for a jus sanguini claim to Haitian nationality. 
(Note: Their claim to Haitian nationality is tenuous as most 
were born and raised or lived in the Dominican Republic most, 
if not all of their lives, most are undocumented, and many 
speak Spanish rather than Creole. End Note.) 
 
¶13. (SBU) Harrington stated they also have information of 
cedulas being issued irregularly, wherein officials from 
political parties "facilitate" the issuance of the cedulas 
 
with expiration dates in June 2008.  (Note: Per Embassy 
contacts, cedulas are normally issued for a validity of four 
years. The DR will hold presidential elections on May 16. 
End Note).  Harrington suggested political party officials 
are facilitating the issuance of cedulas to enable 
individuals to vote for the officials, affiliated political 
party. 
 
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Engagement 
---------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Harrington stated they have not engaged the GODR 
government on the issue of documentation.  She urged the USG 
to advocate on behalf of the affected population.  The 
Justice Initiative has briefed the Bureau of Population, 
Migration and Refugees (PRM) of its efforts in the Dominican 
Republic and has met with Embassy staff on several occasions. 
 EcoPol Counselor stated that 2007 Human Rights Report has a 
new requirement adding a section highlighting the issue of 
statelessness, and that we would value any information OSJI 
could give that would allow us to better understand this 
issue.  ConGen requested specific information regarding 
allegations of revocation of birth certificates or cedulas 
and irregular issuances of cedulas for follow-up with the 
JCE. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶15. (SBU)  The lack of documentation is an ongoing issue in 
the country.  The JCE estimates as many as six hundred 
thousand Dominicans do not have birth certificatesand as 
many as two hundred thousand do not have  cedula.  A number 
of these individuals are ostesibly Dominicans of Haitian 
descent, many of who insist on Dominican nationality as 
opposed to bing registered as a foreigner.  While the 
governmnt deserves credit for implementing the Registry o 
Foreigners, much more needs to be done to effecively address 
the issue of documenting individuas who are presently 
functionally stateless.  EndComment. 
 
FANNIN