Hansard

It is an honour to speak in this afternoon’s debate in recognition of the 21st anniversary of the international day of human rights defenders. This SNP Government, as we have heard, has dedicated itself to making sure that our nation protects, respects and realises internationally recognised human rights. We all know that we cannot protect human rights in a vacuum, and I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to demonstrating leadership, both at home and abroad. Scotland should aspire to be a champion of human rights in the global community, and this Government has sought to promote international human rights standards in a manner that has a practical impact.

As already mentioned, and as set out in the motion, the recent establishment of the Scottish human rights defender fellowship is but one example of how the Scottish Government has worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure that we are part of a modern, inclusive nation. We should all welcome and celebrate this initiative.

In her opening speech, the minister talked about children who are human rights defenders. During the equivalent debate last year, I mentioned a young person from my Coatbridge and Chryston constituency, Ryan McShane, who has been an active human rights defender, and there is no reason why I should not take this opportunity to mention him again, not least because I was chatting to him about this debate yesterday, during the First Minister’s visit to Coatbridge, and I think that he would be the first person to hold me to account if I did not mention some of the work that he has been doing, as I said that I would.

As the minister and some members know, Ryan McShane is a care-experienced young person who has been actively defending human rights and holding decision makers to account for some time, as he demonstrated last year when he addressed the First Minister and the Parliament. He has regularly and bravely spoken about the trauma of his experiences in the foster care system, which involved him having many different placements before he found a family that has provided lasting love, understanding and happiness.

I take the opportunity to pay tribute to Ryan’s foster carers and to all carers across the country, including kinship carers, who give children the chance to achieve their potential. Care-experienced young people have the right to have a family such as the one that Ryan has. That should be the norm and a fundamental right.

An issue that members have mentioned in detail—or just remarked on, given the four minutes that speakers have been allocated—is the imminent exit from the EU. It is important that we talk about EU exit, given the current climate, as it has the potential to adversely affect human rights in Scotland and the rest of the UK as long as it remains in the hands of this Tory Government.

Before a member on the Tory benches accuses me of fearmongering, I remind members that Michael Gove, during his tenure as Secretary of State for Justice, said that he wanted to limit the use of human rights laws to the most serious cases, and that his predecessor, Chris Grayling, is on record saying that he does not believe that the European Court of Human Rights

“makes this country a better place”.

On top of that, members should remember that the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 prevents the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union from remaining a part of domestic law.

Such an approach, combined with isolation from progressive developments at EU level, will corrode our existing protections and make it more difficult to implement EU-equivalent standards. The best way to prevent that is, of course, by remaining in the EU, but if that does not come to pass, Scotland must—as a minimum—retain both the charter of fundamental rights and the European convention on human rights. That is the best way to protect existing human rights laws.

The Scottish Government and the UK Government have hugely differing opinions on the importance of protecting human rights in this nation. The Scottish Government is taking the right approach and we must be vigilant about policies that seek to undermine human rights in any way.

I again thank human rights defenders across the world for the risks that they take. I reaffirm my support for the motion.