Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2024
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer—again, I apologise for being late to the chamber.
On this human rights day, we are reminded of the importance of protecting everyone’s human rights. However, multiple failures by the Scottish National Party Government have seen the human rights of people across Scotland placed in jeopardy. The “State of the Nation: Civil and Political Rights in Scotland” report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which was published today, has identified
“a vast array of challenges for human rights”
in Scotland, and
“failures that have been unchanged for many years.”
In an eviscerating letter to the First Minister back in September, more than 100 third sector organisations pointed to the
“diminishing priority given to human rights”
by SNP ministers. The letter followed the Scottish Government’s decision to renege on the proposed human rights bill. Stakeholders had been working on the project for years, but the SNP marched them up the legislative hill and then marched them down again. Close to £300,000 of taxpayers’ money has already been spent on that so-called landmark legislation.