Human Rights Bill Resources

Browse our resource bank below.

International Human Rights Briefing Series

Written By Professor Nicole Busby and Dr Kasey McCall-Smith for the Consortium, these briefings give a helpful outline of content of treaties and rights:

• The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• The UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• The Right to Social Security
• The Right to Take Part in Cultural Life
• The Right to Health
• The Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

About incorporation

• Short Briefing: Scottish Human Rights Incorporation Bill– what the Bill is all about, why it is important, and what must be in it
• Incorporating Human Rights in Scotland– a project from the University of Edinburgh, bringing academic research together with civil society expertise to develop a framework for best practice on incorporation.
• International human rights law – a summary– a basic summary of international human rights law from the University of Edinburgh
• What is incorporation?– a basic summary of incorporation from the University of Edinburgh
• Timeline of human rights in Scotland and the United Kingdom– a basic timeline of the development of human rights in Scotland and the UK, from the University of Edinburgh
• International human rights – a summary– EasyRead version
• What is incorporation?– EasyRead version
• Timeline of human rights in Scotland and the United Kingdom – EasyRead version
• Right to Social Security Briefing– EasyRead version
• Women’s Rights Briefing– EasyRead version

Consortium series: Incorporating International Human Rights

• Incorporating International Human Rights: Putting independent advocacy at the heart of the new human rights statutory framework in Scotland– a briefing from the Consortium and the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance
• Incorporating International Human Rights: The Implications of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill Reference for the Scottish Human Rights Bill– a paper by Professor Aileen McHarg, on the implications of the UK Supreme Court ruling on the UNCRC Bill for future human rights protection efforts in Scotland
• Incorporating International Human Rights: The right to cultural life in Scotland– a paper by Dr Elaine Webster, Dr Lynsey Mitchell and Dr Diana Camps, on the incorporation of the right to cultural life

Reports, Briefings and Blogs

• The National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership- Overview
• The National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership- Final Report
• Discussion Paper: Reflections on Implementation of the Human Rights Act – a report of an online event November 2023
• Business and Human Rights: How can the forthcoming Scottish Human Rights Bill best address the issues arising in the context of business and human rights?– a report by Claudia Paduano & Kasey McCall-Smith of the University of Edinburgh, November 2023
• Blog: The right to cultural life (and why it’s all about dignity, really)– a blog from Mhairi Snowden, Director of the Consortium, about the right to cultural life
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: International Legal Obligations – An Explainer– this briefing by Aidan Flegg and Dr Katie Boyle was prepared for the Nuffield Foundation project on ‘Access to Justice For Social Rights: Addressing the Accountability Gap’, led by Dr Katie Boyle, May 2022
• The Right to Adequate Housing in the UK– An Explainer– this briefing by Dr Katie Boyle and Aidan Flegg was prepared for the Nuffield Foundation project on ‘Access to Justice For Social Rights: Addressing the Accountability Gap’, led by Dr Katie Boyle, May 2022
• The Right to Food in the UK – An Explainer– this briefing by Dr Katie Boyle and Aidan Flegg was prepared for the Nuffield Foundation project on ‘Access to Justice For Social Rights: Addressing the Accountability Gap’, led by Dr Katie Boyle, May 2022
• The Right to Social Security in the UK– An Explainer– this briefing by Dr Katie Boyle and Aidan Flegg was prepared for the Nuffield Foundation project on ‘Access to Justice For Social Rights: Addressing the Accountability Gap’, led by Dr Katie Boyle, May 2022
• If not now, when? Social Renewal Advisory Board report: January 2021– a report from the Social Renewal Advisory Board on its proposals for social renewal following the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Features of an Act of Parliament to incorporate international human rights into Scots Law– a briefing by the Civil Society Working Group on Incorporation
• Just Fair celebrates Scotland’s commitment to enshrining economic, social and cultural rights– an article from Just Fair welcoming the Scottish Government’s commitment to a new human rights law
• More rights, better food– a blog from Pete Richie at Nourish Scotland about the potential impact of incorporation on food security
• Integrated Implementation of Scotland’s New Human Rights Framework– a paper by the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law on the implementation of the new human rights law
• Incorporating International Human Rights in a Devolved Context– a paper by Dr Kasey McCall-Smith on incorporation of human rights in Scotland
• Incorporating Human Rights in Scotland: Best Practice Framework from International Examples– a paper from the University of Edinburgh which uses international examples to identify a best practice framework for incorporation in Scotland
• Realising international human rights: Scotland on the global stage– a paper by Jo Ferrie, Rebecca Wallace and Elaine Webster on Scotland’s approach to human rights in an international context
• Incorporating International Human Rights: How the human right to a healthy environment advances the rights of disabled people– a joint briefing from the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland and Inclusion Scotland, September 2021
• Report from All Our Rights In Law project, that collated findings from community conversations on the Human Rights Bill, to inform the National Taskforce Bill recommendations

Infographics

• A summary of international human rights law– infographic on international human rights law, produced by the University of Edinburgh
• What and why of incorporation– infographic explaining the basics of incorporation, produced by the University of Edinburgh
• Different types of incorporation– infographic exploring the different ways in which countries can incorporate international human rights law
• A timeline of human rights in the UK– infographic with a basic timeline of laws which protect human rights in the UK
  
  

Quick International Case Studies

• Case study- Iceland
• Case study- Norway
• Case study- South Africa
• Case study- Switzerland

Videos

• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Lydia Murphy– Lydia Murphy, from Poverty Alliance, explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Benji Brown– Benji Brown, from Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Mhairi Snowden– Mhairi Snowden, Director of the Human Rights Consortium Scotland, explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Clare Gallagher– Clare Gallagher from CEMVO Scotland explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Suki Wan– Suki Wan from THRE (Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities) explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Helen Flynn– Helen Flynn from Just Fair explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill is so important
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Pinar Aksu– Pinar Aksu from Maryhill Integration Network explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Sarah D’Agrosa– Sarah D’Agrosa from the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time to Put All Our Rights in Law, with Paul Daly– Paul Daly from LGBT Youth Scotland explains why Scotland’s new Human Rights Bill matters
• It’s Time for All Our Rights in Law!– civil society leaders repeat the call
• What are Human Rights?– a basic explainer video from Just Fair, offering an introduction to human rights
• The Power of Human Rights– a video explaining the role civil society organisations can play in defending human rights, from Just Fair
• Our Everyday Rights– a video explaining our basic economic, social and cultural rights, from Just Fair
• What is incorporation and why does it matter?– a training session given by Dr Kasey McCall-Smith on the basics of human rights incorporation
• Incorporation in context: Lessons from other countries– a training session given by Sofie Quist and Veronica Luhtanen on what Scotland can learn from incorporation in other countries.
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Dr Elaine Webster from the University of Strathclyde explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Heather Fisken from Inclusion Scotland explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Juliet Harris from Together explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Clare MacGillivray from Making Rights Real explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Vhairi Tollan from Scottish Environment LINK explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Mhairi Snowden from the Consortium explains why she supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law
• Why do you support human rights incorporation?– Rob Gowans from the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (The ALLIANCE) explains why he supports the incorporation of human rights treaties into Scots law

Podcasts

• An Introduction to the Human Rights (Incorporation) Scotland Bill
• Build forward better: why funding human rights matters– a podcast explaining why incorporation of human rights should be a priority for civil society funders.