Priorities and human rights

Abstract

This article intends to further the debate about a possible hierarchy in the implementation of human rights. To this end, it proposes a theory which may serve as a stepping stone towards the achievement of shared and well-defined priorities, taking scarcity as a starting point to analyse the implementation of human rights. The proposed theory builds on the so-called Maslow pyramid which displays a common pattern of behaviour aimed at addressing priorities based on human needs. Scrutinising its methodological principle we develop a theory based on ‘instrumentality’. Although this allows for an informed ranking of human rights, it leaves the substantive importance of human rights untouched.