The State, the assailant? Guaranteeing economic and social rights after widespread violence through the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Abstract

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has traditionally addressed the socio-economic wrongs that result from episodes of widespread violence indirectly, under the lens of civil and political rights abuses. This article provides a historical explanation of this approach and expands on the limitations that follow from it in the Court's jurisprudence. Using empirical data on victims and perpetrators in countries affected by armed conflict and organised crime, the article measures the magnitude of these limitations. To overcome them, it suggests that the right to a ‘dignified life’ and recent developments concerning the enforceability of economic and social rights be applied after widespread violence, following the lead of the Colombian Constitutional Court regarding the protection of internally displaced people by violence.