Hansard

It is a pleasure to participate in today’s debate to mark the publication of the second annual report on Scotland’s national action plan for human rights. SNAP is a road map for collective action across Scotland to make human rights a reality for everyone.

The Scottish Human Rights Commission described SNAP’s first year as being mainly about “setting the stage”. Since then, however, SNAP has moved “off the page” in the action that has been taken to ensure that human rights become very much a reality for everyone. To achieve that objective, a diverse range of events and “hub” and “spoke” projects have been adopted on health, justice, housing and other areas. However, while significant progress has been made during the two years since SNAP was launched, it is fair to say that there is still much more to be done. In particular, the report points out that

“A step-change is needed across the Scottish public sector”

and that

“those in power with a responsibility to protect, respect and fulfil people’s rights must step up to discharge their duties.”

The SHRC says that that, in turn, means that SNAP

“must become firmly embedded in Scotland’s institutional fabric rather than sitting separately in a silo.”

That joined-up, holistic approach makes sense. It can be seen in the efforts that have been made so far to cement it in the foundations of Scotland’s public services. One striking example of that is the mechanism that SNAP has become for holding Police Scotland to account. That is good news, given the now self-evident absence of proper and effective oversight of the single force. That issue was warned against by the Scottish Conservatives and was a major factor in our rejecting the creation of Police Scotland in the first place.

It is very much to be welcomed that accountability here is being delivered through SNAP in a number of ways, including the SNAP accountability round-table events that have been held over the past year. Those events have focused on justice and safety, and have covered Police Scotland’s commitment to embed human rights in the structures and culture of policing.

The commission recognises that people in Scotland do not know a lot about their rights. It is therefore extremely positive that a dedicated round-table meeting was held to examine how Police Scotland can ensure that the experience of everyone who comes into contact with the police is underpinned by a recognition of their human rights. It is also positive that a separate session was held on proportionality in stop and search and the use of force.

In addition, the SHRC’s action in July last year in reporting the disproportionate use of consensual stop and search to the United Nations Human Rights Committee helped to concentrate the Scottish Government’s mind on ending the controversy.

There is no doubt that, by focusing attention on those issues through SNAP, the SHRC is helping to provide the vital checks and balances that are by and large absent under a Scottish Parliament majority Government. As Professor Miller explained in his recent evidence to the Justice Committee:

“A lot of the earlier work of the commission had to be about increasing awareness and understanding of how to apply human rights on a day-to-day basis ... We are getting to a stage where those bodies have to be increasingly held to account—where they actually need to do it.”—[Official Report, Justice Committee, 26 January 2016; c 38.]

In my closing remarks, I will say more about Professor Miller’s outstanding record as the chair of the SHRC.

As the new parliamentary session approaches, it is imperative that the Parliament continues to support SNAP and that Professor Miller’s impressive legacy is delivered through his successor, Judith Robertson, when she takes up her position as the new chair of the SHRC.