The Standards of the Inter-American Human Rights System regarding Migration and Its Impact on the Region’s States

Abstract

Abstract The protection and guarantee of the rights of migrants is one of the most important challenges currently facing the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS). In addition to the complex dynamics of migration and the increase of restrictive migration policies in Latin America, it is important to understand the transformative impacts of the IAHRS jurisprudence on the States. This chapter analyzes the progress made by the IAHRS in terms of protection and guarantees of migrants’ rights, and the magnitude of the impacts of these standards in the region. To this effect, the chapter first differentiates three specific stages in the construction of IAHRS migration standards. Following that analysis, the chapter examines the migration and asylum normative frameworks in Latin America and the role of Courts to protect and guarantee the rights of migrants within the IAHRS standards. The chapter suggests that there are some pending issues for the IAHRS in order to protect the rights of migrants from a broad understanding of migration. Regarding transformative impacts, most States in the region have adopted increasingly protective internal normative frameworks, and IAHRS standards have influenced the judicial and constitutional work of the States of the region. In some cases, national courts and national normative frameworks have set standards that go beyond those established by the IAHRS. However, significant challenges remain concerning the transformative impacts linked to the gap between the regulation and its implementation and the still incipient role of national courts in defending the rights of migrants in the region.