Question reference: S5W-19772
- Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 5 November 2018
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Current status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 14 November 2018
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has with the UN regarding poverty and human rights.
Answer
Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, visited Scotland on 8 and 9 November 2018 and held meetings with the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government and myself. He also held two roundtable meetings with Scottish Government officials, covering social security and the benefits system, and human rights and tackling poverty. Professor Alston’s wider programme included meetings with civil society representatives and members of the Scottish Parliament Equalities and Human Rights Committee.
Scotland’s record in implementing civil, political, economic, social and cultural human rights is examined on a cyclical basis under the seven UN human rights treaties to which the UK is a party, as well as through the Universal Periodic Review process coordinated by the UN Human Rights Council. All human rights are interrelated and interdependent, and poverty is an important cross-cutting theme that is relevant across all human rights treaties. Recent Scottish Government position statements and further background information can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/policies/human-rights/our-international-obligations/ .