UN agency urges halt to Dominican deportation of Haitians

By Megan Janetsky
The Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — The U.N.’s chief human rights agency is calling on the Dominican Republic to halt rising deportations of Haitian migrants at a time of turmoil in their country.  Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk  said Thursday that armed violence and systematic rights violations in Haiti make it unsafe to return Haitians to their homeland. Gang warfare and political turmoil have fueled an exodus from Haiti, with migrants seeking refuge across the region. Dominican authorities say they deported 43,900 migrants between July and October. Most of them were Haitians. The U.S. also has continued to deport Haitians.