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Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2013

10 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Human Rights

Cunningham, Roseanna SNP Perthshire South and Kinross-shire Watch on SPTV

I will come to the Labour amendment later in my speech.

The Government has enjoyed a productive, constructive relationship with the commission on a wide range of issues. The commission’s approach has been very much in evidence in the development of the plan. The SHRC team is small but perfectly formed, and their intelligence and commitment are impressive.

It is worth noting that a national action plan for human rights has been developed not simply because the Scottish Human Rights Commission, or indeed the Scottish Government, thought that it was a good idea. Twenty years ago at the world conference on human rights in Vienna, the international community adopted a declaration on human rights that reaffirmed many core principles. One of the recommendations was for each state to

“consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby that State would improve the promotion and protection of human rights.”

Since then, a number of states have done so—Sweden, Finland and New Zealand are three fine examples. I am delighted that Scotland is following suit, and I very much hope that our approach will act as a model of best practice for others to follow. Scotland is joining a group of progressive nations across the world in seeking not to assume, but to assure, human rights.

In building a coalition of partners who share its vision of a Scotland where everyone lives with fundamental human dignity, the Scottish Human Rights Commission has been successful in facilitating a genuine co-production effort. I emphasise that, although the plan is very much the SHRC’s creation—and it should take the credit for that—the commission has been open and inclusive in involving a range of partners from all quarters in shaping the plan. It is far from being a traditional action plan; it is much more a programme of action constructed around a shared vision, with a closely aligned set of outcomes. The sharing of that vision goes beyond government; it goes right across society.

The plan has been explicitly linked to the Scottish Government’s national outcomes framework, which has attracted international attention and praise. It aspires to create an environment in which people better understand rights and organisations are able to apply them. That is linked to the Scottish Government’s ambition to ensure that our public services are high quality and responsive to need.

Improving lives through tackling injustice and exclusion in our society accords strongly with the priority that the Scottish Government has placed on tackling the significant inequalities in Scotland—and there are indeed significant inequalities in Scotland. The more that Scotland gives effect to our international obligations, the more we can take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity.

I turn briefly to the Labour amendment. Work to tackle female genital mutilation, which is a form of violence against women, will be included in Scotland’s national strategy to tackle violence against women. That strategy is being developed in collaboration with public and voluntary sector partners and will be the first of its kind in Scotland. It will be published in the summer of 2014 following a consultation in the new year. I expect that all members in the chamber will wish to contribute to that consultation and take part in the discussions around it.

However, I wish that the Labour Party had allowed the motion simply to proceed on the basis of its congratulating the Scottish Human Rights Commission and what it says about Scotland’s first national action plan. For those reasons, I cannot find any reason to support the amendment.

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Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2013

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