The Scottish Human Rights Commission is an independent public body, accountable to the people of Scotland through the Scottish Parliament. The Commission has a general duty to promote awareness, understanding and respect for all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – to everyone, everywhere in Scotland, and to encourage best practice in relation to human rights. Our full duties and powers are set out in the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006. The Commission is accredited as an ‘A Status’ National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) within the United Nations (UN) system. This means we can report directly to the UN on human rights issues. We are the only Scottish organisation that can make direct contributions to the UN Human Rights Council. The Commission has powers to recommend changes to law, policy and practice; promote human rights through education, training and publishing research; and to conduct inquiries into the policies and practices of Scottish public authorities.
