In the last decades Mercosur and the Andean Comunity of Nations set important legislations on regional migration and the treatment of migrants. South American regional integration organizations have originally trade objectives and only later added social issues to their goals, among them regional migration. This article presents the normative development conducted in South American integration processes in their search for solutions to the problems of human displacement stemmed from neighboring countries. Despite advances, there remain legal barriers to regularize the status of regional migrants and their access to social and political rights. Main obstacles are the misalignment of internal law towards multilateral agreements and the minor participation of South American societies in decision-making processes. The article also comments the adoption of general principles on regional migration based on respect for the human rights and the route of inclusion of migrants in a broader regional citizenship project.
Migrant; Regional Migration; Citizenship; South America; Andean Community of Nations; Mercosur