Study title

This collection consists of interview data on refugees/displacement and organised crime in Latin America. This project uses multi-disciplinary methodology to investigate and influence the ways in which Latin American States use transnational structures and interventions to address new security and justice challenges resulting from forced migration flows.

The recent trend of increasing arrivals of 'extra-continental' migrants and refugees, many from conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, raise substantive challenges of security and justice for Latin American societies. At the same time, particularly in Central America, new patterns of gang- and drug-related generalised violence are producing extensive forced displacement. As States in the region seek to balance societal fears about terrorism and criminality against their international obligations to protect refugees, they look to develop new forms of transnational cooperation on asylum and migration. This international cooperation builds on existing regional initiatives. However, no recent or comprehensive studies of this topic exist. This research analyses these regional responses to forced migration in Latin America. Among the far-reaching questions are: (1) What are the implications for security and justice of these new dynamics? (2) How do Latin American States respond to such challenges, and how can their responses be strengthened in future? (3) What are the implications for States' allocation of international responsibility for flows of refugees?