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The Committee notes the Government's reports.

Issues arising from the situation of Haitian workers in the Dominican Republic, related to the application of the Conventions on forced labour. In its previous observation, the Committee had asked the Government to provide information on the work of the joint bilateral committee as regards the conditions of hiring of Haitian workers for the cane harvest. It had also asked the Government to report on the progress made concerning the regularization of the status of Haitian workers living and working in the Dominican Republic.

Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the information concerning the harvest which took place in November 1998 to June 1999. The Government refers to the contracts, drawn up in Spanish and Creole, made with Haitian nationals established in the country and those who legally entered the country for the harvest. A total of 12,041 workers were hired. Six labour inspectors were directly assigned to the inspection in the six concerned plantations, and to the supervision of working hours and payment of salaries.

Despite the establishment of the joint bilateral committee made up of representatives of both States to examine the various aspects of Dominican-Haitian relations, the Government indicates that as yet it has not been possible to reach an agreement to regulate the conditions of contract of Haitian workers. High-level official visits to Haiti have only allowed for an initial exchange of basic ideas with respect to labour migration between the two countries.

According to information from the General Directorate of Migration, approximately 400,000 Haitians are living in the Dominican Republic. Only 1,862 of these hold regular residence documents. Since Haitian immigrants fear repatriation, and a number of them lack any identification document, they resisted any comprehensive census, which in turn prevents their regularization.

A pilot programme has been initiated in Valverde Province, by the General Directorate of Migration, with a view to determine with the employers their needs for supplementary workers. As a result, work permits and provisional residence permits for six months have been issued to more than 3,000 Haitians. At the end of that period, these workers will return to their country and will not be allowed to re-enter the Dominican Republic for two months. The programme should be extended to other parts of the country.

The Government further indicates that all sugar mills have been privatized, that the number of workers employed for the sugar harvests has greatly dropped and that many migrant workers of Haitian nationality are now employed in the construction sector and in agriculture. The General Directorate of Migration is actively involved in finding satisfactory solutions and is leading a pilot programme to issue work permits and provisional residence permits to a limited number of Haitian workers, for a limited time, taking into account the employers' needs for supplementary workers. Eventually the programme should be extended to other parts of the country.

The Committee takes due note of this information. With regard to the privatization of all sugar mills, the Committee notes that the Government remains responsible for ensuring the observance, throughout the national territory, of this Convention as well as the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), also ratified by the Dominican Republic. The Committee regrets that little progress has been achieved by the joint bilateral committee and asks the Government to continue to provide information on the work of the committee as regards the conditions of hiring of Haitian workers for the cane harvest.

The Committee also notes that despite efforts with regard to the regularization of the status of Haitians working and living in the Dominican Republic, measures still are at an early stage. For many years, the Committee has been pointing out that the application of the Convention is affected by the uncertainty of the legal status of many workers since such uncertainty makes the workers more vulnerable and may lead to abuse and practices which impair the rights protected by the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will give effect to the recommendations which it has been making for some time regarding the regularization of the status of Haitian workers living and working in the Dominican Republic and that it will report on any progress made.