Tráfico marítimo de migrantes: entre a ausência de governança e a violação estrutural de direitos humanos

Abstract

This Course Completion Work examines the instrumentalization of the maritime space by Transnational Organized Crime for the practice of the maritime trafficking of migrants. The research investigates the profound impacts of this dynamic on human vulnerability, fundamental rights, and the challenges imposed on international cooperation and maritime governance. The study demonstrates that the exploitation of the maritime environment is facilitated by the highly profitable structure of criminal networks and by systemic state failures, which include deficiencies in port inspection, jurisdictional fragmentation, and governance ineffectiveness, as well as the deliberate omission of some States to provide search, rescue, and protection to victims, especially in regions such as the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia. Based on international normative frameworks, notably the Palermo Protocol and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), legal gaps and difficulties in application are identified. Such problems stem from the limited sovereignty on the high seas and the prevalence of the flag State's jurisdiction, factors that, together, favor impunity and hinder the effective repression of Organized Crime. The conclusion advocates for the urgent reinforcement of international legal cooperation, the rigorous strengthening of port inspection, and the adoption of public policies whose main objective is the guarantee of the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable individuals