The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the cases of violation of Human Right to Health

Abstract

In the Americas there is a considerable number of countries with an excluding health system, separating the population between those who can and those who cannot have access to health services. When the State is the violator of the right to health and people do not have internal resources to pursue their rights, the access to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (ICHR) is an important option, although still unknown by the majority of the population in the Americas. In this scenario, this study aimed to describe the cases of violations of the right to health or health deterioration due to the violation of other rights judged by the ICHR, in order to observe the international effort to put into effect the recognition of the human rights as well as the status of human beings as subjects to rights and duties in the Americas. After the description and the analysis of the sentences we consider health as the starting point and balance of all social rights, forming a mental and physical framework that makes the individual what he/she is, capable of and empowered to exercise his/her rights and citizenship. However, the consolidation of the human right to health as a right and a State duty in the scenario of the Americas, mainly in Latin America, is not effective, pointing out a long way to build a society with justice and equality.