WHY ARE HUMAN RIGHTS IMPORTANT?

Human rights are the basic rights we all have simply because we are human; they are the fundamental things that human beings need in order to flourish and participate fully in society.

Human rights belong to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. They can’t be given or taken away from you by anybody, although some rights can be limited or restricted in certain circumstances. For example, your right to liberty can be restricted if you are convicted of a crime.

Human rights are underpinned by a set of common values, including fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy. Human rights declarations, conventions and laws are the starting point for making these values real in people’s lives.

The modern concept of human rights emerged in the 20th century as a response to the events of the Second World War, in particular the Holocaust. This terrible abuse of human dignity and disrespect for human life led countries to come together in 1948 under the United Nations (UN) to agree the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – perhaps the most famous and important human rights document.

Children have additional rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).  Each of the 54 articles outline a different right. They cover four different groupings of rights: survival, protection, development and participation.

As Scotland’s Children and Young People Act comes into force, it will place a duty on the public sector to report on what they are doing to take forward realisation of the rights set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Tam Baillie: click picture to access film clip