Scottish Human Rights Commission recommends 14 steps to government

Kavita Chetty

In a submission to the Scottish government’s call for views, it recommended:

• Establishing a means and process for people most impacted by the pandemic response to engage meaningfully with the inquiry.
• Consulting the public on a draft terms of reference and the appointment of the inquiry chair, panel and assessors.
• Ensuring the inquiry assesses the impacts of the pandemic response using a human rights lens and based on people’s experiences.
• Explicitly setting out the need to address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic response on different groups of people’s human rights.
• Making clear that the inquiry’s overall purpose includes to learn lessons regarding Scotland’s readiness to ensure that rights are properly considered and balanced in challenging situations, and make recommendations accordingly.
• Explicitly stating that the inquiry chair must act in accordance with human rights requirements in making decisions in relation to the conduct and procedure of the inquiry.
• When publishing the terms of reference, ministers should give a public commitment to respond in full to all the recommendations made by the inquiry.

Kavita Chetty, head of strategy and legal for the commission, said: “In line with the Scottish Government’s stated commitment to take a human rights based approach to this inquiry, we expect that human rights will play a crucial role in shaping the way the inquiry is designed, as well as its ultimate recommendations and outcomes.

“Taking a human rights based approach involves ensuring those most impacted by the Covid-19 response can participate in all stages of the inquiry, including setting the terms of reference.”