ASSESSING THE RIGHT TO A “DIGNIFIED LIFE” IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS PROTECTION Judicial Success or Failure?

Abstract

Tis contribution aims at assessing whether or not, and for what reasons, the concept of the “right to a dignifed life” – i.e. the right not to be prevented from having access to minimum living conditions compatible with human dignity – provides an appropriate and effective means to address violations of social and cultural rights within the Inter-American System. Afer presenting the main aspects of the right to live a dignifed existence and contextualising it within the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR) in the area of economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights), the analysis focuses on the main strengths and weaknesses that, on both a conceptual and a practical level, the approach under examination presents in comparison to a direct approach to ESC rights protection based on Article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Te conclusion is that, because of its own rationale as a means to guarantee subsistence needs, the right to a dignifed life is unable to provide more than a starting point for the protection of social and cultural rights, and that the time has come for the IACtHR to move forward and give proper recognition to the rights in question under Article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). If not, there is a serious risk that the right to a dignifed life becomes a judicial “ failure” story in the feld of social and cultural rights protection.