Meeting of the Parliament 08 December 2022
I hold faith and belief in my portfolio and meet regularly with faith and belief leaders as part of my work. I emphasise to Stephen Kerr that this Government speaks to people. We understand their concerns and take them on board, unlike the Westminster Government that he supports. Many lawyers, academics, national human rights institutions and civil society campaigners have condemned the UK Government’s approach to human rights, so we will not take any lessons on the matter from the UK.
Eminent former judges such as Lady Hale, Lord Mance and Lord Sumption have all made their concerns clear. The UK Government, contrary to claims by the Secretary of State for Justice, is not listening to those concerns as we are. Rather, as Martha Spurrier, the director of Liberty put it, the Government
“repeatedly changes the rules to suit them”.
The UK Government is now planning to rip up the basic human rights and protections that we all rely on. I will not take any lessons from Tories in this place who talk about ripping up human rights protections when that is exactly what they propose to do. Their apparent intention is to make themselves untouchable. They are not untouchable in this place.
Our position is shared by our Welsh Government colleagues, who view the UK Government’s proposals as representing a serious regression in human rights in the UK, at a time when it has never been more important to uphold international law. Any changes affecting Scotland must not be made without the explicit and unequivocal consent of this Scottish Parliament.
I opened the debate with a quote from Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and I return to his words condemning human rights abuses. He called for
“a new energy that motivates young people around the world”.
I endorse that call to action. We must strive harder, with continued vigour and energy, here in Scotland and on the international stage, to realise the vision endorsed by the UN in 1948.
That is why I invite this Parliament to reaffirm our shared commitment to the fundamental principles and common values that are expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to work resolutely to ensure that those rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the significance of Human Rights Day and International Human Rights Defenders Day; reaffirms its own commitment to the universal and inalienable rights and freedoms originally set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; commends the work of human rights defenders in all nations and territories, and the importance of their work to ensure that human rights are fully respected, protected and fulfilled; recognises the Scottish Government’s commitment to giving full domestic effect to international human rights obligations through future human rights legislation within the limits of devolved competence; agrees that the Convention rights established by the Human Rights Act 1998, and embedded in the Scotland Act 1998, are fundamental to the Scottish Parliament and to Scotland’s devolution settlement, and reiterates its unequivocal opposition to the UK Government’s proposals to undermine and weaken the Human Rights Act 1998 through its flawed and misconceived Bill of Rights Bill.