Human needs or Human wants? The Impact of crises and catastrophes on Human Rights

Abstract

Philosophers, lawyers, and political scientists have for a long time attempted to solve issues related to human rights, crises, and catastrophes. This article aims at bringing these debates together, to show that human rights and crises are mutually interdependent. More precisely, I will illustrate that the instincts and emotions triggered by the materialization of certain crises and catastrophes might devalue the implementation of human rights law as it influences our conception of the grounding of human rights qua moral rights. For this reason, a call for a “theory of want” as a justification for the grounding and the implementation of human rights in times of crisis is needed.