From October 7 to 11, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court) will be holding its 48th Special Session in Mexico City. During this session, the Court will hold hearings regarding one contentious case and a forthcoming advisory opinion, both concerning the rights of migrants.
The Court is holding a public hearing on October 8 and 9 in the Case of Tide Méndez and others v. the Dominican Republic, to hear testimony from victims, experts and witnesses. The petitioners allege that the Dominican Republic arbitrarily detained and expelled them to Haiti in a mass expulsion that removed both Dominican and foreign citizens. The 27 victims, who include children, assert that there are significant obstacles to claiming Dominican citizenship, even for those born on Dominican soil, and that during the course of their removal, they were held in substandard conditions, and did not have access to legal assistance or an opportunity to appeal the decision. Common traits among the victims such as dark skin color suggest that racial discrimination motivated the State action, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ analysis of the case. [OAS] The Commission received the petition in 1999 and ruled it admissible in 2005.
In the merits report, the Commission found that the Dominican Republic was responsible for a multitude of human rights violations against the victims, including the rights to a fair trial, protection of the family, personal liberty, and humane treatment. When the State failed to comply with the recommended measures of reparation, the Commission submitted the case to the Court. In its letter of submission, the Commission requested that the Court order reparations which include recognition of citizenship of Dominican nationals, payment of compensation to the victims, and public acknowledgement of the violations. The Court has previously dealt with human rights violations related to access to citizenship for people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. See I/A Court H.R., Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico v. the Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 8, 2005. Series C No. 130. And, there has recently been widespread opposition – including from the Inter-American Commission – to a ruling by the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic, which could result in loss of Dominican citizenship for thousands of Dominican-born individuals with foreign-born parents.
In addition to the case hearing, the Court has formally agreed to issue an Advisory Opinion on Migrant Children as requested by Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. The Court will hold a public hearing on October 9 and 10 to receive oral arguments from Member States of the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Commission and others. In their request, the States asked the Court to identify the need for international protection of migrant children and to clarify the correct application of certain human rights standards in relation to migrant children. Specific areas of concern include the application of the principle of non-refoulement, treatment of children who request asylum or refugee status, and the right to family life of the children whose parents have been removed in migratory proceedings.
Watch the live webcast of the Court’s 48th Special Session on the Court’s homepage and see the full schedule of events, in Spanish, here. For more information on the Inter-American Human Rights system visit IJRC’s Inter-American page.