As of 14:58 on Tuesday, February 15 I have been confirmed as a member of the Human Rights Bill Lived Experience Board. Fantastic, now what? Why incorporate the UN Human Rights conventions into Scots law at all? It is to protect the rights of Scottish citizens, is it not? Okay, but is that not what the Equality act 2010 is for? More importantly, has not the UK ratified the UN conventions on Human Rights? Well yes, the UN Rights of persons with disability was ratified in 2009. Many UN conventions preceded.

Take a step back, think about that for a few seconds, it is 2022. The UK ratified the UN CRPD in 2009. I guess the reason for incorporating the UN CRPD into Scots law is ratification alone is not enough. Okay, fair point. However, has Scotland got the resources to deal with the backlog of Human rights violations that are coming down the road? Possibly not. Ethically though Scotland has an obligation to tackle the Human Rights problems on her doorstep. Incorporating Human Rights into Scots law shall help identify Human Rights violations. Perhaps,… Perhaps bureaucracy is the word of the day. To date, I have still to be sold on the bill.

let us rewind. Why would an MSc Social Innovation graduate that has studied Human Rights recently not support a Human Rights bill? Hold up. I support the bill, … well in principle.

Principles. Perhaps I have my principles for wanting to sit on this board all wrong. You see I have a secondary agenda. That agenda is to network and promote my Social enterprise. Do not miss quote me. My commitment is to the board and to the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland who nominated my inclusion on the board. In doing so, sitting on the board, I can further my secondary agenda. Can I not?

Before the First board meeting on Monday, February 21 I wanted to be transparent on where I stand with regards to the bill. And also my reasons for wanting to sit on the board.

I do believe I have been transparent in setting out my position. However, if there are any questions comment below and I shall do my best to answer them.

Additionally, I wanted to write this short blog post to reach out to anyone that has any Human Rights infringement stories. If you wish to comment below please do so. Or if you want to send me a message directly my email is on my contact page.