Issue 37 June 2007 - Editorial

With the Holyrood election now behind us, the next few weeks and months should witness the establishment of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights. This Issue seeks to help set the scene for its introduction.

We are pleased to be able to publish a recent strategic vision by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, relating to key human rights challenges within Europe-security, migration and discrimination.

Coming closer to home, we are grateful to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for enabling us to publish the vision of its Chief Commissioner, Professor Monica McWilliams, who outlines the challenge facing the Commission and other bodies in building a human rights culture.

Reaching home, we offer the insights of Emma Gray and Carolyn Hirst of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's Office ("SPSO'') into the complementarity of that body and the pending Scottish Commission for Human Rights in working together to build a human rights culture in Scotland.

We are again indebted to Scott Blair for his case law digest. Whilst building a human rights culture of course goes beyond lawyers and courts, as pointed out by Professor McWilliams, they do playa vital role. Awareness of human rights law is an essential tool for all concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights, as is so practically illustrated by the feature from SPSO.

Our next Issue will report further on the progress towards the operationalisation of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights as well as, of course, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights.