Commission publishes Annual Report 2022-2023
The Scottish Human Rights Commission has laid its Annual Report for 2022-23 before the Scottish Parliament.
The Annual Report highlights the Commission’s impact and achievements on behalf of the people of Scotland, including a major programme of strategic and operational transformation undertaken in 2022-23, to promote and protect human rights.
A copy of the Annual Report has been published on our website. Easy Read and BSL versions are also available.
The Commission’s key activities covered in the Annual Report include:
- Intensive work to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s new Human Rights Bill for Scotland.
- Promoting the defence of the Human Rights Act as the UK Government moved to repeal this vital legislation, and the implications of the Illegal Migration Bill on the human rights of people in Scotland.
- Publishing key reports and research on the proliferation of asks for new public bodies in Scotland; Access to Justice for human rights; and the human rights of disabled people.
- Successfully supporting the development and launch of Scotland’s second national action plan for human rights (SNAP2).
- International reporting to the United Nations on the state of human rights in Scotland, with a focus on the cost of living crisis.
The Commission also continued to fulfil its mandate to promote and protect human rights across Scotland in other ways, including working to improve human rights in prisons; providing expert advice on human rights within social care and within public budgeting; analysing proposed legislation before the Scottish Parliament ; and delivering training on a human rights based approach to public bodies.
The Members of the Scottish Human Rights Commission are Claire Methven O’Brien, Jim Farish and Shelley Gray. They said:
“The new Human Rights Bill for Scotland is a landmark opportunity to build a country where all people can live with human dignity.
The opportunity to strengthen human rights obligations in Scots law presents a moment to reflect on the whole system – legislation, policy and resources – required to make human rights real. We hear all too often that when it comes to human rights in Scotland, the warm words of rhetoric rarely match the cold, harsh reality of lived experience.
In the year 2022 to 2023 the Commission has refocused its priorities on addressing this gap. Over the year ahead, we will work with and for the people of Scotland to bring their rights to life”.
Jan Savage is Executive Director of the Commission. She said:
“It has been a year of significant change and positive development for the Commission. As its first Executive Director, I look forward to leading the team to work with the Members of the Commission to deliver an ambitious Strategic Plan for 2024-28. Together, we look forward to delivering greater accountability in the protection and promotion of human rights in Scotland.”
Ends
Notes to editors
1. The publication of this Annual Report meets Section 15 and 16 of the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006, which requires the Commission to lay an Annual Report before the Scottish Parliament and to publish it more widely.