Scottish Human Rights Commission report details UN submission and housing rights

The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has released its Annual Report 2015-2016, covering submissions to the United Nations as well as its work on housing rights and other issues over the past year.

Judith Robertson, chair of the commission, said: “In a shifting constitutional landscape, Scotland remained on a generally positive path when it comes to advancing human rights. Nonetheless, significant challenges and gaps continue to be felt where it matters - in the reality of too many people’s day-to-day lives. The commission continued to highlight these gaps and made recommendations for policy and practice changes to address them including issues relating to mental health, housing rights, police stop and search and historic child abuse.

“We submitted reports to the United Nations on Scotland’s implementation of three international human rights treaties. We also continued to support a range of actions through Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights. This included pioneering work to put housing rights into practice and testing a participative approach to identifying local human rights priorities.”

She added: “Law provides the foundation for the protection and exercise of human rights. This year, the commission continued its defence of the Human Rights Act and continued to advocate for greater legal protection for human rights in Scotland. We welcome commitments made by the First Minister in December 2015 to explore the further implementation and incorporation of international human rights into Scots law.

“The coming years will present challenges to the existing framework of human rights protections for people in Scotland. The implications for human rights of the UK’s exit from the European Union are unclear, and continued threats to the Human Rights Act are of significant concern. In this climate, the commission will continue its work to defend, advance and strengthen human rights laws, policies and practices, so that human rights become a lived reality for everyone in Scotland.”