Hansard

Today is human rights day. Each year, 10 December is celebrated around the world as the date in 1948 on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. I am delighted to mark the occasion by opening today’s debate in the Scottish Parliament.

We celebrate human rights day because we believe in a world that can do so much better—a world in which every member of humanity can live with dignity and enjoy their full rights. We can all contribute to achieving that shared vision as individuals, as political leaders, as community activists and as members of wider society.

I pay special tribute to a group of people who are deserving not just of our admiration and support, but of our profound gratitude and respect. It is no coincidence that yesterday, the day before human rights day, was designated by the United Nations as international day of human rights defenders. Without the courage and self-sacrifice of the thousands of individuals around the world who daily stand up for human rights by challenging human rights abuses and holding powerful people to account, we would not have anything to celebrate on human rights day. Without the work that is done by human rights defenders in every nation, the rights that we all cherish would, ultimately, be in peril.

The work that is done by human rights defenders spans the entire spectrum of civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. They campaign to open up space for civil society, to meet people’s basic needs in healthcare, education and advice, to educate people to know and claim their rights, and to hold to account those who are in power. They do so, however, at considerable personal risk. The daily experience of many human rights defenders—and their friends and families—is that they face the threat of physical attack, harassment, detention, surveillance, legal action and defamation of character.

Speaking up for human rights also costs lives. According to the leading non-governmental organisation, Front Line Defenders, 321 human rights defenders in 27 countries were targeted and killed in 2018 for the work that they did. That is a grim statistic and, shamefully, the number stands at an all-time high.

Colombia is a country where that risk is particularly acute. Of the 321 defenders who were killed in 2018, more than a third—126 people—were killed in Colombia. In Colombia alone, 59 human rights defenders were killed in the first six months of 2019. Death threats against human rights defenders have increased by 75 per cent.

In October, I had the great pleasure of meeting two inspirational human rights defenders from Colombia, who represent the communities that live along the banks of the Atrato river, in the Chocó region. It is one of the poorest parts of the country, and it is home to indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities who depend on the river for sustenance, health and sanitation. The river also underpins their spiritual and cultural lives. Their way of life is under threat from conflict, mining activity and environmental degradation. It is one of the world’s top 10 biodiversity hotspots, but the river has become a toxic dumping ground for pollution from illegal mining. Local people face intimidation from paramilitary groups and increasingly serious threats to their health and their environment.

Local communities have now taken the initiative by establishing the guardians of the Atrato, in order to uphold a landmark ruling by the Colombian constitutional court. In 2017, the court ruled that the Atrato river, together with the biocultural and human rights of local communities, must be safeguarded. The ruling placed direct responsibility on the Colombian Government for ensuring the river’s protection, maintenance, conservation and restoration.

The Atrato river guardians are now working to monitor implementation of that judgment. In doing so, the group of seven men and seven women are standing up to powerful interests in government, business and armed militia groups. The courage that it takes for them to do that is truly inspirational. They deserve not just our admiration but our active support for the work that they do in helping the Atrato river communities to defend their rights.

I am pleased to say that Scotland has been showing solidarity in very practical ways, through the work that is being done by Dr Mo Hume and her colleagues at the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund and local partners in the Chocó region. That is something that we should all be proud of. It was great to meet them when they came to Parliament a few weeks ago.

We are also acting to demonstrate solidarity with human rights defenders through the work of the Scottish human rights defender fellowship, which exists to enable prominent human rights defenders to spend time in Scotland—even although we cannot guarantee them good weather—to develop their skills and to extend their networks in a place of safety, which is important. The fellowship ran for the first time in 2018, and this year we have been delighted to welcome two human rights defenders, from Russia and Zambia. I am very pleased that Konstantin Baranov and Laura Miti are both in the gallery today.

Human rights activists in Russia face different threats from those that are faced by activists in Colombia, but the threats are no less significant. There are severe restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly, and human rights organisations including the non-governmental organisation For Human Rights, have been closed down by the courts. Individual human rights activists face smear campaigns, internet restrictions and arbitrary detention. Respected organisations that work to document human rights abuses and to challenge corruption have been denounced as “undesirable”.

Funding from within Russia to support such work is limited, yet those who accept money from external sources find themselves being accused of being foreign agents. Recent changes to the law mean that independent journalists and bloggers now face the same difficulties.

The human rights situation in Zambia illustrates a different challenge altogether. Like the United Kingdom, Zambia is a democracy. It does not have a history of being a repressive state. In fact, Scotland has a close and enduring friendship with Zambia, and it is one of our four international development partners. Nonetheless, those who speak out for human rights and who challenge corruption and injustice there can face harassment and marginalisation. The space that is available for civil society and journalists to operate in is under pressure. Legitimate public protests can be met with a heavy-handed and even violent response from the authorities.

Zambia has rich natural resources, yet there are pressures on small farmers, and there are questions about equitable access to land, food insecurity and poor nutrition. Zambia is famous for its copper mining industry, but there are concerns about the impact of mining on public health. There have also been concerns recently about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights in Zambia. We know that such challenges are not unique to Zambia. The United Kingdom, too, has questions to answer about hunger, food insecurity and other rights abuses.

Issues such as land reform and the public health importance of environmental protections are essential to the work of this Parliament. We have championed the rights of LGBTI people here—indeed, the Scottish Parliament was founded on the principle of non-discrimination. Human rights are universal and apply to all, irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

More generally, though, human rights defenders in many countries are at risk of being criticised, excluded and ignored. It takes courage and commitment to risk one’s career or to face intimidation in order to speak up for human rights. Again, we in Scotland must be on our guard—we cannot ever become complacent.

Our commitment to human rights is also a commitment not merely to tolerate dissenting views or to put up with opinions that we do not personally share. For human rights to prosper in Scotland we must respect and genuinely value the diversity of Scottish society. We must commit to sharing and debating our different views and opinions in a spirit of openness and mutual respect, and with a dedication to shared human rights values and to pursuit of the common good. I hope that that will be the tone of today’s debate.

In that respect, this year’s Scottish human rights defender fellowships could not have had better participants than Konstantin Baranov and Laura Miti. They both work tirelessly in their own countries to support human rights defenders, to build capacity and increase the space for civil society to operate, and to educate people that they may hold their Government to account for their actions and their use of public resources. During their time in Scotland, they have held up a mirror to our policies and practice, not just by participating in events and meeting new contacts, but by offering their expert insights and by drawing on their immense practical experience in order to help us here. That two-way exchange of knowledge and skills is a fundamental part of the fellowship.

I pay tribute to the two fellows and express my gratitude—once again—to the University of Dundee, Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders and all our other partners for making possible the fellowship, of which we should all be very proud.

I conclude with the self-evident truth that we are all human rights defenders. Wherever we are, and whoever we are, we each have a vital contribution to make. That includes Scotland’s children and young people, who also play an important role in standing up for human rights. Age is no barrier to speaking out for what is right. If members have seen any of the fearless youngsters during events that they have held in Parliament, they will know how absolutely fearless they are. Last week, I was particularly pleased to meet Revati Campbell, Gavin Stewart and Beccie White from the Scottish Youth Parliament, who were able to come to Bute house to meet the Scottish human rights defender fellows.

We might not all face the same threats as the Atrato river guardians, or be in a position to undertake work on the scale, and with the sophistication, of Konstantin Baranov and Laura Miti. However, we should all be inspired by their examples—we all have a part to play.

Human rights defenders teach us the importance of standing up for human rights. In this Parliament, across civil society and throughout Scotland, we all have a duty to raise our voices in support of the vision that we share. That vision is for a Scotland and a wider world that truly live up to the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and which secure fundamental human dignity for every member of humanity. On human rights day 2019, I once again commend the vision of this Parliament.

I move,

That the Parliament notes that the International Day of Human Rights Defenders is celebrated each year on 9 December and that 2019 marks 21 years since the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; appreciates the vital work that human rights defenders undertake around the world, often at considerable risk to themselves, their families and their communities; reaffirms its own support for, and commitment to, the work of human rights defenders in all states and nations, in keeping with the principles of the UN Declaration and in recognition of the critically important role of human rights defenders in working to eliminate all violations and abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and commends and pays tribute to the contribution made by the participants in the Scottish Human Rights Defender Fellowship.