Human Rights Bill Lived Experience Board Reports

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland. This Bill will incorporate 4 more major United Nations human rights treaties. These treaties are:

• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
• The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

The Bill will also include the right to a healthy environment, as well as rights for older people and LGBTi people.

In order to ensure that the Bill is informed by the experiences of ordinary people, particularly those who have experience of their rights being threatened, the Government has funded the Consortium to facilitate a Lived Experience Board, which has been meeting since February 2022 to discuss specific aspects of the Bill.

All the reports from the Lived Experience Board meetings are available below:

Block One (February-March 2022)
The group discussed some of the benefits of human rights incorporation for people in Scotland, and existing barriers to human rights.

• Click here to read the long-form report on Session 1 & 2
• Click here to read the short-form report on Session 1 & 2
• Click here to read the Easy Read report on Session 1 & 2
• Click here to read long-form report on Session 3 about the consultation
• Click here to read the Easy Read report on Session 3 on the consultation
• Click here to listen to report on Session 1 & 2
• Click here to listen to report on Session 3 on the consultation
  

Block Two (May 2022)
The group discussed access to justice; what it looks like, the current barriers, and how to improve it in the new Human Rights Bill.

• Click here to read the long-form report
• Click here to read the short-form report
• Click here to listen to the short-form report in audio format
• Click here to read the EasyRead version
  

Block Three (June 2022)
The group discussed accountability, the right to be listened to, and the rights of women, Black and Minority Ethnic people, migrants, and disabled people.

• Click here to read the long-form report
• Click here to read the short-form report
• Click here to listen to the short-form report in audio format
• Click here to read the EasyRead version
  

The Cost of Living Crisis (October 2022)
The group discussed the impact of the cost of living crisis on human rights in Scotland.

• Click here to read the report
• Click here to read the EasyRead version
• Click here to listen to the report in audio format
  

Block 4 (November-December 2022)
The group discussed the implementation of the new Human Rights Bill, and what good implementation of law and policy looks like in real life.

• Click here to read the long-form report
• Click here to read the short-form report
• Click here to listen to the short-form report in audio format

The Scottish Government has also worked with two other Lived Experience Boards. The Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities has been working with adults with learning disabilities to share their experiences and advice, and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights) has been holding meetings with children and young people, who have been named the Rights Detectives. Read their reports below:

• The Right to be Heard! The Learning Disability Lived Experience Board on the new Human Rights Bill for Scotland
• The Right to be Heard! The Learning Disability Lived Experience Board on the new Human Rights Bill for Scotland: EasyRead version
• The Rights Detectives: Mission Update
• The Rights Detectives: Mission Update, Child-Friendly version