The disappointing decision of the Scottish Government to omit Scotland’s Human Rights Bill_[2] might not have been all that surprising but it is unfortunately all but one broken promise of a long list.  Promises and commitments that aimed to better protect all of our human rights, and create an opportunity to truly improve the lives of some of the most marginalised communities in our country.

After the acceptance of the then First Minister’s Advisory Groups seven recommendations in 2017_[3], the Scottish Government promised a new legislative human rights framework in Scotland. Plans for this framework developed and the Scottish Government committed to incorporating four international conventions and the right to a healthy environment into Scots Law for the very first time. These rights included economic and social and cultural rights_[4] enshrined in Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with a suite of conventions that offer protection to those whose rights are most at risk: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination and Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

To those working in the sector it certainly felt that for the last several years, the Scottish Government has signposted calls for other legislative reform to the Human Rights Bill, a one-stop shop Bill as such. For example, calls for the right to food to be included in the Good Food Nation Bill were quashed as it would be included in the Human Rights Bill. With no human rights bill, there is now no right to food in Scots Law. There is a tangible and justifiable amount of frustration within sectors who have been campaigning tirelessly to ensure that legislative reform benefits the people who need it the most_[5].

While disappointing, frustrating and alarming that we do not have some of our most fundamental human rights protected in our own legislation and the time, resources and money put into developing Scotland’s Human Rights Bill, it important to remember that these rights are still protected under international law.

Since 2021 we have been working with Ethnic Minority communities talking about human rights and the promise of  Scotland Human Rights Bill, hosting the first consultation event in Scotland about the Bill in May 2023_[6]. Given the track record, it was fair to say that skepticism has been palpable from communities who have consistently been promised one thing, and delivered nothing.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government’s Race Equality Action Plan expired in 2021. Government officials only recently assured the United Nations Committee of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination that it had an event planned to work with stakeholders to update this plan_[7]. Only a few days later, the government yet again cancelled this vital meeting. The Anti-Racism in Education Programme was initially to be launched at a summit when Nicola Sturgeon was in power, but the revolving door of First Minister’s continues to delay the launch.

It seems that the exclusion of the Bill is only one part of a long list of broken promises.

So is it surprising? With First Minister’s key priorities focusing on poverty and climate justice it does create some confusion as to why legislative reform that was aimed to do this has been shelved. Cabinet Secretary Shirley-Anne Sommerville has advised that her decision to shelve the Bill was due to:

• issues relating to devolution (the UK Supreme Court’s (UKSC) decision regarding the incorporation of the United Nation’s Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)),

• concerns that the Bill would not achieve what it set out to and

• a new government in Westminster.

A change in UK Government inevitably changes the dynamic. The Scottish Government are hoping to have conversations around legislative reform with UK Government officials whose doors have been closed for the last 14 years. Although welcomed, it is disappointing that these conversations could not have happened concurrently as the human rights bill was being developed and progressed. There is no dispute that the proposals included in the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Bill in 2023 were perhaps not as far reaching as hoped_[8] however this decision negates to take in consideration the co-design and legislative processes that could further develop initial proposals to a Bill that would promise more change. Lastly, the issue around UNCRC incorporation and devolved and reserved competence is and will continue to be a challenging space to work within unless amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 are made. However, given that the UKSC judgement was passed in 2021, commitments were made as far back as 2017 for incorporation of UN conventions into Scot’s Law and that this is a notoriously challenging part of constitutional law; what work has the Scottish Government done from then until now to fulfill this promise?

Alongside 100+ organisations in Scotland we support the Human Rights Consortium’s calls for the Scottish Government and First Minister to reverse this decision immediately. The Scottish Human Rights Bill must be reinstated into the legislative agenda without further delay.

We insist that the Scottish Government keeps its promise, and introduce the Scottish Human Rights Bill to Parliament by February 2025.

From a consistently and chronically underfunded sector it is no easy task to ask for perseverance but we must. Given the track record, we have to cover all bases to ensure that we see the incorporation of our rights into Scots Law. Who knows who will be elected in Scotland in 2026, it’s time to chap all doors of Parliament to ensure that whoever is the next executive will introduce Scotland’s Human Rights Bill.