Dominican President: Haiti deportations won鈥檛 stop
Luis Abinader refuses to 鈥渁uthorise any refugee camps鈥� as crisis unfolds in neighbouring Haiti
The President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader has told HARDtalk that he will not stop deporting Haitians, despite the dire conditions across the border on the island of Hispaniola.
Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is among those who have asked the Dominican government to halt deportations of Haitians. Rejecting this, President Abinader responded that 鈥渢he UN is the one who has to act more鈥�.
President Abinader, who is running for re-election in May, said he had been warning the UN for 鈥渕ore than three years鈥� that Haiti was descending into 鈥渃haos鈥�. He insisted that 鈥渢hey cannot ask the Dominican Republic to solve the Haitian problem. We will not do it and we cannot do it鈥�.
Speaking to Stephen Sackur, President Abinader also refused to 鈥渁uthorise any refugee camps at this moment鈥� on Dominican soil. He cited 鈥渟ecurity and also historical reasons鈥�, suggesting that Haitian islands could be utilised for this purpose. The UN has estimated that over 350,000 Haitians have been internally displaced.
