Migrants and Refugees: Examining the Global Protection System and Its Failures
Migrantes y Refugiados: Examinando el Sistema Global de Protección y sus Fracasos
Keywords:
Migrants, Refugees, Global protection system, Asylum, Migration policyAbstract
This article critically analyzes the global protection system for migrants and refugees, highlighting systemic failures that undermine effective humanitarian responses. Through a multidisciplinary review of international law, migration policies, and case studies from the Mediterranean, Central America, and Southeast Asia, the research reveals gaps in asylum procedures, border enforcement, and resettlement programs that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. The study introduces novel frameworks that emphasize the rights-based approach, intersectionality, and the need for enhanced international cooperation. By foregrounding voices from migrant and refugee communities, the article contributes to understanding how existing global governance structures perpetuate exclusion and propose actionable strategies to reform protection mechanisms. This work advances scholarship on migration by linking human rights with practical policy reforms in a highly politicized global context.
Este artículo analiza críticamente el sistema global de protección para migrantes y refugiados, destacando las fallas sistémicas que debilitan las respuestas humanitarias efectivas. A través de una revisión multidisciplinaria del derecho internacional, políticas migratorias y estudios de caso en el Mediterráneo, América Central y el Sudeste Asiático, la investigación revela vacíos en los procedimientos de asilo, control fronterizo y programas de reasentamiento que afectan desproporcionadamente a poblaciones vulnerables. El estudio propone marcos novedosos que enfatizan un enfoque basado en derechos, la interseccionalidad y la necesidad de una mayor cooperación internacional. Al poner en primer plano las voces de las comunidades migrantes y refugiadas, el artículo contribuye a comprender cómo las estructuras de gobernanza global existentes perpetúan la exclusión y plantea estrategias concretas para reformar los mecanismos de protección. Este trabajo avanza en la investigación sobre migración al vincular los derechos humanos con reformas políticas prácticas en un contexto global altamente politizado.
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