THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS
AND DEVELOPMENT THE OTHER WAY
ROUND: THE EMERGING USE OF
QUANTITATIVE TOOLS FOR MEASURING THE
PROGRESSIVE REALISATION OF ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Gauthier de Beco*
Abstract
This article concerns the interplay between human rights and development. This
interplay has usually only been considered in one direction (human rights →
development). The article considers the possibility of studying the interplay the
other way round (development → human rights). It examines both the theoretical
and practical aspects involved. On the one hand, it explains why a greater
convergence between human rights and development approaches is necessary. On
the other, it analyses the emerging use of quantitative tools for measuring the
progressive realisation of economic, social and cultural rights. Using the right to
education as an example, it shows how these tools can help human rights
practitioners to define human rights obligations and the obligation progressively to
realise economic, social and cultural rights, according to a State’s maximum
available resources in particular. Finally, it examines how human rights practitioners
could adopt an interdisciplinary approach to human rights.
Keywords: development; economic; social and cultural rights; quantitative tools
*
Ph.D. in Law, University of Louvain; LL.M., University of Nottingham, Associate Researcher,
Centre for Philosophy of Law of the University of Louvain.
The author wishes to thank Wouter Vandenhole (Law and Development Research Group, University
of Antwerp Law Research School) and Hans-Otto Sano (World Bank) for their advice on an earlier
version of this article.
4 HR&ILD 2 (2010) 265
