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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

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.
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.








Latest news...
We published all the latest news from the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership here on this website, via our Twitter feed and on our Facebook page:
If you have any questions about any of our work
please do get in touch:

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.
