Reporting to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Scotland

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has sent a report to the United Nations Committee looking at economic, social and cultural rights across Scotland.

This work highlights recent evidence from our spotlight project on challenges with accessing human rights to health, housing, and food across the Highlands and Islands, published in November last year.

On Thursday 14 February our Chair, Professor Angela O’Hagan and Commission staff, will be giving evidence to the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva alongside other National Human Rights Institutions and civil society organisations.

Focus on poverty

The Commission’s evidence demonstrates cross-cutting themes affecting people in Scotland, with a focus on the impact of poverty.

The Commission’s recommendations include that the Scottish Government should:

  • Deliver a new Human Rights Bill within the next Parliamentary session, to improve legal protection for ESC rights such as housing, healthcare and food, and strengthen access to justice.
  • Scrutinise measures to tackle poverty and destitution, and use all the tools available to ensure people’s incomes are sufficient to achieve human dignity and quality of life.
  • Improve the accessibility of healthcare services across Scotland
  • Embed a human rights based approach across decisions about how public services are organised and money is allocated in Scotland.

Professor Angela O’Hagan, Chair of the Commission, says:

“Our submission to the United Nations Committee presents evidence of ongoing challenges for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights in Scotland.

"We note that people in Scotland are increasingly vulnerable to homelessness, financial precarity is rising and many people’s incomes have been squeezed to a point where a dignified life is at risk or even impossible.

"High rates of social and cultural exclusion are shown throughout our evidence and mounting barriers to accessible physical and mental healthcare.

"These trends are why the Commission has chosen to focus our own limited resources on poverty as part of our Strategic Plan 2024-28.

"It is more essential than ever that the Scottish Government move from rhetoric to action to demonstrate accountability and ensure that human rights provides a framework to progress for all.

"As the National Human Rights Institution, we will play the strongest possible role in supporting this. However, we also need the powers and resources to make sure we are equipped to do so.”

Read the executive summary and full report on our website at: Home | Scottish Human Rights Commission

Notes to editors:

  1. The Scottish Human Rights Commission is Scotland’s human rights watchdog. It is an independent public body, created by the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006, to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Scotland. Find out more at www.scottishhumanrights.com
  2. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
  3. The Commission is returning the Highlands and Islands in February and March 2025 to share our findings and enable local communities to use the Spotlight report to defend their rights. We will also be offering to meet local authorities, to provide support and capacity-building on how to take a human rights-based approach.
  4. The Commission will be expanding the monitoring model to other areas of Scotland over the next three years starting with the South of Scotland in 2025.