Legal-based approach of the Inter-American System on Minorities and Persons in Situations of Mobility in Contexts of Humanitarian Crises By Felipe González Professor of International Law and former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The Inter-American systems holds a set of instruments (treaties and declarations) deployed in relation with minorities, especially when these minorities are in a situation of voluntary or forced mobility. Furthermore, it uses UN instruments to interpret the meaning and scope of the Inter-American instruments. It must be highlighted, in first place, that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man recognises the right to asylum and that the American Convention on Human Rights mentions in detail on the right to mobility and residence in its Article 22, which recognises, among other things, the right to asylum (section 7) and explicitly recognises the principle of Non-Refoulement “[i]n no case may an alien be deported or returned to a country, regardless of whether or not it is his country of origin, if in that country his right to life or personal freedom is in danger of being violated because of his race, nationality, religion, social status, or political opinions” (section 8). The prohibition of the collective expulsion of aliens is established in section 9. In this way, it is important to note the importance of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees for the Inter-American system. Despite it is not an instrument of this system, the OAS General Assembly endorsed it, calling the member states for its implementation. Its central aspect is that it has a “expanded definition” of the term refugee, incorporating objective elements, and going beyond situations of the “well-founded fear” which the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 refers to. Thus, it includes “persons who have fled their country because their lives, safety or freedom have been threatened by generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violation of human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order”. It is important to mention that the internal normative of the 16 states of the region includes the broaden definition of refugee recommended by the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees.