Haiti, Dominican Republic to meet next month in effort to tackle heated citizenship question

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haiti and the Dominican Republic will meet next month in an effort to resolve questions over a widely debated court decision that could render thousands of Haitian Dominicans stateless, Haiti's foreign minister said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre-Richard Casimir told The Associated Press that five senior officials from each country will meet on Jan. 7 in the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe.

With representatives from the United Nations, European Union and Caribbean present, they plan to discuss commerce and security issues but will focus mostly on a recent court decision in the Dominican Republic that threatens to strip citizenship from residents born to migrants who were living in the country illegally. Many of those affected are of Haitian descent.

"The main issue is the court ruling," Casimir said by telephone.