Date of Graduation
Spring 5-19-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS)
College/School
College of Arts and Sciences
Department/Program
International Studies
First Advisor
Olivier Bercault
Second Advisor
Ilaria Giglioli
Abstract
Within the international community, exists an institution known as the United Nations that strives to uphold the protections of human rights. Known to set the tone for all member states on how to approach human rights, they also advise states during times of crisis, as with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Such clusters of states are known as the Northern Triangle and the region underwent an exponential refugee crisis, highlighted in 2018, via mass caravans from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to neighboring counties, Mexico, and the United States. Beyond acknowledging the instant need for the international community to seek actors to blame, whether that be the United Nations or member states, this paper will investigate the dynamic between the Human Rights Regime and its actors. This paper will seek to answer the question: How has the United Nation’s prioritization of some human rights impacted Central America’s approach towards the Refugee Crisis? Through a qualitative approach, in testing the hypothesis, this paper has found that the United Nations has not directly influenced the Northern Triangle’s approach towards the 2018 caravan, but rather the interpretations of their conventions relating to all categories of human rights have greatly influenced the approaches the Northern Triangle states have taken in handling the refugee crisis. Both the instability of the states themselves, paired with such influences, have led to the repeating failure of curtaining the refugee crisis.
Recommended Citation
Sanchez, Vanessa A., "Forgotten Voices: United Nations, Human Rights, and Central America's Refugee Crisis" (2023). Master's Theses. 1460.
https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1460
