The Improvement Service is running a Human Rights Capability Building Project to actively support local authorities across Scotland build their capabilities regarding human rights.
This new project aims to provide dedicated guidance and materials for local authorities to use to build human rights into everyday policy and practice. As the project develops, resources materials will be published here to support the implementation of human rights throughout local government.
Context: Human Rights Bill
The project is focused on building the capabilities of local government in Scotland on human rights generally. However, it comes in the context of the Scottish Government’s proposals to introduce new legislation focused on incorporating international human rights treaties and therefore human rights protections into Scots law. The ‘Human Rights Bill’ is still in development but was consulted on in June 2023 and its proposals have been reiterated in a Scottish Government Discussion Paper released in July 2025.
Whilst Scotland has made good progress in its collective human rights journey, we know that we can go further. Our ambition is to evolve our human rights legal framework in Scotland to reflect the rights that are often the most important to people in their everyday lives, such as in areas of health, food, housing and social security. We believe there is a place in a modern-day Scotland for holistic human rights laws which connect to these rights protections at an international level.
What are human rights?
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person simply because they are a human being. They are:
- based on the inherent dignity of every individual
- apply equally and universally (they apply to everyone)
- inalienable (cannot be removed arbitrarily)
- indivisible (the rights are equally important).
While basic rights and duties have a long history, human rights were first formulated and recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948.
Since the adoption of the UDHR, human rights have been further enshrined in international human rights treaties (and accompanying guidance). These set out specific legal obligations for countries and further expand upon the meaning and content of specific human rights. Today, human rights broadly contain civil and political rights, (such as the right to life, freedom of expression, and the right to participate in public affairs), economic, social, and cultural rights (such as the right to work and establish trade unions, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to participate in cultural life), and environmental rights (the right to a healthy environment). There are also international treaties which provide specific protections for women, children, migrants, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
Under international law, the UK government must respect, protect, and fulfil human rights so that everyone can live a life with dignity. Scotland, as a devolved nation, has to observe and implement human rights and has chosen to provide further domestic legal protection for specific human rights through a process known as incorporation. For example, by passing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
Why are human rights relevant to local government?
It has long been recognised that local government plays a crucial role in human rights. Local authorities are responsible for decisions and services that directly shape people’s lives and wellbeing, particularly for those most at risk of disadvantage or exclusion. From access to housing, education, health and social care, and participation in cultural and public life, local government delivers numerous services essential to the upholding and realisation of fundamental human rights.
By adopting a human rights-based approach, local government can make fairer, more transparent, and accountable decisions. This not only helps meet legal obligations, but also enhances Scotland’s human rights culture through strengthening trust, promoting equality, and ensuring that all residents, especially those whose voices are often unheard, can influence the policies that affect them. In this way, local government is central to making human rights real in people’s everyday lives.