(Santo Domingo) The Dominican government “categorically rejected” Monday the statements of a UN expert, who said he was “extremely alarmed” and asked Santo Domingo to review its decision to close its border with Haiti due to of the construction of a canal.
Dominican President Luis Abinader announced Sunday that the border between the two countries, closed since September 14, will remain closed until the Haitians abandon their canal project supplying the Massacre River, which marks the border between the two countries.
“I urge the (Dominican) government to reconsider its decision (to close) which will have serious consequences for the populations on both sides of the border,” reacted UN expert William O’Neill, who is mandated by the Human Rights Council but does not speak on its behalf.
“I urge the two governments to return to the negotiating table,” he added, encouraging them to accept, in the event of persistent disagreement, “international arbitration”.
“Lives are at stake,” stressed Mr. O’Neill, asking Santo Domingo to authorize the “delivery” of “humanitarian aid and essential goods”.
Mr. O’Neill points out that “due to insecurity and gang violence, many essential products such as food, medical equipment and medicines are imported from the Dominican Republic.”
Santo Domingo considers that Mr. O’Neill’s statements are “biased and unfortunate” and repeats the presidential message from the day before: “any dialogue with Haiti is conditional on stopping the unilateral and illegal construction of the canal.”
The Dominican government “takes note of the request to allow humanitarian aid to pass”, but “reiterates that the immediate and definitive solution to this problem is in the hands of Haiti, when it decides to put an end to the construction of the canal “.
“It is premature to talk about international arbitration […] the crisis was generated by individual, opportunistic and irresponsible Haitian actors,” adds the text.
The construction of the canal is a project of private developers for irrigation purposes.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has been mired for years in an economic and political crisis worsened by gang violence.
The government of Port-au-Prince believes that Haiti “can sovereignly decide on the exploitation of its natural resources” and “take catches” from the river.
This diplomatic crisis comes at a time when relations between the two countries are already strained due to Haitian immigration.