CESR welcomes the Inter-American Court on Human Rights’ historic recognition of care as a human right. This is a long-overdue step toward justice for women, caregivers, and communities across America.
This breakthrough builds on decades of feminist organizing, including the Care Manifesto, and echoes the vision we share with allies like Public Services International. Care is the invisible foundation of our societies and economies. Yet too often it is ignored, unpaid, and placed on the backs of women and girls.
Recognizing care as a right changes the terms of the conversation. It affirms that care is not a personal responsibility or private burden, but a public good and a state obligation. And it opens the door to systemic change, starting with how governments fund, design, and deliver public services.
From recognition to redistribution
The right to care means that everyone, regardless of income, gender, disability, or migratory status, must have access to quality, affordable, and dignified care. It also means that those providing care, whether paid or unpaid, must be supported, protected, and fairly compensated.
To meet this obligation, states must invest in universal, gender-responsive public services that meet the needs of both caregivers and those receiving care. That includes:
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Public funding for health, education, childcare, eldercare, disability support, water, sanitation, and energy.
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Infrastructure designed with equity in mind: accessible, safe, affordable, and culturally appropriate.
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Fair pay and decent working conditions for care workers, with the right to organize and bargain collectively.
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Gender-responsive budgeting, backed by disaggregated data and clear accountability mechanisms.
Care is global, and so is the responsibility to fund it
The care crisis does not stop at national borders. Migrant care workers, mostly women from the Global South, fill critical labor gaps in richer countries, often in exploitative conditions. A rights-based response demands international cooperation to uphold their labor rights and ensure fair, safe, and dignified work.
We already have the legal and policy foundations: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, and the ILO’s 2024 resolution on decent work and care. Recent commitments, such as the March 2025 Joint Statement endorsed by over 70 countries, have created political space for stronger cooperation. But commitments only matter if they come with resources. That means urgent reforms to the global financial system:
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Fix tax rules to stop illicit financial flows and corporate profit-shifting that strip resources from public budgets.
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Cancel or restructure unsustainable debts so governments can invest in care, not austerity.
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Mobilize climate finance to build resilience in communities, especially women on the frontlines of crisis.
The road ahead
Recognition is not enough. Realizing the right to care will take bold action, sustained pressure, and a shift in political priorities. Governments must move from rhetoric to redistribution, from token programs to universal, well-funded systems that treat care as a shared responsibility and a pillar of justice.
As CESR’s Executive Director, Dr. María Ron Balsera, puts it:
“The right to care is not merely aspirational. It is achievable if we prioritize gender justice, fiscal justice, transparency, and redistribution.”
We will keep pushing until care is no longer invisible or undervalued, but recognized, resourced, and shared.