Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Year: 1988

Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 9 of the Right to Social Security, reads as follows:

  • “(1) Everyone shall have the right to social security protecting him from the consequences of old age and of disability which prevent him, physically or mentally, from securing the means for a dignified and decent existence. In the event of the death of a beneficiary, social security benefits shall be applied to his dependants. (2) In the case of persons who are employed, the right to social security shall cover at least medical care and an allowance or retirement benefit in the case of work accidents or occupational disease and, in the case of women, paid maternity leave before and after childbirth.”

Article 10 of the Right to Health, reads as follows:

  • Everyone shall have the right to health, understood to mean the enjoyment of the highest level of physical, mental and social well-being. In order to ensure the exercise of the right to health, the States Parties agree to recognize health as a public good and, particularly, to adopt the following measures to ensure that right: primary health care, that is, essential health care made available to all individuals and families in the community; extension of the benefits of health services to all individuals subject to the State’s jurisdiction; universal immunization against the principal infectious diseases; prevention and treatment of endemic, occupational and other diseases; education of the population on the prevention and treatment of health problems; and satisfaction of the health needs of the highest risk groups and of those whose poverty makes them the most vulnerable.
Social Protection and Human Rights