A/HRC/7/19/Add.5 A/HRC/7/23/Add.3 Page 21 72. There is a widely held belief, supported by NGO research and interviews with civil registry officials, that those instructions to staff have specifically stated that they are not to issue any documents to “Haitians” or those of Haitian descent even when they have documents attesting to their Dominican nationality. 73. The experts were informed about written correspondence between the President of the Administrative Chamber of the Central Electoral Board and local civil registry officers reiterating the necessity to strictly comply with the terms of Circular 017, “whose aim is to detect the commission of irregularities in the Civil Registry, thus preserving Dominican identity”. Individuals whose documentation was subject to investigation provided copies of written correspondence from civil registry officers to the National Director of the Civil Registry in the Central Electoral Board explicitly asking for investigation of birth declarations on the grounds that “parents, according to the documents presented, are of Haitian descent, despite being born in the Dominican Republic and in possession of birth certificates”. 74. Many NGOs and community members indicated that, on the basis of this circular, cédulas have been denied to children of Dominicans of Haitian descent in possession of a Dominican birth certificate – even to those that had obtained a birth certificate through late registration, a procedure which requires approval and signature from a judge of first instance. Numerous cases were also reported to the experts of the refusal by the Central Electoral Board to renew documents or provide copies of previously issued documents, even to Dominicans of Haitian descent in possession of Dominican birth certificates, cédulas and electoral identification documents, attesting to their Dominican citizenship. 75. The experts were informed that in 2006 the Central Electoral Board granted a two year automatic extension to all cédulas in response to its own review and reform process and administrative improvements. NGOs expressed concern that in 2008 hundreds of thousands of cédulas would be due for renewal. Given current regulations and the practice of denying renewal to Dominicans of Haitian descent, many thousands may find that they are unable to obtain cédulas and thus effectively have their legal status revoked. 76. In a meeting with judges of the Central Electoral Board, the experts were informed about false claims, and high numbers of fraudulent papers which complicate the task of distinguishing legal residents from illegal migrants. The judges explained that the Central Electoral Board is only legally allowed to issue a cédula to those in possession of valid documents including a birth certificate, and that thousands of investigations are currently underway. The judges noted that the Dominican Republic has a legal procedure for the granting of nationality and that they maintain the principle that “illegality” in respect to parents cannot produce “legality” in respect to the status of a child born in the Dominican Republic. 77. The experts submitted in writing to the Central Electoral Board the cases of individuals they had encountered during the visit. These cases included denial of cédulas to Dominicans of Haitian descent who have Dominican birth certificates due to their parents having declared them with fichas; denial of constancias de nacimiento to children of Dominican mothers of Haitian descent who have a Dominican birth certificate; denial of birth certificates to children born in the Dominican Republic to Dominican parents of Haitian descent; and denial of copies or renewals