New Report Calls for Incorporation of Right to Cultural Life
New Report Calls for Incorporation of Right to Cultural Life
On Monday 6th March, the Consortium and Art27, a cultural rights organisation, are launching a new report exploring the right to cultural life, what it means, and what it could look like if it were incorporated into Scots law.
The report, written by academics at the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, sets out that the right to cultural life includes access, participation, and contribution to cultural life. It considers questions such as 'what exactly is this right?' And 'what will its incorporation into Scots law mean in practice?'
These are important and timely questions, astThe Scottish Government has committed to introduce a Human Rights Bill in this parliamentary session. Amongst others, this Bill will also incorporate the right to cultural life directly into Scots law. This will mean that public bodies will need to take steps to progress the realisation of this right. For the first time, people will be able to ‘name and claim’ this right, even in court if necessary.
Mhairi Snowden, Director of Human Rights Consortium Scotland said:
‘We greatly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to incorporate more of our international human rights treaties into our own law here in Scotland. This is the best thing we can do to make them real.
We know that embedding this right to cultural life can bring huge benefits to our arts and culture sector, and to our communities.
Now is the time for public authorities, and all those concerned with cultural life, to start to think about what this right to culture might mean for them and what they do. There are big questions such as who is missing out? What steps need to be taken to realise this right?’
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