Advancing the access of refugees and asylum seekers in Latin America to the labour market: building from the inter-american case-law

Autores

  • Mariana Ferolla Vallandro do Valle Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17808/des.2009

Palavras-chave:

Direito ao trabalho, refugiados, solicitantes de refúgio, não-discriminação, Comissão Interamericana de Direitos Humanos, Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos.

Resumo

Refugees and asylum seekers face several obstacles in enjoying their right to work, including bars under host States’ domestic law and situations of substantive discrimination. Despite the existence of norms protecting the right to work under international refugee and human rights law, they are usually abstract and leave considerable discretion to States regarding the extent to which refugees and asylum seekers may access the labour market. Nevertheless, recent case-law of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights has set out more protective standards concerning the right to work and the principle that non-discrimination towards marginalised groups. This article aims to demonstrate that these standards can effectively be applied to refugees and asylum seekers, thus curtailing States’ discretion in limiting their access to the labour market and offering more concrete protection of the right to work. In so doing, the article will analyse the extent to which these groups’ right to work is protected under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights, drawing from relevant statements and decisions of human rights bodies on how these instruments have been interpreted. Then it will delve deeper into the Inter-American case-law, showing the potential of the standards developed therein to the protection of refugees’ and asylum seekers’ right to work. It concludes that these standards can and ought to be taken into account more seriously when assessing States’ discretion to limit refugees’ and asylum seekers’ access to the labour market and can be used as a basis to require positive and proactive measures from States in furthering this access.

Biografia do Autor

Mariana Ferolla Vallandro do Valle, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Doutoranda em Direito Internacional pelo Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

Referências

ANTKOWIAK, Thomas M.; GONZA, Alejandra. The American Convention on Human Rights: Essential Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. 10.1093/law/9780199989683.001.0001.

ARGENTINA. Obtener una residencia temporaria como trabajador migrante - No Mercosur. Available at: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/obtener-una-residencia-temporaria-como-trabajador-migrante-no-mercosur. Accessed on: 14 June 2022.

BHATTACHARJEE, Saurabh. Situating the Right to Work in International Human Rights Law: An Agenda for the Protection of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers. National University of Juridical Sciences Law Review, v. 6, pp. 41-62, Jan./Mar. 2013. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2501230.

BRAZIL. Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988. Brasília,

DF. Available at: http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/Constituicao/. Accessed on: 4 July 2023.

BRAZIL. Decreto nº 3.321, de 30 de dezembro de 1999. Promulga o Protocolo Adicional à Convenção Americana sobre Direitos Humanos em Matéria de Direitos Econômicos, Sociais e Culturais "Protocolo de São Salvador", concluído em 17 de novembro de 1988, em São Salvador, El Salvador. Diário Oficial da União, Section 1, Brasília, DF, year 137, n. 215, p. 12, 31 Dec. 1999.

BRAZIL. Decreto nº 50.215, de 28 de Janeiro de 1961. Promulga a Convenção relativa ao Estatuto dos Refugiados, concluída em Genebra, em 28 de julho de 1951. Diário Oficial da União: Section 1, Brasília, DF, year 100, n. 25, p. 838, 30 Jan. 1961.

BRAZIL. Decreto nº 591, de 6 de julho de 1992. Atos Internacionais. Pacto Internacional sobre Direitos Econômicos, Sociais e Culturais. Promulgação. Diário Oficial da União, Section 1, Brasília, DF, year 130, n. 128, p. 8713, 07 July 1992.

BRAZIL. Decreto nº 678, de 6 de novembro de 1992. Promulga a Convenção Americana sobre Direitos Humanos (Pacto de São José da Costa Rica), de 22 de novembro de 1969. Diário Oficial da União, Section 1, Brasília, DF, year 130, n. 214, p. 15562, 09 Nov. 1992.

BRAZIL. Decreto nº 7.030, de 14 de dezembro de 2009. Promulga a Convenção de Viena sobre o Direito dos Tratados, concluída em 23 de maio de 1969, com reserva aos Artigos 25 e 66. Diário Oficial da União, Section 1, Brasília, DF, year 146, n. 239, p. 59, 15 Dec. 2009.

BRAZIL. Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (5. Turma). Recurso de Revista 1406-71.2015.5.12.0034. RECURSO DE REVISTA. CONCURSO PÚBLICO. CONTRATAÇÃO TEMPORÁRIA. GARI. EDITAL QUE RESTRINGE A ADMISSÃO A BRASILEIROS NATOS OU NATURALIZADOS. ESTRANGEIRO. REFUGIADO DO HAITI. ARTIGO 73, INCISO I, DA CONSTITUIÇÃO. NORMA DE EFICÁCIA LIMITADA. I - Cinge-se a controvérsia a respeito da admissão de estrangeiro, na condição de refugiado, mediante aprovação em concurso, no cargo público de gari, durante a "Operação Verão 2015/2016" promovida pelo Município de Florianópolis. II - É sabido que, conforme preconiza o inciso I do artigo 5º da Lei nº 8.112/90, que dispõe sobre o regime jurídico dos servidores públicos civis da União, das autarquias e das fundações públicas federais, um dos requisitos básicos para a investidura em cargo público é a nacionalidade brasileira. III - Não obstante o artigo 37, inciso I, da CF disponha que "os cargos, empregos e funções públicas são acessíveis aos brasileiros que preencham os requisitos estabelecidos em lei, assim como aos estrangeiros, na forma da lei ", segundo o STF, o aludido preceito constitucional, relativamente ao acesso aos cargos públicos por estrangeiros, é dotado de eficácia limitada , dependendo de regulamentação para produzir efeitos, não sendo, portanto, autoaplicável (/MG). IV - Vale salientar que a Lei nº 9.474/97, que define mecanismos para a implementação do Estatuto dos Refugiados de 1951, estabelece que o refugiado estará sujeito aos deveres dos estrangeiros no Brasil, e que, ao adquirir nova nacionalidade e gozar da proteção do país cuja nacionalidade adquiriu, cessará sua condição de refugiado. V - Desse modo, sendo incontroverso o fato de que o recorrido é estrangeiro, na condição de refugiado, avulta a convicção sobre a inviabilidade de sua admissão em cargo público. VI - Recurso de revista conhecido e provido. Appellant: Companhia Melhoramentos da Capital - COMCAP. Appellee: Falcão Josaphat. Reporter: Min. Antonio José de Barros Levenhagen, 20 June 2017.

CANTOR, David James. Reframing Relationships: Revisiting the Procedural Standards for Refugee Status Determination in Light of Recent Human Rights Treaty Body Jurisprudence. Refugee Survey Quarterly, v. 34, n. 1, pp. 79-106, Mar. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdu017.

CAVALLARO, James L.; SCHAFFER, Emily J. Less as More: Rethinking Supranational Litigation of Economic and Social Rights in the Americas. Hastings Law Journal, v. 56, pp. 217-282, 2004.

CESCR. 'General Comment No. 5. UN Doc E/1995/22. 01 January 1995.

CESCR. Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Slovakia. UN Doc E/C.12/SVK/CO/2. 08 June 2012.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on Dominican Republic's Third Report on Implementation of the ICESCR. UN Doc E/C.12/DOM/CO/3. 26 November 2010.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Reports of Mexico. UN Doc E/C.12/MEX/CO/5-6. 17 April 2018.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Reports of Bulgaria. UN Doc E/C.12/BGR/CO/4-5. 11 December 2012.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Combined Third to Fifth Periodic Reports of Romania. UN Doc E/C.12/ROU/CO/3-5. 08 December 2014.

CESCR. Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Belgium. UN Doc E/C.12/BEL/CO/5. 26 March 2020.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of Costa Rica. UN Doc E/C.12/CRI/CO/5. 21 October 2016.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of Sri Lanka. UN Doc E/C.12/LKA/CO/5. 04 August 2017.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on the Fourth Periodic Report of Morocco. UN Doc E/C.12/MAR/CO/4. 21 October 2015.

CESCR. Concluding observations on the second periodic report of Latvia. UN Doc E/C.12/LVA/CO/2. 30 March 2021.

CESCR. Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Czechia. UN Doc E/C.12/CZE/CO/3. 28 March 2022.

CESCR. Concluding observations on the third periodic report of Slovakia. UN Doc E/C.12/SVK/CO/3. 14 November 2019.

CESCR. Concluding observations on the third periodic report of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. UN Doc E/C.12/BOL/CO/3. 05 November 2021.

CESCR. Concluding Observations on Venezuela's Second Periodic Report on Implementation of the ICESCR. UN Doc E/C.12/1/Add.56. 21 May 2001.

CESCR. Duties of States towards refugees and migrants under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. UN Doc E/C.12/2017/1. 13 March 2017.

CESCR. General Comment No 18. UN Doc E/C.12/GC/18. 06 February 2006.

CESCR. General Comment No. 20. UN Doc E/C.12/GC/20. 02 July 2009.

CESCR. General Comment No. 3. UN Doc E/1991/23. 01 January 1991.

CESCR. General Comment No. 6. UN Doc E/1996/22. 07 October 1996.

CESCR. Guidelines on Treaty-Specific Documents to be Submitted by States Parties under Articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. UN Doc E/C.12/2008/2. 24 March 2009.

CHAVES-GONZÁLEZ, Diego; ECHEVERRÍA-ESTRADA, Carlos. Un perfil regional de los migrantes y refugiados venezolanos en América Latina y el Caribe. IOM & MPI, 2020.

CHETAIL, Vincent. International Migration Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.

CHILE. Código del Trabajo. DFL n. 1, 31 July 2002. Available at: https://www.dt.gob.cl/legislacion/1624/articles-95516_recurso_1.pdf. Accessed on 06 July 2023.

CLOONEY, Amal; WEBB, Philippa. The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. 10.1093/law/9780198808398.001.0001.

CONFERENCE OF PLENIPOTENTIARIES ON THE STATUS OF REFUGEES AND STATELESS PERSONS. Summary Record of the 9th meeting held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 6 July 1951, at 10.30 a.m. UN Doc A/CONF.2/SR.9. 21 November 1951.

COSTA RICA. Constitución Política de Costa Rica. 7 November 1949. Available at: https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/cos127451.pdf. Accessed on: 06 July 2023.

COSTA, Rosa. Rights of Refugees in the Context of Integration: Legal Standards and Recommendations. UNHCR, June 2006.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE. Refugees and the right to work. Doc. 13462. 24 March 2014.

CRAVEN, Matthew. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: A Perspective on Its Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

DANKWA, E.V.O. Working Paper on Article 2(3) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Human Rights Quarterly, v. 9, n. 2, pp. 230-249, 1987. https://doi.org/10.2307/762296.

ECTHR. Gaygusuz v. Austria. App No. 17371/90. Strasbourg, 16 September 1996.

ECTHR. Nnyanzi v. the United Kingdom. App No. 21878/06. Strasbourg, 8 April 2008.

EDWARDS, Alice. Gainful Employment, Article 17. In: ZIMMERMANN, Andreas (org.). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 950-972. 10.1093/actrade/9780199542512.001.0001.

EDWARDS, Alice. Gainful Employment, Article 18. In: ZIMMERMANN, Andreas (org.). The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 973-981. 10.1093/actrade/9780199542512.001.0001.

FLACSO. Refugiados Urbanos En Ecuador: Estudio Sobre Los Procesos de Inserción Urbana de La Población Colombiana Refugiada, El Caso de Quito y Guayaquil. Quito: FLACSO, 2011.

FOSTER, Michelle. International Refugee Law and Socio-Economic Rights: Refuge from Deprivation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511493980.

GERARDS, Janneke. Discrimination Grounds. In: SCHIEK, Dagmar; WADDINGTON, Lisa; BELL Mark (org.). Cases, Materials and Text on National, Supranational and International Non-Discrimination Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2007. p. 33-184.

GOODWIN-GILL, Guy S; MCADAM, Jane. The Refugee in International Law. 4. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. 10.1093/law/9780198808565.001.0001.

GRUPO ARTICULADOR REGIONAL DEL PLAN DE ACCIÓN BRASIL 2017. El Derecho al Trabajo de las Personas Solicitantes de Asilo y Refugiadas en América Latina y el Caribe. 2018. Available at: https://asylumaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Derechos-Laborales-Refugiadas-en-America-Latina-y-el-Caribe-final-ESP.pdf. Accessed on: 06 June 2023.

GUATEMALA. Código de Trabajo. Decreto No. 1441. 05 May 1961. Available at: http://www.sice.oas.org/investment/NatLeg/GTM/Trabajo_s.pdf. Accessed on: 06 July 2023.

HATHAWAY, James C. The Rights of Refugees under International Law. 2. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108863537.

HRC. Oulajin & Kaiss v. The Netherlands. UN Doc CCPR/C/46/D/406/1990 and 426/1990. 5 November 1992.

IACOMMHR. Familia Julien-Grisonas v. Argentina (Admisibilidad y Fondo). Report No. 56/19, Case 13.392. 4 May 2019.

IACOMMHR. Informe sobre Terrorismo y Derechos Humanos. OEA/Ser.L/V/ll.116. 2002.

IACOMMHR. Margarita Cecilia Barbería Miranda vs. Chile (Merits). Report No 56/10, Case 12.469. Washington D.C., 18 March 2010.

IACOMMHR. Trabajadores indocumentados vs. Estados Unidos de América (Fondo). Report No 50/16, Case 12.834. 30 November 2016.

IACTHR. Atala Riffo and daughters v. Chile (Merits, Reparations and Costs). Ser C No. 239. San José, 24 February 2012.

IACTHR. Case of Expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 282. San José, 28 August 2014.

IACTHR. Case of Gonzales Lluy et al. v. Ecuador (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 298. San José, 1 September 2015.

IACTHR. Case of I.V. v. Bolivia (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 329. San José, 30 November 2016.

IACTHR. Case of Lagos del Campo v. Peru (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 340. San José, 31 August 2017.

IACTHR. Case of Poblete Vilches et al. v. Chile (Merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 349. San José, 8 March 2018.

IACTHR. Case of the Hacienda Brasil Verde Workers v. Brazil (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 318. San José, 20 October 2016.

IACTHR. Case of the Workers of the Fireworks Factory in Santo Antônio de Jesus and their Families v. Brazil (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 407. San José, 15 July 2020.

IACTHR. Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama (Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs). Ser C No. 218. San José, 23 November 2010.

IACTHR. Caso de los Buzos Miskitos (Lemoth Morris y otros) vs. Honduras. Ser C No. 432. San José, 21 August 2021.

IACTHR. Caso Pavez Pavez vs. Chile (Fondo, Reparaciones y Costas). Ser C No. 449. San José, 4 February 2022.

IACTHR. Caso Spoltore vs. Argentina (Excepción Preliminar, Fondo, Reparaciones y Costas). Ser C No. 404. San José, 9 July 2020.

IACTHR. Cuscul Piraval et al. v. Guatemala (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 359. San José, 23 August 2018.

IACTHR. Gender Identity, and Equality and Non-Discrimination of Same-Sex Couples State Obligations concerning Change of Name, Gender Identity, and Rights Derived from a Relationship between Same-Sex Couples (Interpretation and Scope of Articles 1(1), 3, 7, 11(2), 13, 17, 18 and 24, in Relation to Article 1, of the American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion 24-17. San José, 24 November 2017.

IACTHR. Juridical Condition and Rights of Undocumented Migrants. Advisory Opinion OC-18/03. San José, 17 September 2003.

IACTHR. Pacheco Tineo Family v. Plurinational State of Bolivia (Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs). Ser C No. 272. San José, 25 November 2013.

LEUTERT, Stephanie et al. Mexico: Las Barreras para el Estatus Legal, Derechos e Integración. Escuela de Asuntos Públicos Lyndon B. Johnson, June 2019.

LIMIA, Emiliano. El desafío que viven los refugiados sirios que llegan a Latinoamérica. Agencia Anadolu, 24 Dec. 2017. Available at: https://www.aa.com.tr/es/mundo/el-desaf%C3%ADo-que-viven-los-refugiados-sirios-que-llegan-a-latinoam%C3%A9rica/1014037. Accessed on: 06 June 2023.

MAC-GREGOR, Eduardo Ferrer; MÖLLER, Carlos María Pelayo. Artículo 1. Obligación de Respetar los Derechos. In: STEINER, Christian; URIBE, Patricia (org.). Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos: Comentario. Berlin: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2014.

MATHEW, Penelope et al. The Michigan Guidelines on the Right to Work. Michigan Journal of International Law, v. 31, n. 2, pp. 293-306, 2010.

MATHEW, Penelope. Reworking the Relationship between Asylum and Employment. London: Routledge, 2012. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203116449.

MELISH, Tara J. Rethinking the "Less as More" Thesis: Supranational Litigation of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in the Americas. NYU Journal of International Law and Politics, v. 39, pp. 171-343, 2006.

PANAMA. Código del Trabajo. Decreto Nº 252/1971, Series Legislativa 1971-Pan. 1, 30 December 1971. Available at: https://siteal.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/sit_accion_files/pa_0051_0.pdf. Accessed on 06 July 2023.

PANAMA. Decreto Número 257 por el cual se reglamenta la Ley No. 15 de 1959. Gaceta Oficial n. 15499, 3 September 1965. Available at: Accessed on: https://docs.panama.justia.com/federales/decretos/257-de-1965-nov-19-1965.pdf. 06 July 2023.

PANAMA. Ley 56 por medio de la cual se regula el ejercicio de la Psicología en el territorio nacional. Gaceta Oficial n. 17948, 16 September 1975. Available at: https://docs.panama.justia.com/federales/leyes/56-de-1975-oct-15-1975.pdf. Accessed on 06 July 2023.

PERU. Ley para la contractación de trabajadores extranjeros. Decreto Legislativo Nº 689. 4 November 1991. Available at: https://www2.congreso.gob.pe/sicr/cendocbib/con4_uibd.nsf/FDAA0F74CC525DF505257E28005A5797/$FILE/1_DECRETO_LEGISLATIVO_689_05_11_1991.pdf. Accessed on 06 July 2023.

PROFESIONES que no Pueden Ser Ejercidas por Extranjeros en Panamá. Chen Lee & Associados. Available at: https://www.chenleeyasociados.com/profesiones-no-permitidas-para-los-extranjeros.html. Accessed on: 4 June 2022.

RAMÍREZ, Maria José Noriega; ARDILA, María Paula. "Que La Cédula Diga 'Nacido En Venezuela' No Ayuda a La Hora de Buscar Empleo". El Espectador, 3 Sep. 2021. Available at: https://www.elespectador.com/mundo/america/que-la-cedula-diga-nacido-en-venezuela-no-ayuda-a-la-hora-de-buscar-empleo/. Accessed on: 06 June 2023.

SAUL, Ben; KINLEY, David; MOWBRAY, Jacqueline. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Commentary, Cases, and Materials. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 10.1093/law/9780199640300.001.0001.

UN AD HOC COMMITTEE ON REFUGEES AND STATELESS PERSONS. Deuxième session : Réfugiés et apatrides. Relevé des observations présentées par les Gouvernements et les institutions spécialisées au sujet du rapport du Comité spécial de l'apatridie et des problèmes connexes. UN Doc E/AC.32/L.40. 10 August 1950.

UN AD HOC COMMITTEE ON REFUGEES AND STATELESS PERSONS. Summary Record of the Thirteenth Meeting held at Lake Success, New York, on Thursday, 26 January 1950, at 11 a.m. UN Doc E/AC.32/SR.13. 6 February 1950.

UNHCR. Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons under the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. 2014.

WHITE, Ana Guglielmelli. Un pilar de la protección: Reasentamiento solidario para los refugiados en América Latina. Trabajo de Investigación No. 29. Comité para Refugiados e Inmigrantes de los Estados Unidos, 2012.

Downloads

Publicado

2024-07-19

Como Citar

Ferolla Vallandro do Valle, M. (2024). Advancing the access of refugees and asylum seekers in Latin America to the labour market: building from the inter-american case-law. Revista Direito, Estado E Sociedade, (63). https://doi.org/10.17808/des.2009

Edição

Seção

Artigos