Equalities Secretary welcomes human rights scrutiny from UN

Scotland has a duty to speak out strongly for human rights – and ensure our record measures up to the standards we expect other nations to meet.

That was the message from Equalities Secretary Angela Constance as she published a statement on Scotland’s human rights record ahead of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of the UK on 4 May, which the UK government has denied Scottish ministers the opportunity to attend.

Ms Constance said: “Human rights enrich every aspect of our daily lives – benefiting individuals and empowering communities. Both here and internationally, they quite literally save lives. That’s why I am pleased to update the UN on the measures we are taking to progress human rights and and build a fairer, more equal and inclusive Scotland.

“We welcome this scrutiny of our record – therefore it is very disappointing that the UK government has denied Scottish Ministers the opportunity to attend the UN review on 4 May. We will, of course, respond positively to any recommendations from the UN that could help us improve our human rights obligations.

“The actions we are taking to ensure human rights are respected and protected reflect a national vision - shared by government, civil society partners and the Scottish people - of a country where everyone is able to live with dignity.

“However, the direction the UK government has been taking is fundamentally incompatible with that view. While UK Ministers have called into question protections under the European Convention on Human Rights and European law, we are working to ensure everyone in Scottish society can enjoy their rights in full.”

Recent initiatives to progress human rights and implement UN recommendations in Scotland include: