ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the phenomenon of statelessness in the Dominican Republic, with a focus on the racially and ethnically discriminatory laws and policies that create statelessness in the country. It presents a case study of the Dominican Republic, which demonstrates that statelessness can be a result of national efforts to expel racial and ethnic minority groups deemed socially undesirable. The chapter explores the norm of birthright citizenship in the Americas and presents the history of national identity, race and migration in the Dominican Republic. It describes the evolution of immigration and nationality law and policy in the Dominican Republic and explains how the citizenship rights of black Dominicans and Dominicans of Haitian background were eroded over decades, culminating with the 2013 Constitutional Court decision. The chapter then expresses that the denial of citizenship rights in the Dominican Republic is a violation of international and inter-American law. It examines recent developments in the statelessness crisis in the Dominican Republic.
