Human rights are important to everyone living in Scotland today.
Each of us is entitled to have our basic human rights respected, but equally, we must respect the rights of others. Human rights are those rights which could be described as the most basic and fundamental values on which our society has been built - the rights we all take for granted. This includes things like:
- The right to life
- The right to freely express your views
- The right to respect for your private and family life
Human rights have relevance in many areas of our lives. They also apply equally to everyone in Scotland - you have rights because you are entitled to them as a human being, regardless of your personal circumstances, beliefs, religion or culture. Human rights are therefore something on which we can all find common ground - we should all be able to believe in, rely upon and exercise our rights and responsibilities.
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), several United Nations (UN) Conventions and other international instruments exist to recognise and reinforce our basic human rights and to provide a framework within which governments must act. The ECHR has been in existence since the 1950s, but has been given further force in the UK through the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998.
The Scotland Act places certain requirements on Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament to ensure that they act in accordance with the 'Convention rights' i.e. those rights drawn from certain articles of the ECHR. Under the Human Rights Act, all public authorities in the UK must act in accordance with the Convention rights in everything they do.
These Acts provide a framework within which Ministers, the Parliament and public authorities must operate in conducting their activities, the aim of which is to ensure that our human rights are properly protected and that we are able to claim the protection of the 'Convention rights' in our own national courts. In relation to devolved issues, human rights points taken against the Executive have been considered in the Scottish courts since the Scotland Act took effect in May 1999. Human rights cases against other public authorities became competent with the commencement of the Human Rights Act in October 2000.
Our aim is that human rights should be mainstreamed as a policy consideration across the Executive. Each policy division deals with human rights issues in their development of policy as required. Policy divisions are supported by in-house solicitors who can supply more in-depth legal advice. In addition every Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament must be certified by a Scottish Executive Minister as compliant with convention rights.
Before you can claim the protection of your rights, you need to know what they are and how they apply to you. The Executive is actively involved in a range of awareness-raising activities in partnership with human rights NGOs. It assists public authorities in understanding their duties under the Human Rights Act 1998. The Executive is also currently investigating options for the provision of training and guidance to policy staff internally.