| dc.description.abstract | After a 2013 sentence by the Dominican constitutional court ripped hundreds of Dominicans of Haitian ancestry off their nationality, statelessness in the Dominican Republic became an increasingly pressing issue. In order to determine how to reduce and eventually end statelessness in the Dominican Republic, gaining further insights into the reasons for and consequences of statelessness was chosen as the main research objective of this investigation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stateless individuals and organizations and professionals working towards reducing statelessness in the Dominican Republic. Moreover, the regional, historical and legal background of statelessness in the Dominican Republic was explored to put the issue into perspective. The reasons for statelessness were found to be manifold, with the single largest reason being sentence 168-13 and most other reasons being either caused by discrimination, bureaucratic failure or lack of and false information. The consequences or statelessness were found to violate numerous basic human rights and put the stateless individuals’ lives on hold, both personally and professionally. The organizations’ and professionals work was found to greatly contribute to the situation and is considered essential to eventually eradicate statelessness. Lastly, the root for most reasons for statelessness is considered to be related to discrimination remaining from the Dominican Republic’s and Haiti’s often conflictual shared history. The research suggests that in order to reduce and eventually eliminate statelessness xenophobia and animosities between the two countries need to be addressed on a political, institutional and social level. Further, practices related to the national civil registry need to be modernized and informedness about every and access to every individual’s rights need to be increased. | |
