Scottish Human Rights Bill
It is time to put all our rights in law. Incorporating all of our human rights into Scots law is the biggest step that Scotland can take to make all of our rights a reality, for everyone.
We are campaigning for the Scottish Human Rights Bill to be introduced to Parliament, to be as strong as possible, and to be implemented in full. Join our campaign. #AllOurRights
What is the Scottish Human Rights Bill?
The Scottish Government has committed to passing a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland by May 2026. This Bill will incorporate 4 major United Nations human rights treaties. These treaties are:
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
The Bill will also include the right to a healthy environment, as well as extra equality protections for some groups such as older people and LGBTi people.
The Bill will place new duties on public bodies to comply with these rights and to report on progress. It will also include new ways for people to access justice if these rights are not respected.
Why is the Scottish Human Rights Bill important?
We all have human rights. These are set out in international human rights treaties and have been agreed to by the UK Government.
But we need to do more to make all of these rights a reality in everybody’s lives.
The next best step towards this is to put #AllOurRights into Scots law so that:
No one is left behind or ignored
Putting our international human rights into Scots law ensures an essential baseline of human rights for all, not some, so that no one is forgotten.
Public authorities embed rights into their decision-making
Building on UNCRC Act implementation, and the best practice that already exists, this Bill will ensure that a human rights-based approach is increasingly taken to our public services.
Our rights are secure, and not subject to changing politics
Human rights incorporation means embedding them into the very fabric of how we make law in Scotland. They can be used to hold all governments and public bodies to account.
People will be able to name and claim their rights
Human rights are about a sharing of power between the state and people. Individuals and groups will be able to access justice when their rights are not respected, even ultimately going to court where necessary.
There is huge support for this Bill from across Scottish civil society
Thousands of people from communities across Scotland support human rights incorporation in Scotland.
Listen to some of them explain why they believe it is time for #AllOurRights in law:
- Lydia Murphy, from Poverty Alliance
- Benji Brown, from Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
- Mhairi Snowden from the Human Rights Consortium Scotland
- Clare Gallagher from CEMVO Scotland
- Suki Wan from THRE (Third Sector Human Rights and Equalities)
- Helen Flynn from Just Fair
- Pinar Aksu from Maryhill Integration Network
- Sarah D’Agrosa from the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities
- Paul Daly from LGBT Youth Scotland
- Dr Elaine Webster from the University of Strathclyde
- Heather Fisken from Inclusion Scotland
- Juliet Harris from Together(Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)
- Clare MacGillivray from Making Rights Real
- Vhairi Tollan from Scottish Environment LINK
- Rob Gowans from the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (The ALLIANCE)
What’s happening now?
The Cabinet Secretary had promised the Bill’s introduction to Parliament by June 2024. However, this could not happen due to the pre-General Election period. We expected the Bill to be introduced to Parliament in September 2024.
The Bill has been left out of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2024-25. The Scottish Government has reneged on their promise to introduce the Bill in this Parliamentary session. We are now unsure of when it will be introduced.
The Consortium continues to press for the Bill’s introduction:
- In September 2024, over 100 organisations wrote to the First Minister expressing our disappointment. Click here to read the most recent letter.
- In May 2024, over 120 organisations wrote to the new First Minister John Swinney MSP to emphasise the importance of the Bill.
- The Consortium event ‘The Scottish Human Rights Bill: Priorities, promises and people’ was held in June. Speakers emphasised that the Bill helps the new FM achieve his priorities of tackling poverty and improving public services.
Follow the discussion on X @HRCScotland #AllOurRights
What’s happened so far?
The Human Rights Bill is the result of years of campaigning by civil society organisations across Scotland.
Bill recommendations: The Consortium was the civil society member of the National Taskforce on Human Rights Leadership that met in 2019-2021. Many groups and individuals informed the work of the Taskforce through the All Our Rights In Law project. The Taskforce made recommendations about the Human Rights Bill in March 2021. All of the recommendations were accepted by the Scottish Government and they committed to passing the Bill in this parliamentary session.
Drafting the Bill: Since March 2021, the Scottish Government has set up several groups to advise them on the Bill:
- A Human Rights Bill Governance and Engagement Advisory Board This meets approximately every 2 months. The Consortium is a member of this Board. Details of all the members and minutes of meetings are available here.
- An Executive Board. Read who is on this and minutes of meetings here.
- An Implementation Core and Wider Engagement Group. The Consortium sits on both of these groups.
The Scottish Government also set up three Lived Experience Boards to give advice on the Bill and its implementation:
- The Rights Detectives – children and young people, facilitated by Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)
- A Board made up of people with learning disabilities, facilitated by SCLD
- A Board of 32 people from diverse backgrounds, all of whom have experience of challenging rights infringements. This was facilitated by the Consortium.
Read and listen to reports from the Lived Experience Boards.
The Human Rights Bill consultation: From June-October 2023, the Scottish Government ran a public consultation on the Bill. There were almost 400 responses, with overwhelming support for the whole idea of the Bill.
Find out more about who responded and what they said.
Building on UNCRC incorporation: After a long process, the UNCRC Incorporation Act finally came into force in July 2024, and it is already improving children’s lives. Children’s rights are being embedded into public body decision-making. The wider Human Rights bill will strengthen children’s rights, and will mean that rights don’t stop at age 18. The Human Rights bill will mirror the approach of the UNCRC Act.
Want to find out more about the Bill?
- Read this short Consortium briefing about the Bill and why it is important.
- Listen to An Introduction to the Human Rights (Incorporation) Scotland Bill, a recording of a Consortium event that explains key parts of the Bill proposals
- The Consortium has a resource bank of reports, briefings, recordings, infographics and more about the Scottish Human Rights Bill.
Will you join the campaign?
We would love to hear from you!
- Join the Consortium
- Follow us on X and LinkedIn
- Follow #AllOurRights
- Create a short video on why you think this Bill is important – contact rebecca@hrcscotland.org for more information
- Get in touch at info@hrcscotland.org
