Our young people helped shape new human rights legislation

The National Human Rights Taskforce is putting together recommendations for the Scottish Government to take forward and incorporate into a new Scottish human rights law. Since the start of the year, the Taskforce has been meeting with groups of children and young people whose rights could be further protected by this new law.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking and trafficked young people supported by our Scottish Guardianship Service recently met with the Taskforce to share their views on how the law in Scotland could be strengthened and improved to support, promote and protect the rights of black and minority ethnic children and young people. Young people highlighted that education, housing, and the right to remain in Scotland were all areas where they felt more could be done to protect their rights.

The Scottish Government has also committed to incorporating the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into law, with the UNCRC Incorporation Bill due to become law later this year. Young people from our Scottish Guardianship service also met with MSPs in November to share their views on what UNCRC incorporation will mean for them and other children and young people who arrive in Scotland alone.