Amnesty International has raised concerns following the Dominican Republic’s assumption of the presidency of the 79th World Health Assembly. Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International, stated that President Luis Abinader’s government must demonstrate that its international leadership translates into real guarantees of healthcare access for all people within the country, without racial discrimination.
Piquer highlighted the contradiction of presiding over the world’s leading health forum while maintaining practices that put the health of Haitian people and Dominicans of Haitian descent at risk. Amnesty warned that fear of deportation deters many from seeking hospital care, and urged the Dominican government to immediately separate healthcare access from migration control to ensure no one faces discrimination, detention, or expulsion after receiving medical treatment.
In November 2025, Amnesty International analyzed the implementation of migration protocols in public hospitals across the Dominican Republic. The organization concluded that these measures lack any public health justification and instead reinforce racial discrimination against Haitians, while negatively affecting the wider population.
