The structural obligations approach to human rights

This paper starts from the observations that access to socio-economic rights is retrogressing in many wealthy states and that human rights argumentation is failing to address the causes of this retrogression. The paper locates a core reason for this failure in an imbalance between narrow but forceful claim rights and inclusive but imprecise structural approaches. It builds a form of rights practice that merges the strength of each approach. It is predicated on five key principles: structural obligations should identify discrete rights-based problems that engender specific obligations upon feasibly obligated duty-bearers to make practicable changes to conduct to realise rights throughout the political economy. The paper uses a case study of housing in Hong Kong to demonstrate the efficacy of the approach, noting that it is within the doctrinal scope of treaty obligations but divergent from the current approach of treaty bodies.