Dominican Republic reopens Haiti border for goods, not people

The Dominican Republic on Monday, October 9 announced a partial re-opening of its border with Haiti.

This measure, which will be effective from Wednesday, October 11, would allow exports to Haiti, but retain a ban on people crossing to Dominican Republic.

Government spokesperson Homero Figueroa says the decision to retain a ban on people crossing was reached during a security council meeting.

“This measure would facilitate the trade of essential Dominican products such as food and medicines, especially for children,” said Figueroa, adding that “strict military control will be maintained at the border.”

What is the conflict?

The Dominican Republic closed its border with gang-ridden Haiti last month in a dispute over a shared river – the Massacre River.

The closure was in response to Haitian plans to build a canal on the river, a move Dominican Republic says it violates several border treaties between the two nations.

Kenyan-led mission to Haiti

The partial re-opening of the border comes at a time when Kenya is preparing to lead a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission to Haiti.

Kenya to lead Haiti mission — Police officers throw tear gas to demonstrators during a protest against insecurity in Carrefour-Feuilles, a district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on August 14, 2023. Gangs are controlling close to 80% of the Haitian capital. PHOTO/AFP

Haiti, the poorest country of the Americas, has been plunged into an economic and political crisis only made worse by deadly gang violence.

The UN Security Council last Tuesday authorised the deployment of a Kenya-led international security force to Haiti.

The mission – dubbed the multinational security mission (MSS) – is supposed to help Haiti’s national police quell surging gang violence and restore security across the strife-torn Caribbean nation.

Haiti gangs — Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Chérizier, a police officer turned gang lord, leads a march against Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, in Port-au-Prince on 19th September 2023. Gangs are controlling close to 80% of the Haitian capital. PHOTO/REUTERS

Lets embrace dialogue

As a result of the Massacre River dispute, the Dominican government also suspended extending visas to Haitians.

Haiti, however, is imploring its neighbours to embrace dialogue to solve the dispute.

“Haiti considers that a result (of the negotiations) will only be considered adequate if it allows the equitable distribution of water resources, the normalization of relations between the two countries and the return to the circulation of people and goods of the two parties, as it was… before the unilateral closure of September 15,” Haitian authorities said in a statement Monday.

According to the AFP, Haiti is heavily dependent on imports from the Dominican Republic, which sends about 8.4 percent of its total exports — worth about $1 billion in 2022 — to its only neighbour on the shared island of Hispaniola.

Dominican authorities are currently building a 160-kilometre concrete wall along the 380-kilometre border with Haiti to keep out undocumented migrants.