The human rights discourse has consolidated its position as the prevailing moral and social language of this so-called ‘global’ era. Today increasingly more people couch their demands in ‘rights’ terms: politicians and diplomats, academics and journalists, minorities and majorities, ‘humanitarians’ and ‘developmentalists’. Yet the constant stream of reported human rights abuses from around the world does not recede. Thus, as we strive to reach a better understanding of the nature and practical implications of the rights-based approach, we also become more aware of the risk of falling into utopian discourses, lacking in coherence and realism. This paper addresses the difficult balance between theory and practice concerning the rights-based approach in the context of emergency work.