Scotland’s Annual Human Rights Conference
Scotland’s Annual Human Rights Conference 2026: Our Rights. Your Move.
On Tuesday 3rd February we brought our second national human rights conference to Glasgow. It was a high energy, hard-hitting event full of heart, humour and a sense of urgency. Quite a mix!
We heard inspiring and informative input from a wide range of perspectives as we examined the challenges and the opportunities for a positive way forward for human rights in Scotland, despite the profound challenges we face internationally, at a UK level and locally.
Our focus was on a call to action moving forward into this critically important year – for human rights for everyone in Scotland.
A huge thank you to all 200 delegates – you were so engaged we could have filled a second day with the discussion and debate that began to emerge.
Thank you to all our amazing presenters, you were fabulous.
And, of course, thank you to our conference sponsors, this couldn’t have been such a success without you:
Corra Foundation
The Law Society of Scotland
The ALLIANCE
William Grant Foundation
JUSTICE
Download our delegate booklet from the conference here for further information on all of our speakers and workshops.
You can read Professor Angela O’Hagan’s (Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commision) keynote speech from the conference here.
You can read Professor Alan Miller’s (Strathclyde University) speech, ‘An International Perspective’s Call to Action for Scotland’ here.
We are also thrilled to share a series of illustrations by Malini Chakraborty, capturing the words and spirit of the day.
A huge thank you to Malini for generously sharing these with us out of care and reflection. These illustrations capture the spirit of the event, reminding us why we all have a role in defending human rights.
(click the images below to open the gallery)
- 87% of delegates found the content of the conference useful and/or interesting
- 90% of delegates said they were likely to attend the next edition of the conference
- 90% of the delegates enjoyed the lunch time catering
- 90% of delegates said the conference was well organised and ran smoothly
- 92% of delegates felt they benefitted from meeting other human rights defenders in person
- 97% of the delegates were satisfied with the venue and facilities
- 100% of the delegates found the conference accessible to them
Testemonies from 2026 Conference Attendees:
‘It was a conference with heart and humour [and] it was such a delight to finally feel a part of the Scottish human rights community, and not just the international human rights community.’
‘Expert panels, brilliant hosting, fantastic bunch of delegates!’
‘[The conference] was very professional in all aspects of its delivery and in the pre administration, as well as achieving a warmth that embraced all attendees and welcomed all contributions.’
‘I’m not sure I’ve ever come away from any conference feeling quite so informed and inspired. The tone was at once serious and light, heartbreaking and heartwarming. That blend between information and passion was truly special, no mean feat!’
Past Conferences
Testemonies from 2024 Conference Attendees:
‘[The conference] brought together critical thinkers around rights, Policy and Practice. Breakout rooms were fantastic, I could have attended them all.’
‘Thank you for organising such a successful conference. Thank you for bringing everyone together, and looking forward to seeing positive changes happening by this time next year.’
‘[I liked] the variety of topics in breakout rooms - really enjoyed speakers in criminal justice - fantastic, informative and engaging!’
‘Attending this conference and knowing about the work of the Consortium will enable me to deliver change at the local level- thank you for energising me.’
