A/HRC/7/19/Add.5 A/HRC/7/23/Add.3 Page 11 incidents that occurred in the past months in Santo Domingo: in the first one, in which an African-American US Embassy employee was denied access to a nightclub, the experts were told that relevant State authorities had formally complained to the owner of the nightclub; in the second one, in which a female student was killed following an incident in which a black young woman was denied access to another nightclub, State officials indicated that the national district first investigative judge ordered the temporary closure of the club premises in order to allow for a proper investigation of the facts. 25. State officials stressed that marginalization of some parts of the population arises from the poverty that affects a large number of Dominicans, unrelated to their skin colour. However, in its 2007 report to CERD, 6 the Government does acknowledge the existence of inequalities and difficulties experienced by Dominicans of African origin. Indeed, it observes that “most Dominicans of African origin are in the lower strata of society” and that “those of African cultural origin are among the main victims of failure to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights”. Having admitted this reality, the Government recognizes the need “a) To identify the obstacles to the participation by people of African origin in the economic, social and cultural life of the country; … (c) To promote the adoption of a regional framework to raise awareness among the population and encourage a rapprochement that will facilitate the adoption of affirmative action policies on behalf of people of African origin, to correct or make good historical injustices, to remedy social and structural discrimination, to create diverse and proportionally representative groups, to provide disadvantaged communities with role models that can offer the necessary motivation and incentives, and to put an end to vicious and prejudicial stereotypes; (d) To counter social unrest, and ensure the effectiveness and justice of the socio-economic system; (e) To support research aimed at restoring values of African origin; (f) To bolster self-esteem on the basis of the work done by the men and women enslaved during the colonial period”. 26. In their dialogue with the experts, the majority of State officials referred extensively to the tensions created by the presence of “illegal Haitians” in the country and recognized that migration issues have had a strong impact on the question of racial identity. It was emphasized, however, that such tensions need to be understood in the context of the poverty and social and economic difficulties faced by the country and should not be misunderstood or represented as issues of racism or racial discrimination. In this regard, while acknowledging the situation of extreme poverty and political instability in Haiti and highlighting the efforts being carried out in order to provide assistance to those fleeing that country, especially in the field of health, the Dominican Government noted that it was unable to handle by itself the very high numbers of Haitians that were illegally entering the country. 27. Numerous officials referred to the very good relations existing between the Dominican Republic and Haiti – reflected, for instance, in the creation of a bilateral commission to tackle issues of common interest and concern for the two countries – and to various statements of high level Haitian authorities pertaining to the absence of racism and discrimination in the Dominican Republic. 6 CERD/C/DOM/12.