Ministers seek to raise awareness of human rights benefits

Scottish ministers today launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of human rights for ordinary people.

With research carried out by You Gov showing that one in five Scots believe that human rights are for minority groups only, the campaign is designed to help people better understand how human rights are relevant, used on a day-to-day basis and how they help build a fairer and more progressive society.

The campaign has been designed with the support of the Scottish Human Rights Commission and a range of partners involved in the implementation of Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP), drawn up by the Commission.

It includes a range of online resources on onescotland.org and will feature integrated marketing activity across local press, radio (local and community), news websites and social media. It will run from 18 November until International Human Rights Day on Thursday 10 December. 

The YouGov research also found that two in five Scots (44%) say human rights have no bearing on their everyday life. However two thirds (67%) agreed they are a positive thing, and the same proportion would take action if they felt their rights had been violated.

Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said at the launch: “Human rights are for everyone, and they should be protected at all costs. As a modern, progressive country we have a duty to uphold the highest standards. Many of us enjoy the benefits, freedoms and protection that human rights offer us without actually knowing much about the rights themselves, and without that knowledge it can be hard for us to reaffirm and protect them.

“It is vital that we build a society where human rights are fully understood, respected and more importantly used. Therefore this campaign is vital to increase awareness of how human rights affect our daily lives and help us to seek support when we feel our rights are being infringed.

“In the last few days, with the terrible tragedy in Paris we have seen how easily the freedoms we take for granted can be threatened by those who would seek to cause harm. Creating a better understanding of our human rights is important and will help build a stronger and more cohesive society, which is more fair and equal.”

Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Professor Alan Miller added: “We welcome this new campaign from the Scottish Government as a strong contribution to the objectives of SNAP. Evidence gathered through the development of SNAP shows that people don’t have enough awareness of their human rights, or how to claim them.

“This campaign can help raise awareness and understanding, which in turn can lead to more Scots claiming human rights for themselves, and encourages public bodies and private companies to do more to respect human rights for everyone in Scotland.”

The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all adults in Scotland (aged 18+). The findings show that one in five Scots believe human rights are for minority groups only and two in five Scots (44 per cent) saying they have no bearing on their everyday life, two thirds (67 per cent) of people agree they are a positive thing, and that they’d take action (68 per cent) if they felt their rights had been violated.