protection was first recognized in the case of Muelle Flores v. Peru (2019)32 and advanced in the case of Former Employees of the Judiciary v. Guatemala (2021).33 The case of the Indigenous Communities of the Lhaka Honhat (Our Land) Association v. Argentina (2020) served as a backdrop to better establish the scope of Article 26’s protection, to include protection of the right to a healthy environment, to food, to drinking water, and to participation in cultural life. More recently, in the case Veras Rojas v. Chile, the Court addressed the right to health from an innovative perspective, recognizing the state's obligation to supervise the provision of health services in conjunction with the rights of children and persons with disabilities, and the right to social security.34 30. In this context, as already recognized in the judgment in this case, the Court has found a violation of some ESCER by directly applying Article 26 of the Convention in at least 24 contentious cases and two advisory opinions.35 31. The Court recognized likewise with respect to provisional measures, most notably in the pioneering decision handed down in the case of Vélez Loor v. Panama, in which it decided to issue health measures to protect the right to health of the migrant population amid the COVID-19 pandemic.36 Also worth recognizing with the current composition of the Court is the case of the Yanomami, Ye’kwana, and Munduruku indigenous peoples v. Brazil.37 32. I would emphatically note here that this number only includes cases handed down subsequent to the precedent set in Lagos del Campo and to which must be added to the multitude of prior judgments in which the Court found violations of ESCER based on connections to civil and political rights. 33. The gradual elaboration of meanings that maximize the effectiveness of Article 26—not always perfectly linear, but notably progressive—embodies the generational effort of the judges of this Court to produce the authentic “chain novel” that Dworkin called a central element for the integrity of rights-focused case law. 34. Comparing the work of judges to drafting a collective work of art, the celebrated legal philosopher states that in especially difficult cases: Cf. Case of Muelle Flores v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of March 6, 2019. Series C No. 375, para. 187. 32 Cf. Case of Former Judicial Branch Workers v. Guatemala. Preliminary Objections, Merits, and Reparations. Judgment of November 17, 2021. Series C No. 445. 33 Cf. Case of Vera Rojas et al. v. Chile. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of October 1, 2021. Series C No. 439. 34 Judgment, para. 55. See: The Environment and Human Rights (State obligations in relation to the environment in the context of the protection and guarantee of the rights to life and to personal integrity – interpretation and scope of Articles 4(1) and 5(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights, in conjunction with articles 1(1) and 2). Advisory Opinion OC-23/17 of November 15, 2017. Series A No. 23; Rights to freedom to organize, collective bargaining, and strike, and their relation to other rights, with a gender perspective. (interpretation and scope of articles 13, 15, 16, 24, 25, and 26 in relation to articles 1(1) and 2 of the American Convention on Human Rights; articles 3, 6, 7, and 8 of the Protocol of San Salvador; articles 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Convention of Belém do Pará; articles 34, 44, and 45 of the Charter of the Organization of American States; and articles II, IV, XIV, XXI, and XXII of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man). Advisory Opinion OC-27/21 of May 5, 2021. Series A No. 27. 35 Cf. Case of Vélez Loor v. Panama. Provisional measures. Adoption of Urgent Measures. Order of the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of May 26, 2020. 36 Cf. Matter of the Members of the Yanomami, Ye’kwana, and Munduruku Indigenous Peoples regarding Brazil. Adoption of Provisional Measures. Order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of July 1, 2022. 37 7