Human Rights Bill must be delivered, says rights watchdog
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 5th March 2025
In a report to the United Nations, the Scottish Human Rights Commission has pressed the Scottish Government to deliver a new Human Rights Bill within the next Parliamentary session.
Despite extensive consultation on its content, a Human Rights Bill failed to appear in the 2024/25 Programme for Government, after being delayed in June due to the General Election.
The Commission also set out recommendations around tackling poverty and destitution, improving access to healthcare and embedding a rights-based approach to how public services are run.
This report comes as organisations have been publishing their responses to the Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy consultation. Human Rights Consortium Scotland said it was "encouraging to see the effective integration of Human Rights and Equalities in the proposals for the Mainstreaming Strategy."
Human Rights are at the core of community development approaches, and a Human Rights Bill would provide an extension of the right to participate in decisions which impact on the rights of everyone in Scotland.
Like the SHRC, we sincerely hope this Bill is included in the final programme for government before the May 2026 election.
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