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Update: announcement from the First Minister
10 Dec 2018 PDF (767KB) - Our Recommendations. 10 Dec 2018 PDF (2.3MB)
- Terms of Reference .Doc (34KB)
- Memorandum of Understanding .Doc (66KB)
- Reference Group Minutes October 2018
- Advisory Group Minutes September 2018 .doc (21kb)
- Reference Group Minutes June 2018 .Doc (70KB)
- Advisory Group Minutes May 2018 PDF (196KB)
- Advisory Group Minutes March 2018 .Doc (60KB)
- Reference Group Minutes March 2018 PDF (13KB)
- Advisory Group Minutes Jan 2018 .Doc (31KB)
About us
The First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership was set up by Scotland’s First Minister to make recommendations on how Scotland can continue to lead by example in the field of human rights. This includes economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. Operating independently from the Scottish Government, we published our report “Recommendations for a new human rights framework to improve people’s lives” on 10 December 2018.
“The Scottish Government is committed to standing up for human rights, particularly in the face of the risks created by Brexit and the UK Government’s proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act.”
– Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, Dec 2017.
A Reference Group of around 50 civil society organisations has supported the Advisory Group. We engaged with them throughout our work. Their input has played a key role in our final recommendations.
Who we are...
Members of the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership
Dr Katie Boyle
Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law at the University of Stirling. She qualified as a constitutional lawyer with the Government Legal Service for Scotland. Her research addresses the justiciability and constitutionalisation of economic, social and cultural rights.
Professor Nicole Busby
Nicole is a Professor of Law at Strathclyde. She specialises in the areas of Labour and Employment Law, Discrimination Law and European Social Law and Policy. She is a Member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Scotland Committee.
Professor Paul Hunt
Paul is a Professor of Law at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. He has previously served as the United Nations' (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health and as an independent expert on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Dr Tobias Lock
Tobias is a Senior Lecture in European Law and co-director of the Europa Institute at the University of Edinburgh. He has delivered significant work looking at the relationship between the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Shelagh McCall QC
Convenor of the Faculty of Advocates Human Rights and Rule of Law Committee, Shelagh brings extensive experience as a practising lawyer specialising in human rights, including at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She is also a former Commissioner at the Scottish Human Rights Commission.
Professor Alan Miller (Chair)
Alan is a Special Envoy of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, a roster member of the UNDP Crisis Response Unit and a member of the First Minister's Standing Council on Europe. He previously held the elected positions of Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Chair of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions.
Professor Elisa Morgera
Elisa is Professor of Global Environmental Law and Co-Director of Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance. She specialises in international, European and comparative environmental law, with a particular focus on the interaction between biodiversity law and human rights.
Professor Aoife Nolan
Aoife is Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham and a member of the Council of Europe’s European Committee of Social Rights, the leading European monitoring mechanism on economic and social rights.
Judith Robertson
Judith is Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Previously Programme Director of See Me and head of Oxfam Scotland, Judith has had long-standing involvement in social justice campaigning and advocating for the rights of many disadvantaged groups.
Members of the Secretariat
Gill Surfleet
Head of Secretariat for the First Minister's Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership – Previously a practicing solicitor in the Scottish Government and before that in international human rights law, working on cases such as the Mau Mau case. Gill has worked with a number of international organisations, including the UN.
Adam Bruton
Secretariat and Policy Officer for the First Minister's Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership - Adam joined the Scottish Court Service in 2010 after graduating with Honours in Business Management. In 2013 he joined the Scottish Government working in the Care and Justice division before moving in 2016 to the Connected Communities division.
Accessibility...
We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. To do this, we have worked to ensure this website meets W3C standards and the criteria set out by WCAG for accessibility.
We have produced these videos so that British Sign Language (BSL) users can find out more about the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership.
Consultation
Our recommendations have been informed by our consultations with a wide range of duty bearers (eg public authorities), civil society representatives and those with lived experience of human rights issues in Scotland.
Evidence from previous studies and participative processes has also played a key role.
