The Ministry of Interior withdrew draft migration legislation proposed by the
government of Sebastián Piñera (2010–14) for further review when President Bachelet
regained the presidency in 2014, in order to ensure that a focus on human rights standards and local integration of the migrant population was included.171
The government’s ongoing efforts to propose a new migration framework has created a climate of hope with regard to immigration in Chile.172 However, the fact that Chile
still lacks a rights-based legislative framework on nationality and migration overshadows
progress in policy.173 This was evident during the 2014 Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
process,174 which highlighted the need for comprehensive immigration policies, modifying current legislation, and guaranteeing the right to nationality of children of migrants.175
In October 2014, Chile’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning made an
announcement exemplifying progress toward more inclusive immigration policies. It
eliminated the former requirement of five years of permanent legal residence for eligibility for its programs; immigrant families now qualify upon obtaining legal residency.176
A nationwide government campaign for a new migration law termed “For the Chile that
Is Coming” (“Por el Chile que Viene”) also provides some cause for optimism.177
Likewise, a small group of parliamentarians proposed a bill in December 2014
for an interpretative statute to the Constitution that would address the legal definition
of the term “transient foreigner,” in order to ensure that the current interpretation is
secured in a legally binding instrument.178 On January 6, 2015, the bill was submitted
for an initial review and processing by the Commission on Constitution, Legislation,
and Justice of the Chamber of Deputies. As of June 2016, the bill remains within this
first stage of the legislative process.
International Obligations Regarding Statelessness
Chile is not a party to either of the Statelessness Conventions. In 1990, it acceded to the
ACHR, and accordingly, it is bound by the obligations that correspond to the right to
nationality in the terms that the Convention defines, as well as to the interpretation that
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights establishes in its case law. Furthermore,
that same year, Chile acceded to the CRC, and thus is bound by Articles 7 and 8 of the
Convention relating to children’s right to nationality and to legal identity.
In Chile, human rights established or recognized by treaties to which the country is a party have constitutional rank.179 Accordingly, the human rights guarantees in
Article 20 of the ACHR, as well as those of Article 5 of the CRC, are understood to
be legally binding for all national authorities in the same way as other rights in the
Constitution, including the right to a nationality.
52
COUNTRY PROFILES
l
CHILE
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