Issue 34 October 2006 - Introduction from the Editor: Challenges and Opportunities for Human Rights?

This Issue continues to reflect the challenges and opportunities for human rights at home and abroad-as well as continued updating of case law developments.

In our last Issue we reported on the outcome of the review of the Human Rights Act. The value of the Act had been subject to political challenge, including that of Government Ministers, as well as by David Cameron ,who had called for a British Bill of Rights. There had also been persistent criticism of the Act by sections of the press.

However, this month now witnesses the publication of new guidance on the implementation of the Act to public authorities from the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Our last Issue also covered the debate within Holyrood relating to the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill. The Bill had run into difficulties at Stage One when the Justice Committee found it could not support it, due largely to questions of political and financial accountability, added value and the relationship with other bodies including the pending GB Commission for Equality and Human Rights, as well as the existing Scottish Public Services Ombudsman's Office.

In this Issue Kavita Chetty reports on Stage Two which haswitnessed intense scrutiny on a number of amendments which have related to mainly governance issues identified at Stage One. A relatively coherent Bill has now emerged although it perhaps remains to be determined whether the body created will be a Commissioner (with two deputies) or a Commission (with a Chair and up to four members).  

However, the intense legislative scrutiny may actually serve to assist the new body created not to be as deflected by governance concerns as it may otherwise have been ...although I am aware that these may yet turn out to be famous last words! It is to be hoped that the body will now be able to be grounded in the political reality and context of the broader governance of Scotland.

This Issue also continues the contribution of Rosemary McIlwhan on the practical establishment of the GB Equality and Human Rights Commission with particular reference as to how it will fit within the governance of Scotland.

 Issue 32 began a feature of providing a snapshot on contemporary developments in human rights, including international developments of significance. In the current Issue Kavita Chetty also gives us an update on the developments within the UN and particularly the work of the new Human Rights Council to establish itself. She includes a summary of the report submitted to the Council by Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which highlights the preoccupations of her Office and gives us an insight into some of the challenges around the world.

The scale of such challenges has been affirmed by subsequent developments. The report to the Council by the Special Rapporteur on the situation within the Occupied Palestinian Territories was perhaps one of the bleakest, and the subsequent debate exposed the political divisions on this fundamental issue.

A stand-off persists over a UN or African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur while the situation deteriorates on the ground. An unsatisfactory compromise has been reached between the White House and the Senate in the US regarding placing its "war on terror" within the rule of law, in terms of both the US Constitution and international law: It is in this interconnected world, within which we clearly must have a broad perspective, that bodies such as the Scottish Commission/ er for Human Rights and the GB Equality and Human Rights Commission need to make as effective a contribution as possible.