Human Rights

In addition to the Public Sector Equality Duties, public bodies in Scotland are obligated to protect people’s human rights. CRER participates in international human rights processes to lobby for better protection of Black/minority ethnic people’s human rights in Scotland.

There are two National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) operating within Scotland with the remit to protect and promote human rights. These are the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC). The EHRC is a UK wide NHRI, with the SHRC only operating within Scotland. Both have been accredited A-status by the United Nations which means they report directly to the UN on human rights issues that affect people's lives in Scotland.

For more information on these organisations and the implementation of human rights within Scotland please see below:

• Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Scottish Human Rights Commission

The United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States.  The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. There are many treaties and conventions that have been drawn up and signed by member states to advance specific human rights, since the creation of their founding Charter.

International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

CRER routinely submits evidence to the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties.

All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Convention and then every two years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”. The UK has been a signatory to the the Convention since 1966.

The UK's most recent examination took place in August 2024 at the UN Human Rights headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

CRER co-ordinated a wider UK NGO alternative report with partner organisations as part of the 2024 reporting session, as well as submitting Scottish specific evidence directly to the UN.

For more information on this, you can read:

• CRER’s 2024 Submission

• CRER's 2016 Submission

• CRER's 2011 Submission

• UK NGOs’ 2024 Alternative Report

• UK NGOs' 2016 Alternative Report

• UK State 2023 Report

• UK State 2016 Report

After reviewing evidence from NGOs and the UK state, CERD publishes a series of concluding observations, making recommendations on how racial discrimination may be eliminated in the United Kingdom.

Unlike other UN Committees, CERD has often overlooked devolution and given limited attention to the four administrations within the UK that have the powers necessary to implement CERD’s observations. A key aim for CRER when attending the 113th reporting session in Geneva was to lobby the Committee on the importance of devolution within the UK and outline areas in which powers have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

On the 23rd August, CERD published their concluding observations. Included were specific recommendations for Scotland on issues such as criminal justice, National Human Rights Institutions, racist hate speech and hate crimes, stop and search as well as access to justice.

Below are some key areas of improvement that CERD have issued which address Scotland:

• The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party ensure that the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies systematically collect and publish comparable statistics on the enjoyment of rights by members of ethnic minorities in all fields of life, in order to identify ethnic disparities, inform policy decisions to eliminate racial discrimination and to evaluate their impact. It also recommends that the State party adopt all measures necessary to harmonize data collection and to address any weaknesses related to the completeness, quality, consistency and comparability of the data collected. It further recommends that the State party improve the collection of data on the situation of ethnic minorities facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

• Recalling its previous concluding observations, the Committee recommends that the State party adopt all measures necessary to ensure that the principles and the provisions of the Convention are directly and fully enforceable under domestic law in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as in the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies.

• The Committee recommends that the State party further adopt or strengthen comprehensive policies and action plans to tackle racial discrimination and inequalities in all jurisdictions of the State party, including the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies, in a coordinated manner, and include specific, time-bound and measurable goals. In particular, it recommends that the State party:

  • Expedite the process of adopting a new Race Equality Action plan in Scotland and ensure the delivery of a renewed Racial Equality Strategy in Northern Ireland;

• The Committee recommends that the State party, including the governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales as well as the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies, continue taking effective measures, including special measures, to improve the representation of ethnic minority groups, notably women, in political and public affairs at all levels of government, in institutions responsible for developing policies that affect them, and in decision-making positions. It also recommends that the State party brings into legal effect section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 requiring political parties to report on the diversity of candidates. It further recommends that the State party take steps to facilitate the exercise of the right to vote and to review measures that have a disproportionate impact on the effective exercise of the right to vote of persons belonging to ethnic minorities.

• Recalling its previous concluding observations, the Committee recommends that the State party, including the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, adopt effective measures necessary to combat persistent poverty, which disproportionately affects ethnic minorities, especially children, including by adopting a cross-governmental strategy against poverty, and by effectively addressing unemployment, occupational segregation, and discriminatory practices with regard to recruitment, salaries, promotions and other conditions of employment. It also recommends that the State party abolish policies that adversely impact ethnic-minority households, such as the two-child limit and benefit cap.

CRER awaits the response of the UK Government and Scottish Government to the recommendations made by the Committee, and the actions which it plans to take to address these recommendations.

The 2024 Concluding Observations can be found here.

The 2016 Concluding Observations can be found here.

The 2011 Concluding Observations can be found here.

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Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the support of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

The UK is due to be assessed in May 2017. As part of this process CRER contributed evidence to the Scottish Human Right’s Commission (SHRC) as part of their joint evidence as well as submitting our own race specific report to the United Nations.

CRER's evidence submission to the SHRC can be found here.

SHRC's submission can be found here.

States can accept or note recommendations but they cannot reject them. Response to each recommendation must be clearly explained in writing in a specific document of up to 2,675 words called "addendum". This addendum should be submitted to the Human Rights Council in advance of the adoption of the report at the HRC session. CRER will continue to monitor the recommendations made and follow up on their implementation.

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe promotes human rights through international conventions, such as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Cybercrime. It monitors member states' progress in these areas and makes recommendations through independent expert monitoring bodies.  CRER routinely submits evidence to the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to report on race equality within Scotland.

​You can read CRER’s submissions here and here

 More information can be found here:

• Council of Europe

• European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)

• Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities