The human right to care is essential for the sustainability of life and the planet and is one of the human rights recognized by international covenants and treaties as applying to everyone. As the Buenos Aires Commitment (2022) states, the right to care is based on the principles of equality, universality and social and gender co-responsibility. This right, whose foundations also include non-discrimination, progressiveness and interdependence, recognizes the value of care work and secures the rights of those requiring and providing care, as well as the right to exercise self-care. This means moving towards a fair social organization of care and achieving gender equality.

The present issue of Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean. Studies provides an up-to-date review of international regulations applying to the human right to care and their links to the Regional Gender Agenda. It includes constitutional provisions, national laws and policies on comprehensive care systems, standards for measuring time use and the regulation of care leave in Latin America and the Caribbean, drawing on information from the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean and the ILO Global Care Policy Portal.