Shirley-Anne Somerville

Subject to the outcome of May’s Holyrood election, a new Human Rights Bill will incorporate four United Nations human rights treaties into Scots law, including legislation that safeguards the human rights of women, disabled people and minority ethnic communities.

The new Bill, which will be introduced in the next parliamentary session will include specific rights, subject to devolved competence, from:

• the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

The National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership, which was set up in December 2018, have also published their final report. In total 30 recommendations have been accepted by the Scottish government.

Ms Somerville said: “These recommendations from the taskforce are bold and ambitious. A multi-treaty human rights Bill of this nature, that will also contain a range of others rights on the environment, older people, and access to justice, is unprecedented and will make Scotland a world leader in human rights.

“This new bill sets out our clear commitment to reducing inequality and advancing the human rights of everyone. It shows our dedication to go further and aim higher to ensure human rights are embedded in every aspect of life in Scotland.

“This ground-breaking human rights framework is going to make a difference, helping people and communities to live with dignity wherever they are in Scotland, and whatever their circumstances.”

Professor Alan Miller, who co-chaired the taskforce with Ms Somerville, said: “Scotland has become increasingly confident and internationalist throughout the past twenty years of devolution and this set of recommendations clearly shows the next step on its human rights journey.

“Our recommendations are challenging, ambitious and will need continued bold leadership to implement. It would be by far the biggest step taken in Scotland’s human rights journey. This proposed new framework would, for the first time, put in a single place the range of internationally recognised human rights – civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental – which belong to everyone.”