"We have the chance to be a truly prosperous and fairer country"- civil society leaders explore Scottish Human Rights Bill: The Priorities, Promises and People

"We have the chance to be a truly prosperous and fairer country"- civil society leaders explore Scottish Human Rights Bill: The Priorities, Promises and People

On 18th June 2024, the Consortium brought together expert speakers from civil society organisations to explore the Scottish Human Rights Bill, and the many ways in which it will help to deliver the First Minister's priorities.

The Scottish Human Rights Bill will incorporate 4 major United Nations human rights treaties, as well as the right to a healthy environment. Whilst the Bill's introduction has been delayed by the General Election, the Scottish Government has committed to passing the Bill by May 2026.

During the event, we heard from the following expert speakers, whose years of experience of fighting poverty, inequality, homelessness and other human rights abuses informed the discussion:

• Shelter Scotland – Gordon Macrae, Assistant Director 
• Poverty Alliance – Peter Kelly, Director 
• Broke not Broken – Danielle Ramage, Development Officer  
• Amnesty International – Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive
• Scottish Human Rights Commission – Jan Savage, Chief Executive 

The call rang out loud and clear- that if the First Minister of Scotland wishes to eradicate child poverty and improve public services, he must make the Human Rights Bill a priority. In the words of our Director, Mhairi Snowden:

"A human rights-based approach does and will improve our public services. We cannot afford not to put this Bill through."

Gordon Macrae, from Shelter Scotland, added:

"If well implemented, the Scottish Human Rights Bill offers people a practical set of tools, with a guarantee in law that you shouldn’t have to exercise the new law because we will have rewired the public sector to make the system accountable to human rights.”

Peter Kelly, from Poverty Alliance, stated:

"The Bill would mean we would rely less on persuading our government to do the right thing, and could rest on a legal obligation of doing the right thing. The Scottish Human Rights Bill adds a different way to hold decision-makers to account.”

Danielle Ramage, from Broke Not Broken, reflected on the broader possibilities of the Bill:

"The system was set up to let people fail, and let those who are 'down' sink further down. We have the opportunity with the Scottish Human Rights Bill to give everyone equal opportunity. We have a chance to be a truly prosperous and fairer country."

We look forward to introduction of the Bill at the earliest possible point in September 2024.

Listen to the recording of the event here

Find out more about the Scottish Human Rights Bill here