A Human Rights Bill for Scotland: Consultation

Our high level objectives for the Bill. 

We want to:

• Build on existing human rights and equality protections, enshrined in the Scotland Act 1998, Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010, within the limits of devolved competence.
• Provide a clear, robust and accessible legal framework that ensures:
  • All rights-holders in Scotland can understand and claim international human rights domestically; and that
  • All duty-bearers will better implement rights in practice, respond appropriately to rights issues as they arise, and be held to account when things go wrong.
  • Incorporate into Scots law, within the limits of devolved competence:
    • the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);
    • the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);
    • the Convention of the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD); and
    • the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
• Recognise and include the right to a healthy environment.
• Ensure the rights are incorporated in a way which ensures they can be enjoyed and accessed by everyone without discrimination via an equality provision, within the limits of devolved competence.
• Provide a clear set of duties for public bodies (including, so far as possible, private actors) carrying out devolved public functions in Scotland, in relation to the rights in the Bill, with the aim of ensuring so far as possible that all law, policy and decision-making by Scotland’s public authorities and services contributes to the advancement of the full range of international human rights standards contained in the Bill.
• Create and promote a multi-institutional approach so that institutions in Scotland – Government, Parliament, public bodies, courts and independent scrutiny bodies – can work together to ensure rights are upheld and create a human rights culture.
• Ensure there are routes to remedy available for when there has been an individual or systemic infringement of people’s human rights and that the remedies are accessible, affordable, timely and effective.
• Through the Bill and wider work, continue to build a human rights culture where duty-bearers place rights at the heart of their decision making, people understand what their rights are and how to access them, and together we build a society where everyone is able to live with fundamental human dignity.

During the consultation we will be running a series of public events across Scotland to allow individuals and communities to come along to share their views and inform the Human Rights Bill.

The events are free of charge but in order to book your place you must do so by clicking on the Eventbrite link below and provide details of each individual attendee.  All tickets should then be clearly displayed upon arrival on the day of the event.

1)  Online Event – 27/07/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Online Consultation Tickets, Thu 27 Jul 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

2)  Dumfries – 15/08/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Consultation Event Tickets, Tue 15 Aug 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

3)  Glasgow – 22/08/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Consultation Event Tickets, Tue 22 Aug 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

4)  Inverness – 28/08/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Consultation Event Tickets, Mon 28 Aug 2023 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

5)  Online Event – 05/09/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Online Consultation Tickets, Tue 5 Sep 2023 at 18:00 | Eventbrite

6) Online Event - 11/09/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Consultation Event Tickets, Mon 11 Sep 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

7)  Dundee – 19/09/2023

A Human Rights Bill for Scotland – Scottish Government Consultation Event Tickets, Tue 19 Sep 2023 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

Accessibility

If you have any accessibility requirements for any of the events please notify HumanRightsOffice@gov.scot as soon as possible.

Everyone with an interest should have the opportunity to offer their views to inform this Bill. We will seek to meet with specific rights groups who face historical and ongoing societal barriers to having their voice heard in public consultations. We will publish information packs so that community groups can hold their own discussions and, if they wish, submit a group response to the consultation. Across all this work we will maximise good use of accessibility resources so that as many people as possible are able to get involved.

During the consultation period, the Scottish Government will make sure as many people as possible know about the consultation and are encouraged and supported to take part. This will include a series of regional discussion events with a focus on in-person meetings over a range of urban, rural and remote communities.