In the last few years, the Commission has become increasingly concerned about economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights in the Highlands and Islands. ESC rights are necessary to live a life free from fear and want, examples include:

We have been particularly concerned about the lack of available data for monitoring in the Highlands and Islands, when compared with the rest of Scotland. By listening to the lived experiences of residents and organisations in the area, as well as through our human rights treaty monitoring work, we identified specific issues affecting rural and island communities, such as:

• Slow and inaccessible health care services
• Lack of affordable housing
• Limited access to sufficient and nutritious food
• Poverty related gaps in education
• Limited access to technology and poor internet connectivity
• Fuel poverty

This project is a step toward filling the gaps in human rights data and making sure that rural and island communities have their economic, social, and cultural rights met.

We aimed to bear witness to the lived experiences of people and communities across the Highlands and Islands, to raise awareness of human rights issues in these areas with decision-makers and to highlight the need for a geographically-specific approach to Scottish law and policy.

This project also piloted our new human rights monitoring model which brings us closer to local communities and their human rights concerns. See the section on what we will do next for more on this.

As Scotland's National Human Rights Institution, we aim to hold duty-bearers accountable. Our report makes eight recommendations for actions that duty-bearers can take to ensure full compliance with Scotland’s international human rights obligations.

We have now shared our report with the Equality, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, and encouraged the Scottish Parliament to ensure that the Scottish Government, local authorities, and other duty-bearers take appropriate action.

Long-term, this project is the beginning of a new type of monitoring for the Commission. We intend to use this model over the next three years to build a baseline picture of economic, social and cultural rights realisation across Scotland in other regions of Scotland, starting with the South of Scotland in 2025. Our aim is to expand our approach to monitor all areas of the country every year, ensuring we are able to track progress or deterioration of rights.

Ultimately, we hope this report contributes to the improvement of economic, social, and cultural rights in the Highlands and Islands, ensuring that no one in Scotland is left behind.

A critical next step for us is to bring the lessons learned from this project back to the communities affected. Between February and March 2025, we will travel back to the Highlands and Islands to share the findings of this report and hold sessions on ESC rights framework designed to empower human rights defenders. We will also offer to meet duty-bearers to provide technical advice and support on how to ensure they can take a human rights based approach to their policies and service delivery.

Below is the schedule for our visit:

For further information on this project or to find out more our upcoming return to the Highlands and Islands, contact us at hello@scottishhumanrights.com 

For media enquiries about this project, please contact media@scottishhumanrights.com