ABSTRACT
Human dignity, the realization of which is the aim of human rights, cannot be reduced to dimensions that can be encompassed by a short or narrow list of "basic" human rights. Basic economic and social rights as established in the main human rights treaties include the right to work, the right to education, and the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services without any kind of discrimination. As a consequence, the dominant models of international assistance in conflict and post-conflict scenarios tend to reproduce and perpetuate the flaws of already weak political and economic structures further obscuring the potential causes for violent conflict existing in certain conflict-prone societies, namely in those where socio-economic inequalities are rooted and structural. In order to meet the most pressing and urgent socio-economic needs of the population, priority must be given to providing basic social services and economic opportunities.
