UNHCR welcomes a decision by the Dominican Republic to reactivate its refugee eligibility commission that reviews asylum applications. Known as the CONARE - Comision Nacional para Refugiados - the commission held its first meeting since 2005 on June 13, reviewing some 19 asylum cases. This breakthrough was timed to coincide with World Refugee Day this week.

The Dominican Republic is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and enacted national asylum legislation in 1983. It hosts some 725 refugees with over 200 asylum cases that have remained pending with the authorities over the last ten years. The majority of this population is of Haitian nationality, and entered the country seeking protection during the political turmoil of the 1990s and the early 2000s.

The Dominican Republic committed to restart the commission's work at the December 2011 Ministerial meeting in Geneva, following an appeal by High Commissioner António Guterres to President Leonel Fernández during a visit to Santo Domingo.

We hope the authorities will maintain the momentum generated by the important reactivation of the CONARE and encourage the Dominican Government to continue to reduce the backlog of asylum claims, and to proceed to offer migratory regularization for the recognized refugees present in the country.

UNHCR in the Dominican Republic provides technical support to the Governments asylum system, and funds livelihoods, education, and community strengthening programs to support local integration of the refugee population.