Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2016
At stage 2, I lodged amendments that required ministers, when preparing both the land rights and responsibilities statement and the part 4 guidance, to have regard to the desirability of promoting respect for, and observance of, relevant human rights. At stage 2, Michael Russell and Sarah Boyack made helpful additions to the bill through amendments that set out that human rights include economic, social and cultural rights in instruments including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security” and others that the Scottish ministers consider, after consulting the Scottish Human Rights Commission, to be relevant.
The amendments in group 2 build on the issues that Mr Russell and Ms Boyack raised at stage 2. Amendments 16, 17 and 19 define “human rights” in section 1. That definition expressly includes human rights that are contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Amendments 13 and 18 will require the Scottish ministers, in preparing the statement, to have regard to the desirability of
“promoting respect for such internationally accepted principles and standards for responsible practices in relation to land as the Scottish Ministers consider to be relevant”.
Those principles and standards include those that are in the “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security”.
Amendment 19 defines “human rights” as
“the Convention rights ... and ... other human rights contained in any international convention, treaty or other international instrument ratified by the United Kingdom, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights”.
In determining what rights are relevant human rights for the purposes of section 1, ministers may consult the Scottish Human Rights Commission and such other persons or bodies as they consider appropriate. That reflects a point that Mr Russell made at stage 2 on the assistance that the Scottish Human Rights Commission will be able to provide in consideration of what are relevant human rights in that context. The definition of “human rights” is wide enough to include other human rights that we have identified that could be relevant, including rights in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security” is a framework document that sets out principles and internationally accepted standards for responsible practices, rather than being a human rights instrument in the sense that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the European convention on human rights are. It is dealt with slightly differently. Amendments 13 and 18 will ensure that ministers will have regard to the desirability of
“promoting respect for such internationally accepted principles and standards for responsible practices in relation to land as the Scottish Ministers consider to be relevant”
in preparation of the statement, including the principles and standards in the voluntary guidelines. That wording also leaves ministers open to having regard to other relevant international standards and practices in relation to land that may come into effect in the future.
Amendments 53 to 56 and 59 will apply the same approach to consideration of human rights, the voluntary guidelines in part 4 and the preparation of the part 4 guidance.
The amendments in group 2 will ensure that we take in the bill a robust approach to interpretation and definition of human rights. They demonstrate our absolute commitment to human rights in the context of the land reform debate; human rights are crucial to achievement of our goal of ensuring that land is owned and used in the public interest for the benefit of the people of Scotland. [Interruption.]