San Juan, Puerto Rico – The United Nations and human rights activists warn about an increase in pregnant women. being deported From the Dominican Republic to Haiti, where they say their lives are at risk.
Less than 40% of health centers in the capital of Haiti, Port -au Over -over gang violence.
Meanwhile, the Mirebalais University Hospital, which has about 300 beds and is located in the central region of Haiti, has suspended operations, according to a UN statement on Thursday.
The UN said that two other hospitals in that area “face critical shortages, including oxygen and emergency kits.”
The two hospitals have treated more than 200 patients for bullet wounds, strokes, malnutrition and smell of cholera since the Mirebalais hospital closed, according to the UN.
The UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that many of the deportees “arrive in precarious and highly vulnerable conditions, often without any resource.”
The international migration organization said it has seen an increase in deported women of the Dominican Republic in recent weeks, along with children and newborns.
He warned that they are being deported to a country “where access to basic services remains severely limited.”
The increase in these deportations occurs when the administration of the Dominican President, Luis Abinader, implemented a new measure this week that requires hospital staff to ask patients to identify, work permits and residence test.
The measure is one of more than a dozen Announced earlier this month to take energetic measures against migrants living in the Dominican Republic without legal permission, since people in neighboring Haiti flee an increase in gang violence.
On Tuesday, the Migration Agency of the Dominican Republic arrested 48 pregnant women and another 39 who have just given birth, along with 48 minors. On Wednesday, agents arrested 78 migrants in hospitals, although the agency did not provide additional details.
Amnesty International asked the Abinader Administration on Thursday to repeal the measure, saying that “it must take concrete measures against racial discrimination.”
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
Abinader visited the shared border on Thursday, telling the soldiers that it was “completely unacceptable” to leave through any migrant that tried to illegally enter the Dominican Republic.
He also dismissed Amnesty International’s criticism and asked the Rights Group to work in Haiti and address his crises.
“My responsibility is to defend the Dominican Republic,” he said.
In general, the Dominican Republic has expelled more than 180,000 people since October, when it announced mass deportations.
The Presidential Council of Transition of Haiti condemned on Thursday what said it was the violation of the human rights of the Haitians in the Dominican Republic and asked the government to prioritize bilateral dialogue.
