Temporalised international human rights: Complicated times

The exploration of temporality within human rights discourse holds transformative potential. By dismantling the notion that human rights unfold linearly, we open up significant avenues for advancing debates on effectiveness, institutional reform, and doctrinal interpretations. Despite its significance, time remains underexamined in human rights discussions. Time enables a renewed analytical account of human rights—one that reveals their intricacies and multiplicities and invites us to transcend immediate violations to embrace self-awareness within the temporal continuum. This article argues that temporality delineates rights’ scope, shapes obligations, acts as a barrier, and creates permissive spaces for rights. It examines four particular ideas of temporality to show where rights This piece aids in framing the temporal impact of policy interventions and rights violations, facilitating a more holistic approach to human rights advocacy.