Progressively Realized Human Rights

Progressively Realized Human Rights

International law allows socioeconomic rights to be realized progressively. In contrast, civil and political rights are thought to be subject to a requirement of immediate full compliance. I argue that progressive realization should be an option for some civil and political rights. For some civil and political rights face the same kinds of resource and epistemic constraint that make progressive realization appropriate for socioeconomic rights. I support this claim, first, via a general progress model of human rights obligations, which subsumes progressive realization and shows that the legal distinction between obligations for civil and political rights and for socioeconomic rights is implausible. Second, I illustrate my claim through the example of political participation rights. These rights face resource and epistemic constraints that make progressive realization suitable. Further, progressive realization in this realm would help us steer a course between irresponsible intervention, on the one hand, and inaction, on the other.

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