Litigar el derecho al cuidado: aportes de la Opinión Consultiva N° 31/25 y desafíos para su efectivización en Argentina

Abstract

This paper analyzes the recognition of the right to care as an autonomous right following Advisory Opinion n.^o 31/25 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and explores its potential for litigation in Argentina. In a context marked by setbacks in social rights and reforms affecting the social organization of care, the article proposes judicialization as a strategic tool to give operational content and enforceability to this newly recognized right.

First, it reconstructs the conceptual and normative development of the right to care within the regional and international human rights framework, highlighting its progressive consolidation in regional conferences, within the Inter-American system, and through public policies implemented in Argentina. It then examines the core standards established by the Court, particularly the three dimensions of the right (to care, to be cared for, and self-care), the principles of shared responsibility, solidarity, autonomy, and equality, and the State’s obligations of respect, guarantee, and normative adaptation, as well as the duty of conventionality control by domestic courts.

Based on these standards, the paper identifies three potential areas of litigation in Argentina: labor and social security disputes related to care responsibilities; alternatives to imprisonment for caregivers; and claims concerning access to care services for older persons. It concludes that the current context offers a strategic opportunity for legal mobilization, understanding litigation not only as an individual remedy but as a means to shape precedents and strengthen the legal culture surrounding the right to care.