The Dominican Republic occupies two thirds of the Hispaniola Island which it shares with Haiti. It is the second largest country in the Caribbean and is a republic with a presidential system. The presidential term is 4 years and re-election is permitted by the Constitution. Leonel Antonio Fern¡ndez Reyna of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) held the presidency from 1996 to 2000, and has governed again since 2004, being re-elected in 2008. The next elections will take place in 2012.
President Fern¡ndez proposed constitutional reform in 2008, in which certain items were so unpopular that they provoked fierce protests among Dominican society. Some of the most controversial items include those dealing with the right to live from conception, prohibiting abortions without exception, a reform which impeded citizens ability to challenge the unconstitutionality of laws, one which established citizens as having no right to refute decrees made by the Executive, and limitations of the free access of citizens to beaches, rivers and lakes. The considerable power awarded to the executive by the new constitution was also challenged.
The Legislature is made up of a Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Active members of the military or police are not allowed to vote or participate in political activity. Women and minorities take part in the political process, and 33% of positions on candidate lists are reserved for women; however, parties often place women so low on the lists as to make their election impossible. Women hold 38 of the 183 seats in the Lower Chamber (20.8%) and 3 of the 32 seats in the Senate (9.4%) . The term is 4 years. The independence of the judiciary is legally established although in practice it is undermined by corruption and interference from the authorities. The Transparency International 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked the Dominican Republic 101st out of the 173 countries considered, with a score of 3 out of 10 (10 being the least corrupt). Reports and claims of corruption in government are widespread.
In spite of the global financial crisis, the Dominican economy has recorded growth of 3.5% during 2009 (2.1% per capita). This reflects a significant upturn in economic activity from the fourth quarter of 2009, associated with the fiscal stimulus financed by multilateral resources under the framework of a new agreement underwritten by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In the constitutional reform package proposed in January 2009, the government presented its National Development Strategy for the Dominican Republic for the period 2010 2030. This sets out the development targets and priorities for the period which are centred on strengthening State institutions, social cohesion, economic development and environmental sustainability.
As a consequence of the damages suffered by infrastructure in Haiti as a result of the earthquake in 2010, a large part of the transportation of people and materials to the neighbouring country has been channelled through Santo Domingo airport. This has lead to increased activity in the importing and exporting of goods and services.
Discrimination on the grounds of race or gender is prohibited by law, however it still occurs and little effort is made to tackle the issue. According to repeated claims from national and regional human rights organisations, suspects often suffer abuses and mistreatment at the hands of the security forces. Deaths of demonstrators are also reported as a result of police violence. Haitian migrants who live in the country, many in extremely precarious situations, suffer abuse from the authorities as well as discrimination in society.
Harassment and assassinations of journalists has been documented, and journalists and editors practise self-censorship as a consequence. Persistent acts of aggression and threats to journalists fulfilling their duty to inform the public are a constant force which undermines the development of freedom of expression. Gangs target journalists who report on their links with local police officials.
People trafficking for sexual exploitation continue to be a serious problem. A 2010 report by the US Department of State classified the Dominican Republic as tier III, the most serious in terms of people trafficking. According to the study that was published in June 2010, the country does not meet the minimum standards for the eradication of people trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. It also highlights that since 2007, no sentences have been recorded to have been passed for violations of Act 137-03 which covers people trafficking, and results in the areas of victim protection and prevention in terms of the material were also limited.
People infected with HIV-AIDS, particularly women, suffer from discrimination. Human Rights Watch reports that if someone is discovered to be a carrier of the virus or suffering from the illness, it is highly likely that they will be dismissed from their job or denied healthcare. It is prohibited to carry out HIV screening to evaluate employees or access to medical services unrelated to the disease although the legislation is not strictly complied with, nor the confidentiality of information sufficiently respected.

Legislation requires that at least 2% of the national budget and a minimum of 5% of municipal budgets are designated for programmes for children but unfortunately this does not happen. Similarly, the law establishes free, universal and compulsory education up to Grade 8. This is interpreted as primary schooling. The Ministry of Education reports that the enrolment level is 97% from Grades 1 through 8 although this contradicts a government study which calculates that the average grade attained by children from rural areas in public schools is grade 5, rising to grade 6 in urban areas. Child citizens without residence documents and children of Haitian descent encounter serious difficulties in gaining access to schooling as a consequence of their unofficial status. Anyone born in the country is recognised as a citizen although children born to Haitian parents in the country are registered as in transit even though their parents reside in the country. More than 20% of Dominicans do not have the identity documents required to obtain social services.
During November 2010, Dominican teachers held a protest to request that 4% of GDP was designated for education in 2011. Teachers in the Dominican Republic, led by the Dominican Teachers Association (ADP), a member organisation of EI, marched to the National Congress to request compliance with a law designating 4% of GDP for education. There has been a systematic failure over the course of more than ten years to comply with the Education Act 6697, approved thanks to the work of the ADP. The education budget for the Dominican Republic has remained below 2% of GDP and is among the lowest in the world.
A UNDP report entitled Social Policy: Abilities and Rights, in the chapter on the Dominican Republic confirmed that the time spent by pupils in classes is insufficient, as little as 2 hours 36 minutes, equivalent to 52% of the 5 scheduled hours and does not allow for the development of innovative activities which promote critical reflection; the content that is systematically taught in school is often not linked to learning for life; the management of the content of curricula does not promote their transfer and application to other situations which would allow students to resolve problems in everyday life. Overcrowding in schools is mentioned, noting that on average school sites have up to 2.07 schools hosted at the same facilities, where two or three schools operate at different times under different management and administration. The UNDP report concludes that the teaching and learning processes developed in school bear little relation to the definition of quality education; students do not learn what they should.

A three year ECE programme begins at the age of 3. 43% of ECE is private and the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 33%. There are 8,879 ECE teachers (96% female), 77% of which have received appropriate training. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 21:1.

Education is compulsory from the age of 6 to 13 and primary education begins at the age of 6 and lasts for 6 years. At this level 15% of education is private and the NER is 80%. 12% of children repeat grades (14% of boys, 9% of girls) and of the students who enrol in Grade 1, 93% continue to the final grade of primary school. There are 60,056 primary school teachers (75% female), and 79% have received appropriate training (73% of men, 81% of women). The PTR is 25:1

Secondary education begins at the age of 12 and the complete programme lasts for 6 years. 7% of students in upper secondary education are studying on technical vocational programmes. At this level 25% of education is private. The NER is 58% (53% girls) and 3% of students repeat grades. There are 8,738 teachers (74% female) in lower secondary education and 17,054 (51% female) in upper secondary. The PTR is 25:1 for lower secondary and 28:1 for upper secondary.

293,565 students (61% female) study in tertiary institutions, with a Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) of 33% (25% of men, 41% of women). There are 1,745 students studying abroad, mainly in the USA (998), Cuba (354), France (95), Spain (61) and the UK (35).

Discrimination against people with disabilities exists in education and other services, in addition to the discrimination that is habitually suffered by people with a mental illness. Few resources are available to provide services for disabled children, including education. Teaching and auxiliary staff do not receive sufficient training to integrate disabled students into regular schools. This is a priority requirement for those who work in education but has not received a satisfactory response from the authorities.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, but the government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees.

The most significant minority consists of the thousands of Haitian migrants, whose exact number is difficult to establish, given that the majority do not have identity or residence documents. It is estimated that approximately 650,000 Haitian immigrants live in shanty towns or sugar cane work camps known as bateyes, which lack electricity, running water and adequate schooling. A number of reports describe the conditions under which Haitians live in the bateyes as modern slavery. From the times of the dictatorships (Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and Duvalier in Haiti) Haitian workers have been brought for the sugar cane harvest. Haitians are often not allowed to leave the sugar cane plantations where they work and at the end of the harvest, they must return to their countries, although many become illegal immigrants.

Many Haitian parents do not have documentation for their own births and cannot provide proof of citizenship, so their children remain undocumented and excluded from school. Of the Haitian children who do succeed in gaining access to school, few progress beyond Grade 6. Despite a bylaw allowing undocumented children to attend school up to Grade 5, school administrators deny access to children without the required documentation. Discrimination and prejudices make the integration of Haitians in Dominican society hard and difficult, in particular the lives of many Haitian girls, who are forced to work as domestic servants and who, as a result of these circumstances, are practically invisible.

Reports do not indicate any major restrictions on academic freedom although criticism of authorities can lead to intimidation, threats and pressure.

Women have the same legal status as men although discrimination is widespread. Men hold the majority of leadership positions in all sectors and women are often paid less for carrying out a job of equal or similar value (approximately 66% of the male salary). In 2010, the unemployment rate amongst women was 25%, whereas for men it was only 9%. It is frequent practice to require a pregnancy test to be carried out when recruiting women. Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited although prohibition is not enforced. It is also known that female workers in free trade zones suffer abuse and sexual harassment which often results in dismissal if they attempt to form unions. Domestic violence is a serious social problem. Sex tourism has increased throughout the country. According to the 2010 Global Gender Gap Report published by the World Economic Forum , the Dominican Republic fell six places between 2009 and 2010, dropping from 67th out of 134 countries to 73rd.
In the education sector, female teachers represent 69% of teaching staff at primary level, 59% at secondary and 41% at tertiary.

Child labour is a serious problem. A Code for Minors provides protection and increased punishments in cases of sexual or commercial exploitation. The employment of children under the age of 14 is illegal, and there are restrictions on the employment of children between the ages of 14 and 16. The ILO calculates that 18% of children from the age of 15 to 17 work and that many thousands of children start work before the age of 14. Haitian and Dominican adolescents who live in poverty work in sugar cane fields and children under 12 plant sugar cane for US$1 a day. The ILO finances a programme to fight child labour though education. It is also involved in another programme against the sexual exploitation of minors to provide medical and psychological support and return children to school. It is estimated that some 30,000 children and adolescents are involved in sexual exploitation, above all in tourist areas. Haitian girls as young as the age of 12 are brought into the country to work as prostitutes and kidnappings of babies who are sold to foreigners are reported.

Basic trade union rights are guaranteed although there are a number of problems with the legislation. Trade union freedom is guaranteed by the constitution although there are restrictions for public sector employees. In order to form a union, public sector workers require the support of 40% of the total number of employees in a given body. The staff members of autonomous and municipal bodies governed by the State are forbidden from union activity. Additionally, in order to form a confederation, a federation must obtain a majority of two thirds of the votes of its members. Finally, the law does not establish effective penalties to protect workers against anti trade union discrimination.

Even when the right to collective bargaining is recognised, a union must represent the absolute majority of the workers from a company or sector of activities in order to be able to carry out collective bargaining. In order to legally call a strike, they must have first attempted to resolve the conflict by means of mediation, and the majority of the employees must vote in favour of the strike, regardless of whether they are members of the union.

There is evidence of threats by employers to stop union activity from taking place. Collective bargaining takes place in some companies, but the number is limited. The ILO considers the requirements for collective bargaining rights to be excessive. A few unions represent a small number of Haitian workers although Haitian labourers in the sugar and construction industries refuse to organise themselves for fear of deportation or losing their job. Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited although reports linked to the ILO confirm its existence. Many Haitian children are adopted by families who employ them as apprentices, which often make them victims of abuses and mistreatment. The executive sets the minimum wage for public workers and the National Salary Committee does the same for the private sector. The minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and their family in any category of employment. The law establishes a working day of 8 hours and a working week of 44 hours.