Obstacles in the exercise of the human right to seek and receive asylum in Chile: entering the asylum determination procedure

Abstract

The right to seek and receive asylum is a fundamental human right, which has been enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights. In Chile, since the creation of Law 20,430 on refugee protection, 21,847 people have formally requested international protection under this right and many others have remained in the shadows without the option of having their case studied and eventually obtaining protection. This article describes and analyzes the obstacles to this human right, focusing, in particular, on the problems in the entry to the asylum procedure in the country, how this is a problem of legality in the actions of the administrative body and how the higher courts of justice have intervened to ensure respect and protection of this right, finally giving some ideas for a good approach to this situation. The methodology used by the authors corresponds to a legal analysis of legal norms, opinions of the Comptroller General of the Republic and national jurisprudence of the Chilean High Courts of Justice in recent years, added to the bibliographic review and the work experience of both authors with migrant, asylum seeker and refugee population.