Official Report 932KB pdf
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-15782, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville, on pathways to global human rights: towards a stronger human rights culture in Scotland.
Before I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to open the debate, I note that two front-bench contributors are not here, which is really not ideal. I hope that they can be asked to come to the chamber, and they will then have to apologise to the Parliament and to me.
15:25
It is a delight and an honour to open this debate marking human rights day 2024. This year’s theme is “Our rights, our future, right now”. We are asked to reflect on
“how human rights are a pathway to solutions”
and a route to a more
“peaceful, equitable, and sustainable world”.
It is a reminder of the transformative power of human rights. It is, fundamentally, a message of hope.
We are marking not only the signing of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, but the founding of the Council of Europe 75 years ago. One of its founding instruments was the European convention on human rights, which laid the cornerstone for a future based on human rights justice, and which forms part of our domestic law through the Human Rights Act 1998. It is through the ECHR, along with more than 200 treaties, conventions and protocols, that the Council of Europe upholds the rights of millions, holding Governments accountable and ensuring that the principles of freedom, dignity and justice are upheld.
In the face of war in Europe and the regression of human rights and fundamental freedoms across the region, the work of the Council of Europe remains critical. The existence of the ECHR and the various international human rights instruments signed and ratified by UN member states have never been more vital. The world can feel like an increasingly uncertain place, with values that we once took for granted now routinely challenged. Fundamental rights are threatened by a confluence of attacks on civil liberties, a cost of living crisis that has pushed people into poverty and destitution and a climate crisis that is increasingly devastating the homes and livelihoods of the most vulnerable in our global community.
Today is an opportunity for the Parliament to come together and stand firmly behind the message that human rights are a force for good. It is a chance to show our collective resolve and to recommit to respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights in everything that we do.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said:
“Human rights have the power to unify us at a time when we need to come together to contend with the existential challenges we face as humanity.”
It is clear, then, that human rights must remain at the centre of renewed action for global peace. In the face of the interconnected challenges of climate change, war and population displacement, the hard work of progress can never cease. The devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine goes on and looks like it will enter a third year. There is still no sign of a ceasefire in Gaza, nor of sustained progress towards unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance.
Over the weekend, we witnessed and welcomed the fall of the brutal regime in Syria. We join the international community in calling for a peaceful and inclusive political solution that puts the Syrian people first, and for humanitarian aid to reach those most in need. The people of Syria have endured unimaginable suffering under the dictatorship of Assad. Their future must now be determined through a peaceful transition that upholds the rights of all Syrians.
Those are just some of the collective challenges that the world faces. They require collective solutions, underpinned by the shared values that are set out in our international human rights treaties and agreements.
In Scotland we have been on a journey, and there remains much to do. Advancing human rights is central to the Government’s mission to eradicate the scourge of child poverty, build better public services and tackle the climate emergency. We should all be proud of the Parliament’s work to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 is helping to create a culture of everyday accountability for children’s rights across our public authorities, which will make a real difference to the lives of children and young people in Scotland.
We have further to go, which is why the Government has committed to continue work towards a human rights bill that will incorporate further international standards, including important economic and social rights, and make them part of domestic law.
Is the Government’s intention to introduce that bill in this parliamentary session? Will we see the bill before the next election?
I have been clear—and I will come back to this point later in my remarks—about the Government’s continued commitment to the human rights bill. The bill will be introduced in the next parliamentary session. One of the reasons for that is that we have a new United Kingdom Government, with which we have the opportunity to build a genuine working relationship on human rights. With respect to Mr Balfour, I am afraid that it was not the same when his party was in government at a UK level.
Passing the bill will help our human rights culture in Scotland. It will allow the culture in Scotland’s public services to develop and ensure that, where rights are not being realised, that is addressed. It will be complementary to our on-going work to advance a culture of equality, inclusion and human rights, including our proposed mainstreaming strategy, which is being consulted on.
As I have said, we have taken the decision to take more time to work on the human rights bill before it is introduced. I again put on record that I very much recognise the frustration—indeed, the anger—that that decision has caused for many who have worked so hard over so many years on the issue. However, I feel that the extra time that we will take over the next 18 months will give us the opportunity to develop the bill further and make it stronger. It is my absolute determination not just to deliver a bill, but to deliver the strongest bill possible and a workable piece of legislation.
We need a bill that will deliver on our shared ambition to truly embed a human rights culture across public services. The election of the new UK Government has presented an opportunity to explore the challenges that we have previously had, including how the constraints of the devolution settlement have limited our ability to truly transform incorporation legislation. We saw that during our debates on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill—now an act. We want to work on our relationship with the new UK Government to build a constructive and collaborative relationship on human rights, and I hope that we will see progress there.
In the meantime, it is important that we use those 18 months to further strengthen the bill, as I have said. We will shortly share with partners a detailed plan for taking forward bill development over the remainder of this parliamentary session. As part of that process, we are giving careful consideration to the publication of a policy paper that will build on last year’s public consultation and set out our thinking on the bill overall to support constructive engagement as we continue to test and refine proposals.
I commend and pay tribute to the role of organisations such as the Scottish Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Consortium Scotland and the many other civil society actors for their positive collaboration with the Government to help to develop proposals to this point. I know that they are deeply disappointed at the decision that the Government has taken.
Those organisations, along with individuals who have shared their experiences of how human rights play out in their day-to-day lives, are our human rights defenders. The work of individuals and organisations who have taken part in previous consultations remains at the heart of what the Government does in our continued work to advance human rights. Nothing that they have contributed to will be lost, and it will be the foundation of the work that we will continue to do for the rest of the parliamentary session to make the bill as strong as they want it to be. Indeed, they have a right to expect that from the Parliament.
I recognise what the cabinet secretary has said about moving the bill into the next parliamentary session, but does she recognise that we can take steps in this session to advance the cause of human rights, not least by looking at our age of criminal responsibility? She has heard me say many times that we are suboptimal in this country in that regard. In fact, we are behind Russia and China with regard to our determination of the age at which children are responsible for their criminal actions. Can she speak to the progress that the Government is making on that topic?
I am not sure whether Mr Cole-Hamilton can read my speech from where he is sitting, but the next page is on next steps, so I will go on to talk about some of that. I did not have in my speech the particular issue that he highlights, but he will be aware that the Scottish Government is committed to reviewing that area, and we will keep him updated on the process.
I will turn to the next steps. The organisations that are disappointed that the bill is not coming forward have rightly challenged us to do more in the time that we have remaining in the current session of Parliament. It is important that, despite the bill not going forward, we can still take action in a number of areas, in particular in relation to protecting economic and social rights.
In my portfolio, for example, we have developed interventions such as the Scottish child payment and our social security system and, should the budget pass, we will move forward with the effective scrapping of the two-child cap. We can continue that work at a policy level, but it is important that we continue to do everything that we can in the months that we have left in the current session, and I believe that there is a lot that we can do together.
I hope that my remarks have set out not only the international context for the importance of human rights, but the important domestic context. We must continue to challenge ourselves as a Parliament—as we certainly do as a Government—on how we go further and ensure that we develop the human rights framework, in the Scottish Parliament and in Scotland, for which people have long campaigned, as they are quite right to do.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises 10 December 2024 as Human Rights Day; supports this year’s theme of “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now”; agrees that human rights present a route to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable world; recognises that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Council of Europe, and supports its vital mission to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe; celebrates important steps to advance rights in Scotland, including the commencement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; commends the role of human rights organisations, human rights defenders and wider civil society in driving change and challenging everyone to do better, and reaffirms its own commitment to strengthen, respect, protect and fulfil human rights through both practical action and future legislation.
I call Tess White to speak to and move amendment S6M-15782.2.
15:36
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer—again, I apologise for being late to the chamber.
On this human rights day, we are reminded of the importance of protecting everyone’s human rights. However, multiple failures by the Scottish National Party Government have seen the human rights of people across Scotland placed in jeopardy. The “State of the Nation: Civil and Political Rights in Scotland” report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which was published today, has identified
“a vast array of challenges for human rights”
in Scotland, and
“failures that have been unchanged for many years.”
In an eviscerating letter to the First Minister back in September, more than 100 third sector organisations pointed to the
“diminishing priority given to human rights”
by SNP ministers. The letter followed the Scottish Government’s decision to renege on the proposed human rights bill. Stakeholders had been working on the project for years, but the SNP marched them up the legislative hill and then marched them down again. Close to £300,000 of taxpayers’ money has already been spent on that so-called landmark legislation.
Will the member give way?
I have a lot to get through—if I have time at the end, I will.
For the past two weeks, the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee has taken evidence on the proposed learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence bill—another piece of legislation that has been kicked into the long grass by Scottish ministers. The committee heard evidence that up to 90 per cent of women with learning disabilities have been sexually abused, but Maree Todd could only say that she shares the
“disappointment in the lack of progress.”—[Official Report, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, 3 December 2024; c 19.]
Today, the committee took evidence on the Female Genital Mutilation (Protection and Guidance) (Scotland) Act 2020. Four years after the act was passed, it is still not fully in force. Vulnerable women and girls are being failed, but at this morning’s session, the Minister for Parliamentary Business had the nerve to say that “we are where we are”.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was progressed at pace, as was the bill that became the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021. However, the 2020 FGM act, the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 have still not been fully implemented.
Those are more broken promises—
Will the member give way?
No.
Those are more broken promises, and more people who feel left behind or ignored.
There is also the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill. The social care sector is on its knees, we have record levels of delayed discharge and self-directed support is not fit for purpose. Scores of people with complex care needs are languishing in hospital settings because of delayed discharge, and they are crying out for care packages. The coming home implementation programme has clearly failed.
What is the SNP’s solution? It is to spend millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on flawed and unworkable legislation, which has cost the support of everyone—sorry, which has lost the support of everyone—[Laughter.] It has lost the support of everyone except SNP ministers. I do not think that that is much to laugh about.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Human Rights Commission has raised significant concerns about people’s rights and rural proofing. Its report, “Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands”, which was published last month, found that, in the Highlands and Islands, the minimum core obligation in relation to the right to food and housing was not being met, while the obligation in relation to the right to health was being only partially met.
In my region, NHS Grampian has the lowest bed base in Scotland. That means that patients in the north of Scotland are suffering the pain and indignity of corridor care and ambulance stacking. That is not just a crisis in health and social care; it is a human rights crisis.
After trying to invoke a constitutional grievance with the UK Government over the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill, it took the SNP 709 days to remedy the legislation. The SNP played constitutional games with the rights of children.
Meanwhile, the SNP rushed—
Will the member give way?
No.
Will the member give way?
No.
Meanwhile, the SNP rushed through the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill before Christmas two years ago, with “feminist to her fingertips” Nicola Sturgeon dismissing women’s valid concerns. More valuable resources were wasted trying to defend the flawed legislation in the Supreme Court.
Last month, lawyers acting for the SNP Government were on their feet again in the Supreme Court. This time, they were arguing that men could get pregnant, become lesbians and access women-only spaces. Even though John Swinney said that he disagreed, and even though Kaukab Stewart recognised last week that single-sex spaces are a right under the Equality Act 2010, costly King’s counsels argued the opposite in the Supreme Court literally days later.
In a thoroughly depressing development, the Scottish Government’s case was supported by Amnesty International, which argued against the importance of biological sex, despite its being used to deny women their fundamental rights in countries such as Afghanistan.
The balance of rights seems to have tipped so far against women and girls under the SNP that the Scottish Government believes not only that sex can be appropriated but that the very definition of a woman is contentious ground.
All of that shows that the SNP Government has struggled to understand the parameters of devolved competence. It has failed to manage the complex balance of rights between competing interests, and it has lacked leadership on the serious challenges that we face in Scotland.
Too often, the SNP says one thing but does another. The Scottish Government has many of the levers that it needs to protect and promote the rights of the Scottish people, even without new legislation. We are calling for urgent, meaningful and commonsense action now. The SNP needs to stop focusing on fringe issues and find ways to address the very real challenges that impact Scots every day.
I move, as an amendment to motion S6M-15782, to leave out from “that this year” to end and insert:
“the important work of bodies, organisations and charities in Scotland, across the UK and around the world that act to uphold human rights and protect those who are vulnerable; acknowledges the steps to advance rights in Scotland, including the commencement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; notes, however, concerns among civil society regarding the Scottish Government’s engagement over the draft Disability Equality Plan, as well as other measures to improve and progress human rights in Scotland, which, it believes, the Scottish Government has not delivered; highlights a report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission published in November 2024, which emphasises the ‘significant’ human rights challenges for people in rural and remote areas of Scotland; recognises that a number of women’s groups continue to have serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s approach to the rights and safety of women and children; calls on the Scottish Government to work in a careful and considered way with public bodies and the third sector, in light of recent criticism over the way that it has engaged on policy matters, and urges it to take urgent and meaningful action on issues affecting human rights, including Scotland’s national housing emergency and access to vital public services such as health and social care.”
15:43
I am pleased to open on behalf of Scottish Labour in this debate marking human rights day.
Presiding Officer,
“it is right and proper, that today is also a day that is associated internationally with the support of peace and work for peace because the basis of peace and stability, in any society, has to be the fullest respect for the human rights of all its people.”
Those are, of course, not my words but the words of the late, great John Hume, as he received the Nobel peace prize on this day in 1998 in Oslo, along with David Trimble. I say to colleagues across the chamber, as I often do, that we can learn a lot from people such as John Hume and David Trimble on building bridges, opening doors and protecting fundamental human rights.
I am proud of my party’s place in the story of taking action to protect and defend human rights. It was a Labour Government that introduced the Human Rights Act 1998, ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and ensured that the Human Rights Act 1998 was built into the Scotland Act 1998 and the foundational documents of the Scottish Parliament.
This year’s theme for human rights day, “our rights, our future, right now”, is a timely reminder of the importance of advancing human rights at home and abroad as a route to addressing many of the issues that we face in our world in a dignified and equitable way. In opening the debate, the cabinet secretary referred to some of the corners of the world where we know that human rights have been under threat and said that the international community must do more to protect human rights, not least in Ukraine, the middle east and Syria.
In opening the debate for Scottish Labour, I am pleased to speak about the many areas in which we have been able to work constructively with the Scottish Government to do more to advance human rights in Scotland where we can. That is particularly the case around advocacy for children’s rights, as seen in the cross-party support for actions such as the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law and the establishment of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland.
It is important that, when there is consensus, we work across parties. In the cabinet secretary’s opening speech, she talked about how we can do more to advance human rights in Scotland. I very much welcome the spirit and tenor of the discussion with the new UK Government.
Will the member take an intervention?
I will take an intervention on that point.
I thank Paul O’Kane for allowing me to put this on the record. The Scottish Government welcomes the fact that we now have a UK Government that allows us to feel not only that we have the foundations of and a commitment to human rights, but that we can go further. As I would have said to the Conservative member, had she taken an intervention, it is clear that that was not the case under the Conservatives, when we felt that human rights in the UK as a whole were being rolled back. I hope that other members in the chamber can agree that that will no longer happen.
I thank the cabinet secretary for her intervention. I have more to say about the Conservative amendment and the prevailing attitude of the Conservatives towards human rights and access to them.
We have more to do. We cannot just talk the talk on human rights—we need to make sure that we are also walking the walk.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights speaks to us about the fundamental rights of people to adequate standards of living to ensure their health and wellbeing, including food, clothing, housing and medical care. Those are all issues that we debate every week in the Parliament. I do not think that we will find much disagreement across the chamber about those principles, yet we have to face the facts of the challenges that exist in Scotland right now with regard to many of those issues.
On adequate housing, we know that there are record levels of homelessness, a housing emergency and families who are trapped in temporary accommodation.
On medical care, we know that one in six Scots is stuck on a waiting list for national health service treatment. We know that particularly vulnerable groups, such as people who have a learning disability, face serious challenges to access healthcare. Through recent freedom of information requests, we have found that people who have a learning disability, who were promised health checks, have not been able to access them, despite the Government’s investment.
I will mention briefly the right to food and my colleague Rhoda Grant’s work in leading on that issue, not least through her member’s bill. She was hopeful, as were other members who have an interest in various aspects of human rights policy, that much of that would have been covered in a human rights bill.
In our exchanges today, we have already heard about the challenge of the withdrawal of the proposal for that bill and I am sure that we will hear more about it as the debate progresses. I hear what the cabinet secretary has said, and I have said to her previously that I appreciate that she wishes to take more time, but there is serious disappointment out there among those who have been invested in the bill process, who have done the research work and who have worked extremely hard to bring us to a place where we can consider all the issues in the round. It is clear that we must see more action to progress the issues.
Professor Angela O’Hagan, the chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said that John Swinney and the Government have made it clear that human rights are not a priority for them. The Government will have to reflect on that and on how we go forward in the next 18 months. I recognise that the Scottish Green Party amendment, which was not selected, sought to outline much of that in many of its points.
I have been encouraged by the broad joint working on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on many of the issues.
[Made a request to intervene.]
I turn to the Conservative amendment—I will make this point before I take an intervention.
It is disappointing that the Conservative amendment would remove any reference at all to the Council of Europe and its role in upholding human rights. To be honest, I do not think that previous leaders of the Conservative Party, who understood the importance of co-operation on rights and freedoms, would have done that. The Tories appear more interested in clinging to Farage’s coat tails than in listening to people such as John Major.
I will take an intervention from Ms Gosal, if she wishes to intervene.
We will have an intervention from Pam Gosal, who joins us remotely—if she still wishes to make one.
I am sorry, but I did not request to intervene. I do not know what happened there.
All right. I do not think that Ms Gosal is trying to intervene.
That is fine. It is fairly difficult to defend wanting to remove any reference to the Council of Europe and the European convention on human rights, but there we go. The Tories are under new management at UK and Scottish levels, so perhaps that is what we have come to expect.
In concluding, I want to be clear that Scottish Labour wants the Scottish Government and the UK Government—and the United Kingdom and Scotland—to lead the way not just in putting down rights on paper but in ensuring that we implement and deliver those rights properly. When we talk about people’s rights not being realised or upheld right now, we are talking about children who are struggling, families who are struggling to get a roof over their heads and all the consequences that flow from policy decisions.
I welcome the chance that today’s debate gives us to recognise human rights day 2024, but what matters is that we make significant change to ensure that long-promised action is put into effect by all of us in the chamber, and by Governments across these islands, to give people their dignity and their rights.
15:51
We know that human rights matter. We, in the Scottish Parliament and Scottish civil society, have been talking for nearly two decades about the incorporation of economic, social and cultural rights into Scottish law, and for almost a whole decade the Scottish Government has been committed to that. We know that fulfilment of those rights—rights to education and health, to work and social security, to food and housing and to a decent standard of living and participation in cultural life—are all essential in themselves, so that individuals and families can thrive. However, they are also vital for our shared life together, to give people the space, the tools and the capacity to care for one another and for our living planet, and to grow the safe and sustainable communities without which we would have no real future at all.
We, in the Scottish Greens, steadfastly hold to that commitment. We believe that incorporating robust rights into law, with clear minimum core obligations and duties of progressive realisation, would represent not just a single tool but a whole workshop of mechanisms to address our key priorities, which include child poverty, climate and nature degradation, inequality and the insidious spread of toxic attitudes and actions.
As those of us on the Equality, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee heard during evidence sessions in October, the Scottish human rights act that many had hoped to see would have ensured the constitutional priority of human rights and overridden the short-term interests of any political party. Such an act would have embedded human rights in the heart of decision-making processes, and it would have made brutal cuts—such as those that have been made to winter fuel payments, which are morally wrong—legally unacceptable.
That was a vision that we believed that the Scottish Government shared, which is why the decision not to bring forward the bill during this parliamentary session—as its absence from the programme for government starkly communicated—was such a raw shock and a profound disappointment. That shock and disappointment was felt equally acutely by the individuals and organisations that have worked so hard on the process. So many people have given up so much time and physical, mental and emotional energy in telling their stories of pain and trauma, believing that it would lead—via known and measured timescales—to a groundbreaking and transformational law.
I appreciate the difficulties that have arisen as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision on the UNCRC bill, and I know that the cabinet secretary hopes that there will be opportunities to work with the new UK Government. However, that judgment was made three years ago, and the change at Westminster was no great surprise. No state secrets would have been betrayed if the Scottish Government had shared a little more communication and shown a little more courtesy and respect. People are angry.
There was a gathering of human rights activists outside this building at lunch time. They are angry, frustrated and disappointed, and I share their anger, frustration and disappointment. This is not just about hurt feelings; it is about the Parliament’s relationships with our citizens—the organisations that we rely on to do vital, life-saving work and our partners in the endeavour to make our world a better place.
Trust has been broken, as is further evidenced by the JustCitizens group’s open letter to the cabinet secretary. The group highlighted not only the scrapping of the proposed human rights bill but the disability equality plan, the funding of weapons manufacturers and other issues as examples of cases in which consultations have been carried out and then ignored. Community groups, grass-roots organisations and advocacy and support networks feel “tokenised” and “exploited”—those are their words—with their engagement serving as “backdrops for performative gestures”.
However, there are ways to rebuild trust. In the words of a Gypsy Traveller who took part in recent work with MECOPP and the Scottish Women’s Budget Group, which I was pleased to hear about in a webinar earlier today,
“Listen to us, to our communities. Listen to our voices, it’s our lived experiences. But don’t just listen, act on what we say, not just ticking boxes to say you’ve listened.”
In my closing speech, I will outline some of the other action that we need to take to rebuild trust. As Angela O’Hagan reminded the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, members of this Parliament are all to be guarantors of human rights. That is at the heart of our role in relation to the rights of people in Scotland and beyond, who are profoundly affected by what we do and, equally, by what we fail to do.
15:56
It gives me great pleasure to speak for the Liberal Democrats in this important debate, as I have done in each of the eight years that I have been a parliamentarian. I am glad that, once a year, we take the time to reflect on the importance of human rights and human rights defenders the world over.
Over the weekend, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, we were offered an example, if ever we needed one, of why such reflections and reminders are so critical. For so long, under that brutal dictatorship, the Syrian people have been persecuted, tortured and denied the most basic and fundamental human rights that we are debating today. Sednaya prison, which was pictured on our television screens last year and was known as the slaughterhouse, was one of many places where people suffered—it was just one of the dungeons where thousands of people disappeared.
I am heartily glad that Assad is gone, and he must now face justice for the crimes that he has committed. There is no knowing what will fill the vacuum now that he has left, but we must hope, for the sake of the Syrian people, that this is a genuine turning point and that there will be free and fair elections in line with international law.
In Syria, in Gaza and across the Atlantic in Haiti, we see the measure of the challenge that falls to our generation of human rights defenders. Around the world, human rights, democracy and the rule of law are under threat. We see evidence of that in the oppression of the Uyghur people in China and in Putin’s murderous actions in Ukraine, including his slaughter of civilians in Bucha and his kidnapping and removal of thousands of Ukrainian children.
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights was forged amid the rubble and atrocity of war some 80 years ago, but it finds symmetry and relevance in the rubble and atrocity of today. Those of us who were born after that time are duty bound to defend the rights for which so many gave their lives, and we must never take those rights and democratic freedoms for granted.
However, we must also look closer to home and identify where we, too, are falling short—and we are. At First Minister’s question time last Thursday, I raised the cases of women in Caithness who are forced to travel 100 miles through snow and ice, in the dark of winter and past deer, for their babies to be delivered in Inverness. A fortnight ago, the Scottish Human Rights Commission published a report that called the situation that those pregnant women faced “barbaric”. The report even revealed incidents in which women have lost their fertility due to complications that have been caused by inequalities in healthcare and delays in accessing Raigmore hospital. It is utterly unacceptable that that has been going on for years under this Government, as a result of the maternity unit at Caithness general hospital in Wick having been downgraded from consultant led to midwife led in 2016.
The SHRC report also investigated the challenges that people in rural parts of Scotland face in accessing their human rights to health, housing and food. I thank my Liberal Democrat colleague Liam McArthur for the work that he did in helping the commission to gather evidence for the report. It found that the housing situation in his constituency of Orkney is so poor that people are being forced to turn down job offers because they cannot find somewhere to live, while even victims of abuse are unable to find accommodation living away from those who have abused them.
Meanwhile, in the Western Isles, parents and carers of children and adults with learning disabilities are having to travel up to 500 miles every week to access education. Too often, they are travelling on unsuitable roads, with little or no access to public transport. In Skye, the road infrastructure has not been upgraded for 20 years, despite a huge increase in the number of visitors to the island. It should go without saying that, no matter where in Scotland you live, you should have parity of access to human rights. At the moment, our rural communities are being left out and left behind, and they are tired of being an afterthought.
As a former youth worker, I was so pleased when we finally passed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which seeks to uphold the rights of children, into Scots law. However, I again feel duty bound—as I did in my intervention on the cabinet secretary—to mention the fact that the age of criminal responsibility in this country is below the international floor that is set by the UN committee. I have mentioned that many times. At the moment, young people as young as 12 can get a criminal record, which we know affects the life chances of those young people. To put that in context, as I said earlier, in Russia and in China that age is set at 16.
I welcome this renewed focus on human rights, and I am glad that we can speak with one voice in recognising their vital importance. However, for the sake of people right across this country, our words need to be backed by Government action.
We move to the open debate.
16:02
This is probably a more serious occasion than usual to discuss human rights, given the state of human rights around the world. We are facing an increasingly stark reality, whereby, across Europe and beyond, far-right populism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric are on the rise. In a number of EU and non-EU countries in Europe, democracy is under threat and human rights are increasingly being disregarded. In addition, we are seeing a turning point in the US, which perhaps has the strongest constitution of any country in the world in relation to the protection of individual rights, with toxic populism and the undermining of human rights. Here, in the UK, we are witnessing the same troubling trends. I say to Paul O’Kane that it is not only in the corners of the world that we see such a threat; it is in open view in so-called democracies as well.
The UK Government’s hostile stance towards refugees and migrants, exemplified by the “Stop the boats” slogan, dehumanises vulnerable people and undermines the core values of compassion and respect for human rights. To give one example, the erasing of children’s cartoons in a refugee centre gives some idea of what the attitude of the recent Tory Government was to human rights. Its attempts to weaken the European convention on human rights present a dangerous threat. We have to remember that one of the initial signatories to, and inspirations for, that declaration was Winston Churchill, who saw what had happened in the first and second world wars and believed it absolutely vital that we had institutions that would protect human rights. I say that, of course, as this Parliament’s member of the Council of Europe.
Scotland is taking a different path. While the UK drags Scotland out of the EU despite our overwhelming vote to remain, we hold fast to the principles of human rights. Our opposition to Brexit, which has exacerbated anti-immigrant sentiment and weakened human rights protections, is a clear reflection of our commitment to upholding dignity and democracy. The recent commencement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024—which was initially struck down by a Conservative Government, even though the Conservatives in this place had voted for it—demonstrates our firm commitment to a rights-based approach.
We are also committed to global human rights, as can be seen in our leadership on the international stage, for example through our call for a ceasefire in Gaza and our unflinching support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s illegal invasion.
It is also crucial that we stand firm and never roll back on human rights protections in areas such as hard-won women’s rights. Although there may be political pressure to backtrack in areas such as LGBT rights, the Scottish Government must, in my view, remain resolute in its commitment to ensuring that our progress continues. I have a great deal of sympathy for some of the human rights organisations that are expressing concern about the lack of progress, but I am also convinced of the Scottish Government’s intentions, and its track record, on human rights protection. We cannot allow populist rhetoric or external pressures to diminish the rights of our people or undermine our achievements. Our role should be to protect, advance and strengthen human rights for future generations.
On this human rights day, it is essential that we also recognise the vital role of the Council of Europe as it marks its 75th anniversary. As the Parliament’s nominee and representative on the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, I wonder how my alternate‚ Alexander Stewart, feels about the excising of any mention of the Council of Europe from the Tory amendment. I can tell him that many Tories from elsewhere in the UK—Andrew Boff springs to mind—are absolutely staunch in their defence of the Council of Europe. I certainly give my whole-hearted support to its mission to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which are more important than ever, especially as we face growing challenges to those values across Europe.
Scotland’s commitment to human rights sets us apart. We continue to show leadership in defending rights and standing up for justice, but we cannot ignore the fact that our human rights agenda is at risk while decisions that affect us are still being made at Westminster. In my opinion, independence would ensure that the values that we uphold, such as compassion and respect for human rights and democracy, are protected in every policy decision that is made here in Scotland.
As we commemorate human rights day, we should reaffirm our commitment to a future in which human rights are protected not only in Scotland but across Europe and the world. We stand with the Council of Europe in its essential mission, and we commit to continuing our efforts to safeguard the dignity and rights of all individuals. We should do that regardless of the proximity of elections, in which we all have an interest—the commitments that we make on such matters should be permanent.
Above all, we should stand firm, protect the progress that we have made and never allow the forces of division to roll back our hard-won rights.
I advise members that we have a bit of time in hand and that members who take interventions will certainly get the time back.
16:07
The theme for this year’s human rights day is “our rights, our future, right now”. That is timely, given the Scottish Human Rights Commission report “Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Highlands and Islands” which paints a very poor picture of people’s access to human rights in my region.
Across all nine areas researched, people in the Highlands and Islands did not have any single human right delivered to them in a way that meets all the conditions for adequacy under international law, which is not something to be taken lightly.
On housing, the report says:
“The Commission’s evidence indicates that a significant number of people across the Highlands and Islands are living in conditions of rooflessness (with no temporary accommodation or shelter). This includes individuals in temporary caravans, camping pods, and those ‘sofa-surfing’.”
The report highlights that the cost of renting and buying
“is a significant barrier, particularly for young people.”
If people cannot find a place to live, they leave, which adds to depopulation. The report also states that social housing is inadequate to meet local needs, yet the Scottish Government used funds that were earmarked for rural housing to build around cities.
On the right to health, the commission expresses critical concerns about
“the lack of local health services”.
As Alex Cole-Hamilton said, people have to travel long distances to access healthcare, as they must do to access maternity services in Caithness, but the concern is about basic health needs as well as complex ones. The commission tells us:
“For young people in Sutherland, face-to-face mental health services are virtually non-existent.”
Those are our young people. The commission also found that people are not accessing health services because of distance and costs, which mean that people become very ill and need hospital care for conditions that could have been treated locally, had services been available.
The right to culture might appear less important in comparison with health, but the report’s findings on that issue are also stark.
The lack of public transport stops people participating in cultural activities. The report highlights that children in Kinlochbervie
“faced a 120-mile round trip”
to access football training.
I have been pursuing making our right to food a reality. On that issue, the commission says:
“Measures implemented so far have not been sufficient to effectively reduce hunger or address the deterioration of the right to food.”
Rhoda Grant will, I am sure, be aware of the writings of L T Hobhouse, who said:
“liberty without equality is a name of noble sound and squalid result.”
Rhoda Grant is making the case for economic and social rights. Does she think that the two-child cap or the cut to the winter fuel payment will help to advance economic rights in Scotland, including in the Highlands?
The Scottish Labour Party has come forward with proposals to deal with heating. The Scottish Government gives a flat-rate cold weather payment of £50 to everybody, regardless of where they live and whether their bill is £1,000 or £100. I ask the member to look at his party’s record before casting aspersions on ours.
The report goes on to say:
“testimonies demonstrate that a significant number of people in the Highlands and Islands are currently deprived of sufficient food due to high costs and general poverty conditions.”
The report also draws attention to unstocked shops due to ferry cancellations. Every islander knows to keep a freezer stocked for an emergency, but the people who are living hand to mouth go hungry when shops are empty.
I will continue to pursue the right to food bill to realise every citizen’s right to food. It is essential that we ensure that people have their right to food, because poor nutrition impacts directly on health and life expectancy. Although the work of food banks is a lifeline and those who deliver those services must be applauded, it is dehumanising to be forced to depend on them.
We have heard that the Scottish Government’s promised human rights bill could have been a catalyst to put right those wrongs, but it has been shelved. I again ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to allow the introduction of a human rights bill by making available to the non-Government bill unit the Government’s findings from when it was pursuing the bill.
The Scottish Government has levers to hand to realise human rights. It has power over housing, health and food. It could use procurement powers to ensure that people are paid the real living wage and do not have zero-hour contracts. It could also use agricultural subsidies to ensure that food is produced as locally as possible, making sure that there are no food deserts where the only food available is of low quality. The Scottish Government should also review the patient transport scheme to ensure that nobody finds it too expensive to access healthcare.
With the powers that the Scottish Government has, it could make a huge difference to people’s lives and realise many of their human rights. The Scottish Human Rights Commission’s report says:
“As Minimum Core Obligations must be met at all times and under all circumstances, efforts should be focused on addressing these shortcomings.”
I look forward to the Scottish Government’s response to the report.
16:13
I ask for members’ patience as I talk with this raspy voice today.
It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak in the chamber on human rights day. Human rights are often spoken of in grand terms, but at their core, they are about the basics of how we treat one another. They are about ensuring that, no matter who someone is, they can live with dignity and have their voice heard and their needs met. For me, that is what makes human rights not just a policy issue but a matter of justice and fairness.
Scotland has made real strides in human rights. We have championed equal marriage, set up the Scottish Human Rights Commission and worked to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into our laws. Those achievements did not happen by accident; they happened because we chose to put people and their rights first. However, time and again, we have hit the same wall—our constitutional limitations.
Take the UNCRC bill: the Parliament unanimously backed legislation to protect the rights of every child in Scotland, but Westminster challenged it. Parts of the bill were ruled to be outwith our competence, forcing us to dilute its scope. That was not a failure of the Scottish Parliament or of our Government—it was a failure of a system that prevents us from fully delivering what Scotland needs.
That is just one example. The gap between Scotland’s priorities and Westminster’s actions is widening. Brexit stripped us of the EU charter of fundamental rights. Discussions in Westminster about scrapping the Human Rights Act 1998 or withdrawing from the European convention on human rights send a chilling message about the direction of travel. While Scotland is trying to strengthen protections, we are left mitigating the damage caused by policies that we did not vote for.
That brings me to the proposed human rights bill. It is one of the most ambitious pieces of legislation that Scotland has ever considered. The bill is not about lofty ideals; it is about addressing the real, immediate challenges that people face every day. It aims to incorporate international treaties that recognise the rights to adequate food, housing, healthcare and a healthy environment. Those are fundamental rights that underpin a decent standard of living and a fair society.
The bill could be transformative for Scotland. It could provide a legal framework that protects people from discrimination and gives real meaning to the idea of equality. The Government has said that it will bring the bill forward in the next session. Although that is welcome, we cannot ignore the urgency of the issues that the bill is designed to address.
Let us be honest, Presiding Officer: even with that bill, we are still operating within limits. Until Scotland has full powers, we will continue to face barriers.
I acknowledge that the cabinet secretary is optimistic about the constructive working relationship that we hope to have with the new UK Government. I sincerely hope that we have some progress on that. However, for the ability to make decisions that work for Scotland and ensure that the rights of everyone in Scotland can be protected without interference or compromise, the ideal is Scottish independence.
This is not just about Scotland. On human rights day, we are reminded of our responsibility to contribute to the global effort to protect and uphold human rights. As part of the Council of Europe for 75 years, we have seen how international collaboration can strengthen democracy and the rule of law. Scotland has a role to play in that, but we need the powers to act as an equal partner on the world stage.
As we mark this occasion, we must recognise the progress that we have made but also the work that remains. Scotland has the ambition and the talent to be a leader in human rights, but we need the tools to deliver.
Legislation such as the human rights bill will be a vital step forward, and that must be met with the urgency that it deserves. However, if we are serious about protecting and advancing human rights, we must be serious about Scotland’s future as an independent country.
16:18
I hope that the debate reminds us all of our collective responsibility to stand up for and defend human rights not only in Scotland but, as the motion states, globally. This is a moment for reflecting on the progress that we have made and renewing our resolve to confront the challenges that remain both in Scotland and across the globe.
Human rights are not abstract ideals; they are the foundation of just and sustainable societies. Although 2024 has presented significant challenges, it has also created opportunities for meaningful progress. Scotland must seize those opportunities to lead with compassion, vision and determination.
We have taken notable steps, including the commencement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. That landmark achievement is testament to what we can accomplish when we work together to enshrine human rights in law; yet there is much more to do.
I whole-heartedly believe that education must be at the heart of building a strong human rights culture. Our schools are where the values of fairness, equality and justice take root, and it is essential that our young people are not only aware of their own rights but equipped with a global perspective.
Embedding human rights education in our curriculum is essential, and that must include a focus on global peace and security. For instance, educating young people about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons is a vital part of Scotland’s long-standing advocacy for disarmament. Scotland’s leadership on nuclear disarmament is well known, and our young people deserve to understand why that matters. They should learn about the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the indiscriminate devastation caused by those weapons, and the moral, legal and human rights arguments for their abolition. Empowering our young people with that knowledge will enable them to become informed and active citizens who contribute to a more peaceful and equitable future.
Environmental justice is another crucial area where education and action cross. The fight to protect our planet is inseparable from the fight to protect human rights. I am proud to have supported Monica Lennon’s proposed ecocide (prevention) (Scotland) bill, which seeks to criminalise severe environmental harm. That groundbreaking legislation will reflect the understanding that environmental destruction directly threatens human lives and communities.
Incorporating the principles of ecocide prevention into our legal framework and educational system will ensure that young people understand the links between environmental protection and human rights and their futures. That is about more than law—it is about fostering a culture of care and responsibility for the natural world that sustains us all.
Scotland’s commitment to human rights must extend beyond our borders. In an interconnected world, we cannot ignore the plight of people who are affected by human rights abuses elsewhere.
The situation in Gaza is a stark and urgent reminder of the crises that we face globally. Reports from Amnesty International and the International Criminal Court suggest that acts that have been committed in Gaza might constitute genocide.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide obliges all nations, including the UK and Scotland, to prevent and respond to such atrocities.
Although I appreciate that arms exports are, overall, a reserved matter, Scotland has an ethical responsibility to ensure that its actions and policies do not contribute to human rights violations. If there are any doubts over that, those concerns need to be properly addressed. As has already been said, if we want to talk the talk, we must walk the walk.
International human rights day is not just a time to reflect; it is a time to act. By advancing the human rights bill, embedding comprehensive human rights education into our schools, supporting initiatives such as the proposed ecocide prevention bill, and addressing ethical concerns in funding practices, we can lead the way in creating a fairer, safer and more sustainable world.
Scotland has a proud history of progress and innovation. From the principles of the Scottish enlightenment to our leadership in social justice, we have shown what is possible when values guide action.
Let us continue that legacy by ensuring that human rights are not just ideals but lived realities for all. Together, we can create a Scotland—and a world—that truly embodies the principles of equality, dignity, and justice.
We move to the closing speeches of the debate.
16:23
In her letter to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice wrote of her
“determination to use the remainder of this Parliamentary session to further develop and strengthen the Human Rights Bill”.
Now is the time for that determination to be shown. We need to see progress towards that promised bill, but we also need to see rapid movement along other pathways, including the public sector equality duty. Too many human rights issues have been left on a back burner, waiting for the bill, but they cannot wait any longer.
The right to food demands tangible action, including fulfilment of the promises on free school meals.
The right to a healthy environment cannot be fulfilled while the Scottish Government remains in breach of its Aarhus obligations and fails to look properly at issues of environmental governance and specialist courts.
The human rights of disabled people should have been at the heart of the bill. The budget announcement about the disability equality plan has been described by Inclusion Scotland as
“a step in the right direction”,
but the fundamental and deeply justified demands of disabled people-led organisations have still not been met.
Remedies for broken rights are scarce and hard to find, because they are hidden in complex and opaque systems and blocked by a lack of time, expert help and resources. Legal aid reform, which is so long overdue, is a part of the picture, and I hope to see human rights at its heart when it happens. If our rights are unenforceable, our rights are not real.
Human rights are global in two senses. We have them in Scotland because they are universal, but we also bear some responsibility for the rights of others across the world. I will speak briefly about three of those situations.
The impacts of climate change can represent profound breaches of human rights. The International Court of Justice is hearing evidence in preparation for its advisory opinion on the responsibilities of states in relation to climate change. It may find that countries, and especially those of the minority world—the global north—have duties significantly beyond those of the Paris agreement: duties about the prevention of human rights violations as well as reactions once they have happened.
The UK bears a heavy burden given its historical responsibility for its carbon emissions but also its empire, its slavery profits, its suppression of other economies and its position in the web of global finance, and Scotland cannot avoid its share of culpability. Its loss and damage work so far is important, but it falls far short of what is really needed.
In Sudan, conflict has led to over 100,000 deaths, millions of people being forced to move from their homes and tens of millions being in need of necessities including food, water and healthcare. People have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and killed, and women have been subjected to severe sexual violence. Those are human rights violations of the most basic and brutal forms, and the global north has barely noticed.
In Gaza, too, the most fundamental of human rights—the rights to health, to home and to life itself—are being systematically and deliberately denied, especially to children. The UK’s responsibility is grave, broad and deep, but the Scottish Government does not have clean hands, either. There could be no better way to mark human rights day than by ending financial support for companies that profit from genocide.
On this human rights day, when we rightly reaffirm our commitment to human rights, we must also be clear about what it means for us as politicians who have the immense privilege to make decisions on behalf of all citizens. It means taking that responsibility seriously, listening to our citizens and acting in their interests, not in the narrow interests of the corporate elite or military powers.
One of the young women outside Parliament at lunch time today spoke very powerfully. I apologise for my less-than-perfect recall, but she said, “My generation was born fighting, but I’m tired—tired of fighting for better housing, for a clean environment, for trans people, for refugees and asylum seekers. I’m tired of fighting for an end to genocide and for justice.” That is what human rights are for. They are for justice, not only for those of us in the chamber today, who live in warm, safe homes with family and community around us, but for everyone, everywhere in the world. We all share responsibility for that.
16:28
I am pleased to close in this debate on behalf of Scottish Labour and join members in marking human rights day 2024.
As my colleague Paul O’Kane mentioned, the Labour Party has a history of protecting human rights. It was the transformative post-war Labour Government that helped to establish our system of human rights and build the Council of Europe. As Alex Cole-Hamilton said, the events of recent days remind us that we should not take those rights for granted. I also echo the cabinet secretary’s remark that human rights are a force for good and the key to global peace.
However, members have shared their disappointment that the Scottish Government has broken its promise to introduce a human rights bill in the current parliamentary session. The theme of this year’s human rights day is “Our rights, our future, right now”, but the Scottish Government seems to be using the theme “Our rights, our future, not now”.
Members have praised human rights defenders, but organisations are protesting outside Parliament today after another broken SNP promise. Maggie Chapman mentioned the protest and the disappointment felt by the organisations and individuals who are pushing for the law. She also mentioned their loss of trust in the Scottish Government.
Tess White mentioned the open letter that was signed by more than 100 organisations, which called the Scottish Government’s decision to kick the human rights bill into the long grass a “dismissal” of the human rights issues that Scottish people face. An open letter from Just Citizens states that it is tired of being used as only a “box-ticking exercise”. Another organisation has stopped engaging with the Scottish Government altogether due to broken promises. We must note that incorporation into law is not a cure for all the issues that we face.
SNP First Ministers have declared human rights to be a priority and a “great success” of devolution, but evidence that was presented by the Scottish Human Rights Commission says otherwise. Members such as Tess White, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Rhoda Grant have mentioned the report on human rights in the Highlands and Islands, which found that Scotland is failing to meet its core minimum obligation on food and housing.
The SHRC’s review of conditions in prison and forensic mental health settings also found that 83 per cent of recommendations by human rights bodies made during the past 10 years had yet to be implemented. With our prison death numbers being some of the highest in Europe, that is not good enough. Regardless of the human rights bill being delayed, the Scottish Government needs to deliver on existing rights.
I am pleased to join members in reaffirming our commitment to human rights. I understand that the process of incorporating human rights into Scots law has been complicated by the judgment of the Supreme Court—as Karen Adam and Keith Brown mentioned—but the Scottish Government is still able to meet its current obligations. The Supreme Court judgment does not prevent the Scottish Government from tackling the housing emergency, delivering a humane prison system or ensuring that no child goes hungry.
I hope that the Scottish Government will recognise the issues that have been raised in the debate and mark human rights day through action to protect the existing rights of Scots.
16:33
On days such as this, it is important to look back at the progress that we have made. Scotland and the west more broadly have made major leaps forward on human rights. It is right that we take a step back and reflect on that progress and on the price paid by those who guaranteed it.
Will Mr Balfour give way?
I will make a wee bit of progress.
The danger of a debate like this is that we pat ourselves on the back and say how well we are doing—and, with respect to some members, some of us have fallen into that—and that we look at other jurisdictions and maybe critique them. However, much more progress needs to be made for homeless people and women in Scotland.
Will Mr Balfour give way now?
Just let me finish this paragraph.
We must also look forward and acknowledge that there is much work still to do in Scotland, and there are still many people who do not enjoy the full suite of rights.
I agree with Mr Balfour that there is always progress to be made in all of this. I wonder, however, if Mr Balfour would agree with me that it would be the stupidest of moves to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights or not to regard the work of the Council of Europe, which is what many members of his party would like to see us do? I would hope that, on this occasion, Mr Balfour would choose to disagree with those in his party who feel that way.
I can give you the time back, Mr Balfour.
I will perhaps return to that point in a moment.
“Our rights, our future, right now”: that is the theme of this year’s human rights day, which is the reason why we are having this debate today. The theme recognises that rights should not be waited for. They are not an optional extra that the Government can choose whether to honour. They cannot be ignored. It is the most fundamental role of government at all levels to protect those rights and to ensure that all citizens are free to live their lives and achieve their potential.
For too long, vulnerable and marginalised people in Scotland have been denied that freedom. Disabled people in Scotland feel like they have been left behind and, if we are honest with ourselves, this Parliament has done very little in recent years to address that sorry fact.
I want to focus my remarks today around the final two words of our theme: “right now”. There is an urgency to that. It sums up the feelings of disabled people across Scotland. For too long, we have been told to wait and, frankly, we are fed up. There are always a million different reasons that disabled people are given for waiting: “It is not a priority right now,” “We don’t have the money right now,” or “There are broader issues to be addressed right now.” With respect, none of those wash.
Will Jeremy Balfour give way?
Disabled people continue to experience hardship and disadvantage that others do not. We are tired of being told to wait. We are tired of campaigning when we see so little achieved in this so-called modern Scotland.
Is Jeremy Balfour able to shed any light on the thinking behind the Conservatives taking out the reference to the Council of Europe in the Scottish Government’s motion? As I have said, it was supported and partly devised by Winston Churchill. What is their objection to marking the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe?
I am disappointed that the member is not listening to what I am saying. Is he so blinkered that he will not listen to the disabled community, instead wishing to make a political point?
On the subject of “right now”, right now we are in the middle of a budget process, and right now we are in a minority Government and need to seek support elsewhere. If there are concrete, costed proposals that the Scottish Conservatives wish to come up with, there is an opportunity right now to do that: to take the matter out of this debate in the chamber and put into concrete reality. However, the member has to explain how he can do that while his party is looking for tens of millions of pounds of tax cuts. The offer is there, right now, to have a constructive discussion about it, in detail.
I can give you the time back for both of those interventions, Mr Balfour.
Thank you.
The cabinet secretary has perhaps been reading my notes: I am coming on to that this very second.
Ask any disability organisation about the current state of disability in Scotland and it will paint a dreary picture. That is supposing that they are still able to operate after their budgets have been slashed to nothing.
As our amendment notes, the disability equality plan has been widely condemned as not being worth the paper it is written on. A process that began with good intentions has ended, in the words of Inclusion Scotland, the Glasgow Disability Alliance and Disability Equality Scotland, with a
“collapse of all promises and ambition”.
Disabled people and disability organisations are simply not being listened to. They are either ignored or bear the brunt of the Government’s cuts. They need a champion and a voice that can represent them at all levels of government. The cabinet secretary asked what I am asking for, so here it comes: I am asking the Scottish Government to confirm that it will support the establishment of a commissioner for disability when my bill comes before the Parliament early next year.
I agree with Mr Balfour that disabled people need a champion, but I find it hard to listen to him and to take him seriously after 14 years of a Conservative Government that has created many of the problems that some of the disabled people are dealing with. With all due respect to Mr Balfour, surely the Conservative Party at Westminster needs to take some responsibility.
First, I do not accept anything that Mr Adam has said. Secondly, I said that we are trying to look forward. Right now, the disabled community in Scotland needs someone who can fight on their behalf when they do not have the time or the energy to secure their rights. In short, they need a disability commissioner, and they need one right now.
In short order, the Parliament will be asked to vote on my proposal for such a commissioner, and each one of us will be forced to take a side. Will we choose to look to the past? Will we choose to make political points? Will we choose the side of giving disabled people the rights and the future that they deserve, want and need right now or the side of continuing to ignore disabled people’s rights and risk not passing any meaningful legislation this parliamentary term that advances them? That is the choice that each of us will face in the next few weeks. I hope that we will choose the right side, right now.
I call Kaukab Stewart to wind up, for up to eight minutes.
16:42
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests: I am a member of Amnesty International.
I thank members for their contributions to the debate, which are a reflection of a Parliament that takes advancement of human rights very seriously—and rightly so.
The challenges that the world faces, some of which have been outlined today, are stark. They are a reminder of why we must continue to support the vital work of human rights defenders globally, which Alex Cole-Hamilton raised in his remarks. Human rights defenders come in many forms, including activists, journalists and lawyers, and many risk their lives daily to defend and protect human rights. That is why I am proud that the Government continues to provide support for the Scottish human rights defender fellowship, which is delivered by the University of Dundee in collaboration with Amnesty International, Peace Brigades International and Front Line Defenders. Since 2018, we have welcomed 19 individuals from 16 countries and have provided them with a place of safety in which to carry out their vital work. It was a privilege to meet some of the defenders last month during their visit to Scotland to hear at first hand about their work.
I will turn to my responses to the contributions that have been made in the chamber. As expected, the theme of human rights has covered an extensive range of issues, so please forgive me if I am not able, in a short time, to touch on all those areas.
With regard to the Conservatives’ amendment, I do not need to say it, but I will not miss this opportunity to reiterate the absence of a reference to the work of the Council of Europe and to its 75th anniversary, which many colleagues have already put on the record. It is difficult for me to take lessons from a Conservative Opposition party that cannot actually decide whether or not it is for human rights. This Government is certainly for advancing human rights.
With regard to the specific comments about female genital mutilation—which is, of course, illegal in Scotland—and implementation of the 2020 act, the Scottish Government has, through its equally safe funding, invested in a range of projects that have a specific FGM focus. An example is ?Community InfoSource’s challenging violence against women project, which seeks to combat FGM through awareness raising, particularly among males in affected communities.
On Paul O’Kane’s contribution, I understand his asking for more action: that is a priority. The rights incorporation agenda is continuing at pace, and we are committed to that. I share his optimism regarding the collaborative work that can now take place with the incoming UK Government—that is hoped for, and the early signs are very good—to ensure that the most effective change can take place through joint co-ordination.
Maggie Chapman was right to highlight the fact that the Scottish Government does, indeed, have a bit of work to do to rebuild trust. The cabinet secretary and I have put it on the record that we understand, and feel keenly, the disappointment that is felt by human rights campaigners. However, we must ensure that we get the bill right, especially for the rights holders, and we need to take the time to work everything through in order to present the bill in the next session of Parliament. Nevertheless, we are absolutely listening.
Keith Brown was eloquent in outlining that we cannot allow the forces of division to roll back our rights and that we must stand firm in our commitment. He was right to highlight the words that politicians, among other folk, might choose to use. Scotland is a welcoming country and we support human rights defenders—indeed, each one of us is a human rights defender—so we must guard against the negative rhetoric that some people can buy into.
Rhoda Grant mentioned the right to food, which is an important topic to highlight. I reassure her that we intend to introduce a human rights bill in the next session of Parliament, and that it will include proposals to incorporate the right to food. With regard to her proposed member’s bill, I know that communications are on-going: the Scottish Government has shared materials and we are open to engagement, as the First Minister confirmed recently at First Minister’s question time.
Karen Adam was quite right to highlight the international collaboration that is needed to uphold human rights, especially at times of great challenge. She was also right to highlight that only with independence would we be able to further protect our rights with more powers.
Bill Kidd asked us all—I take the challenge—to seize the opportunities that are given to us and to lead with conviction and compassion to raise the importance of embedding human rights in everything that we do. He highlighted the importance of putting that in education for the next generation.
I will move on to the contribution from Jeremy Balfour. He will know that I recognise that there is more work to be done. I have never denied that, nor has the Government. We are willing to roll up our sleeves and get on with the hard work, and that means making difficult decisions to pace ourselves so that we get things right and plans are fully costed. I have heard the concerns of disabled people very clearly. In the 2025-26 budget, we have invested an additional £2 million to support the disability equality plan, to deliver essential support and to grow the independent living fund.
Although the Opposition has raised important points regarding funding, no specific requests have been made during the budget negotiations. Perhaps the debate can be taken as a reminder to do so and to make proposals that can be considered.
There is absolutely no room for complacency. In closing, I will echo the words of Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, who said:
“there is no room for complacency: renewal must be an ongoing process. It must be informed by the need to deliver respect for the human rights of everyone in our societies in all their extraordinary diversity.”
That renewal is the responsibility of each and every one of us in this Parliament. We owe that to the people of Scotland day in, day out, as we seek to represent them. The Government will drive forward that endeavour with vigour and urgency.
The cabinet secretary outlined in her opening remarks some of the actions that we are taking to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. As part of that, she reaffirmed our commitment to introducing a human rights bill. I know that civil society is seeking a commitment from all parties in the chamber to pass such a bill. As we move forward, we continue to welcome the necessary scrutiny, constructive challenge and collaboration on the proposed bill and on how we might collectively advance the wider human rights agenda across everything that we do as a Government and as a Parliament. That accountability forms the bedrock of human rights realisation and reflects the imperatives of the international human rights treaty system.
Human rights day is a reminder that, whatever our differences, we must unite behind the transformative power of human rights to create a pathway for a better future for Scotland, and beyond.
That concludes the debate on pathways to global human rights: towards a stronger human rights culture in Scotland.
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