Issue 47 December 2009 - Introduction from the Editor: Human Rights Day

Welcome to this Issue which is published during a month which celebrates Inter­national Human Rights Day on December 10. It is then a time both for reflection and looking forward. Marking as it does the end of the first decade of this century I am very pleased to include a stimulating contribution from Dr Jill Stavert on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the first UN human rights treaty7 of this century.

The treaty represents a paradigm shift from recognition of the needs of persons with disabilities to recognition of the duty of States to fulfil all of the human rights, including economic and social, of persons with disabilities. This shift was signifi­cantly influenced by the participation in the drafting process of many NGOs under the banner of "nothing for us without us". Dr Stavert offers an insight into some of the issues relating to the practical im­plementation of this significant treaty into our legal framework.

On December 10 itself and marking its first anniversary, the Scottish Human Rights Commission is publishing an independent evaluation of the progress made by The State Hospital in developing a human rights-based approach (available at www.scottishhumanrights.com). This report of international significance offers much learning not only for the mental health sector but for the broader public sector.

If this past decade began with the global challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals, the right to development and the 2015 targets, it is closing with the related global challenge of climate change.

On December 14 at the Copenhagen Summit the Scottish Government is hold­ing an event outlining how Scotland is planning to contribute to meeting this chal­lenge in governance, technology and social terms. This event is being supported by the Scottish Human Rights Commission which will present a communique emanating from the Human Rights and Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 23, co-hosted by the Scottish Government, the Commission, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and BTCV Scotland. The communique (available at wwwv.scottishhumanrights.com) gives a joint commit­ment to develop a human rights-based approach towards addressing climate change. Its international significance is marked by the support of Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is to attend the event.

All of the above indicates just some of the ways in which human rights are in the process of being further integrated into the governance of Scotland. There is no doubt that devolution, including the pillars of the Scotland Act and the Human Rights Act, has facilitated this ongoing process.

This next year, with the UK General Election and a proposed referendum Bill at Holyrood, will focus attention on the future of devolution, the Human Rights Act and the constitutional status of human rights.

Making human rights matter is the path that Scotland has chosen, and on which it needs to continue.