human rights

Human rights: improving public service delivery

This report, created by the Audit Commission, looks at how the Human Rights Act can help to improve public services, as it seeks to ensure the delivery of quality services that meet the needs of individual service users.

The report highlights that not only has the Act increased public service providers’ awareness of the rights of the individual, but it has also meant an increased risk of legal challenge by service users.

United Nations convention on the rights of the child 2008 concluding observations: report of a national consultation with young people to determine their priorities for action

In late summer of 2008, Young Scot was commissioned by the Scottish Government to seek the views of young people from across Scotland on what they thought about the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child's Concluding Observations relating to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child (UNCRC). The consultation explored the levels of awareness children and young people had regarding children's rights and their thoughts on which rights were most important for them, and for Scotland as a whole, to take action on.

Making sense of human rights: a short introduction

Guide designed for officials in public authorities to assist them in working with the Human Rights Act 1998, which has been described as the most important piece of constitutional legislation passed in the United Kingdom since the achievement of universal suffrage in 1918.

The guide is short and simple and offers a brief introduction to human rights for use in straightforward situations.

More detailed guidance can be found in the human rights handbook for public officials, Human Rights and Human Lives, produced by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and optional protocol

The Convention is made up of 50 articles which are given in full. The Convention clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced.