International practice of human rights as legal demand-rights: a critical approach

• Autores: Johnny Antonio Dávila
• Localización: The Age of Human Rights Journal, ISSN-e 2340-9592, ISSN-e 2340-9592, Nº. 18, 2022, págs. 377-395
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • Margaret Gilbert’s approach to human rights asserts that these are demand-rights, be they moral or legal. As legal demand-rights, human rights result exclusively from an international practice in which states hold a leading position and moral considerations are not of relevance This paper offers a critique of Gilbert’s prominent approach to conceptualising human rights as legal demand-rights. A strongly state-centric approach like this one does not correctly represent the international practice of human rights and may reinforce the dominant role of states vis-à-vis individuals, what contradicts our contemporary understanding of human rights. Moreover, if Gilbert’s approach to human rights as legal demand-rights is followed in the way she has proposed, the realisation of these rights could be even more difficult. I suggest that such outcomes can be avoided by accepting the dual (political and moral) nature of human rights.