Labor Minister Meets with US Human Rights Delegation

Labor Minister, Max Puig, recently met with an inter-institutional human rights delegation from the United States. The US delegation is in the Dominican Republic doing research on various aspects of the Haitian immigration issue in the DR.

“There shouldn’t be a rich world and a poor world and there should also not be a poor Dominican Republic and an even poorer Haiti,”

The delegation, comprised of civil rights activists and US community leaders of Haitian and Afro-American origin, listened to what the Labor Minister said about prerogatives allocated in the Dominican labor laws having to do with immigrants.

Mr. Puig gave the delegation an overview of the historic relationship between the two countries in terms of work and production, pointing out that there are still challenges to be met. He deplored the marginalization and poverty suffered by underdeveloped countries, in particular the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“There shouldn’t be a rich world and a poor world and there should also not be a poor Dominican Republic and an even poorer Haiti,” said Puig.

The Labor Minister thanked the delegation for its interest in working to preserve and improve relations between two countries who share the same island and in particular its concern for the fate of Haitian workers living in the DR “because this will help to more concretely understand reality and it will allow for a better application of the law.”

In a report released after the visit, the delegates underscored the Labor Ministry’s favorable initiatives to promote workers rights for all laborers without discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, gender and legal status.

They underscored the importance of promoting respect for human rights, co-existence and tolerance as ways of preserving social harmony and promoting neighborliness between Haitians and Dominicans.

Minister Puig spoke for an hour with several representatives of the delegation including Dr. Josue Renaud, MS, President of the Boston-based New England Human Rights for Haiti, an organization dedicated to the promotion and defense of human rights; Joe Beasley, President of African Ascension Org, based in Atlanta, Georgia and whose goal is to promote the values of being African in the world and Bruce McMillan, member of Equality Opportunity, a US-government organization.

Also at the meeting was Janice Mathis, lawyer and Vice President of Rainbow Push Coalition, a group that promotes civil rights and which has representation in Europe and Africa; Jean Claude Sanin, lawyer and Haitian-American Democratic candidate for the Boston City Council; Franklyn Dalembert, Executive Director of the Haitian Coalition, a non-governmental organization that works with Haitian immigrants in the United States.

In addition, several more people were involved including Jonathan Regis, member of the Directorio International Action Center, a youth relief and promotion group; Julio Midy, journalist and director of the InfoHaiti.net news agency located in Boston and Edwin Paraison, priest and former Haitian Consul General in the DR as well as Executive Director of the Zile Foundation which encourages friendship and good relations between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The delegation will be on the island until Tuesday March 31. Delegation members will visit different institutions related to Haitian migrants in the DR as well as in Haiti.