In 2013, the Constitutional Tribunal of the Dominican Republic issued a landmark ruling, Judgment 168-13, which retroactively took away citizenship rights from Dominicans of Haitian descent.
In the five years since, the issue of statelessness has only grown more complex, leaving countless Dominicans of Haitian descent without access to nationality documents. Far from just a symbolic problem, the denial of citizenship rights for Dominicans of Haitian descent has impacted all aspects of their lives from access to health care and education to the ability to seek out justice and formal employment.
The following advocacy manual, produced by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and our coalition of partners, provides more information on the historic discrimination of Dominicans of Haitian descent and introduces various advocacy tools and strategies to restore their nationality and fundamental rights.