Meeting of the Parliament 08 December 2022
I am pleased to open today’s debate marking international human rights day and the international day of human rights defenders.
The dates of 9 and 10 December are important ones in the calendar. They remind us of the universal and inalienable human rights that belong to everyone and which were unanimously endorsed by the United Nations general assembly on 10 December 1948. These important days serve to celebrate the work of the thousands of campaigners, activists and human rights defenders who work around the world to promote and protect human rights.
Human rights are transformative in their intent and effect. They guide this Parliament in its work and they define a programme of action for the world at large. Let me quote the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who summed up the role and necessity of human rights. He said:
“Human rights are humanity’s common language”,
and they provide
“a distinctive voice of conscience, reason and wisdom in a fragmented world.”
He said that we need to implement human rights in a way
“that transforms us as a society, that shows us how we interact with each other, how we interact with communities, how we care for each other”.
The high commissioner’s call for conscience, reason and wisdom in a world of turmoil, and his emphasis on the transformative role of human rights, speak directly to all members of this Parliament, and we can all contribute to achieving that vision.
We mark international human rights day and international human rights defenders day because we believe in dignity, decency and humanity, and the values that inspired the universal declaration. The Scottish Government stands in solidarity with everyone who promotes and defends human rights. Today, I pay special tribute to the thousands of human rights defenders around the world who challenge human rights abuses and hold the powerful to account. They are deserving of our admiration and support, as well as our profound gratitude and respect.
In 2018, we established the Scottish human rights defender fellowship in partnership with the University of Dundee, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders as a way to lend practical support to people who defend human rights. In the past five years, we have welcomed human rights defenders from 11 countries. This year, we are honoured to welcome Junia and Riska from Kenya and Indonesia respectively.
In Kenya, civil society and civic spaces are facing more attacks. In the face of that, journalists and women human rights defenders in particular continue to work courageously to expose human rights abuses and hold authority to account. In Indonesia, too, civic spaces are shrinking. On Tuesday, a new criminal code containing more than 600 articles was passed. That code, which has been described by Amnesty International as a “significant blow” to human rights in Indonesia, is far reaching and could further oppress or persecute minority groups such as LGBTI people.
All human rights defenders are at risk, but the risks to those who defend land, indigenous rights and communities that face the impacts of climate change are increasing. In the decade between 2012 and 2022, 1,733 land and environmental defenders were killed as a direct consequence of their work. As community organisers and advocates, women are often at particular risk.
Therefore, I am pleased that the Scottish Government has made available £50,000 of funding to create a new fellowship based at the University of Dundee. That announcement was made last month at the 27th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP27—by my colleague Màiri McAllan, the Minister for Environment and Land Reform. That new fellowship will build on existing Scottish support for human rights by giving women human rights defenders from the global south the opportunity to spend several months in Scotland, where they can continue their work in a place of safety and with support.
As a modern progressive nation, it is incumbent on us to demonstrate our own leadership on human rights. Scotland has a responsibility to lead by example to ensure that its human rights record meets the highest of standards.