A NOTICE TO EVERY BUSINESS OFFERING VACATIONS

TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

In light of the Dominican Republic’s recent move to FORCIBLY DEPORT Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent from the country—after revoking the citizenship rights of Haitian immigrants and children of Haitian immigrants (those born after 1929) without providing a clear and effective path to citizenship—, we are BOYCOTTING ALL DOMINICAN REPUBLIC VACATION PACKAGES AND THE COMPANIES THAT CONTINUE TO OFFER VACATIONS TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

The UN has noted that FORCED EVICTION of people is a HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION (see below) and we feel morally opposed to contributing financial support to a nation that is openly engaged in HUMAN RIGHTS OFFENSES.

If the American Government, American Media and International Agencies, (UN, NATO, EU, CARICOM) openly condemn and hold the Dominican Government accountable for its heinous acts towards the most vulnerable members of Dominican society, we will reconsider our stand AGAINST ALL TOURISM in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

From the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights website

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/Force...

“Forced evictions are often linked to the absence of legally secure tenure, which constitutes an essential element of the right to adequate housing. Forced evictions share many consequences similar to those resulting from arbitrary displacement, including population transfer, mass expulsions, mass exodus, ethnic cleansing and other practices involving the coerced and involuntary displacement of people from their, lands and communities.

As a result of forced evictions, people are often left homeless and destitute, without means of earning a livelihood and, in practice, with no effective access to legal or other remedies. Forced evictions intensify inequality, social conflict, segregation and invariably affect the poorest, most socially and economically vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society, especially women, children, minorities and indigenous peoples.

The obligation of States to refrain from, and protect against, forced evictions from home(s) and land arises from several international legal instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11, para. 1), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 27, para. 3), the non-discrimination provisions found in article 14, paragraph 2 (h), of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and article 5 (e) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In its resolution 1993/77, the Commission on Human Rights stated that the "practice of forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of human rights, in particular the right to adequate housing". In 1977, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued its General Comment n°7 on forced evictions.”