Jacques Viau Network Statement in Response to the COVID-19 Health Emergency

We are sharing the statement issued by the Dominican-Haitian Encounter Network Jacques Viau (REDH-JV), in response to the health emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, urging solidarity, access to services without discrimination, guarantees of rights, and protection for migrants, refugees, and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

STATEMENT

The organizations that make up the Dominican-Haitian Encounter Network Jacques Viau (REDH-JV) issue an urgent call to the President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, to act in defense and promotion of the human rights of all people living in the national territory: Dominicans, and the migrants and refugees who form an integral part of our communities. REDH-JV congratulates the president for implementing a moratorium on deportations of migrants, including detentions for deportation purposes, measures aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus and reducing the negative impact that this health crisis could have on the migrant population.

REDH-JV observes that there are migrants and refugees who already live in precarious conditions of housing, health, food security, and sanitation, who are among the vulnerable populations in the Dominican Republic, and who need exceptional measures to mitigate a massive contagion that would have serious consequences for everyone. This is the time for solidarity and non-discrimination, the time to take measures to guarantee minimum and dignified subsistence conditions for everyone in the Dominican Republic without discrimination, and to unite in the task of combating the spread of the coronavirus.

To address this challenge, REDH-JV urges the Dominican government to:

1. Monitor compliance with the moratorium on deportations and migrant detentions. Establish procedures to report violations at border points, especially informal crossings and checkpoints.
2. Pay particular attention to information and awareness-raising for migrants and refugees about measures taken in response to COVID-19 by the Dominican government. Disseminate these in Spanish and Creole, and prioritize public audio messages in remotely accessible communities such as some bateyes, to ensure non-discriminatory access to information.
3. Offer guarantees of non-discriminatory access to health services for migrants, refugees, and Dominicans of Haitian descent regardless of their documentation situation, migration status, pre-existing health conditions, among other elements that could deter people at potential risk from seeking timely medical care.
4. Combat misinformation about the coronavirus quickly and efficiently through reliable information dissemination in order to fight xenophobia, stigmatization, and discrimination against certain ethnic or racial groups, as has already been seen against the Chinese population in the country.

1. Suspend follow-up processes related to the National Regularization Plan until the pandemic and all its associated negative effects have ended.
2. Take into account, within the prevention and mitigation approach, the migrant labor force, which faces potentially dangerous situations for its health, especially those service providers who cannot stop their workdays, such as agricultural workers, supermarket workers, security personnel, and technicians.
3. Suspend deportations and migration detentions until the pandemic and all its associated negative effects have ended.
4. Develop a contingency plan concerning human rights in the face of emergencies and unlawful actions that may arise in zones vulnerable to the spread of the coronavirus and that have significant populations of migrants, refugees, and Dominicans of Haitian descent.
5. Advocate with U.S. authorities for the suspension of deportations of Dominicans from the United States until the pandemic has ended.

The institutions articulated within REDH-JV are willing to help and serve as links between the authorities and migrants, refugees, and Dominicans of Haitian descent, together with their representative groups, for a COVID-19 prevention and response effort that is supportive and respectful of everyone's human rights.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

March 20, 2020