MSPs have unanimously backed plans to embed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law for the second time.
The vote on Thursday comes 996 days after MSPs first backed the legislation.
That 2021 Bill was struck down by the Supreme Court for being outwith Holyrood’s competence.
READ MORE: SNP to update Holyrood on UNCRC Bill 834 days after legislation passed
Following 45 changes, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill passed, by 117 votes to zero.
The Bill forces public authorities to comply with the UN treaty, but changes to the legislation mean this can only be applied to acts of the Scottish Parliament.
Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs: “This Bill is a milestone – it is a substantial step forward, but it is limited insofar as this Parliament has its powers.”
She also urged the UK Government to incorporate the treaty to “give children and young people the human rights protection that they deserve”.
“I will continue to press the UK Government on that, and I hope that other colleagues in the chamber will do the same.
“But in the meantime, we have an important opportunity to lead by example in passing this Bill.”
She added: “This Parliament has an opportunity today to take that step forward, once again, to make that very, very important declaration to the children and young people, not just in the gallery today but those that will benefit from the rights that will be protected, that we are there for them today and in the future, and this is an important recognition of their rights and our responsibility about those rights that we can move forward with in the chamber this afternoon.”
Ms Somerville also said she was confident the revised Bill would not be referred again to the Supreme Court.
The minister said UK Government lawyers had been made aware of the content of amendments before they were laid and no issues were raised.
READ MORE: SNP wrangling with UK lawyers over 'where powers lie' for UNCRC
Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher told young people in the Holyrood gallery “this is for you”.
“(The Bill) is a milestone on Scotland’s journey to make rights real in practical terms and it will add to the existing protections that are already in place,” she said.
The Tory MSP added that the Scottish Government “ignored several warnings” from her party that the Bill would originally fall outside of the competence of Holyrood.
The Bill in 2021 passed unanimously, including with the votes of the Tories, but Ms Gallacher said her party agreed with the “principles” of the proposals, and also “warned the Scottish Government on more than one occasion” about potential issues.
“The SNP must reflect on this today, because we are two years behind where we should be on this really important Bill,” she added.
Scottish Labour MSP Martin Whitfield said: “This Bill was built on the expectation of our young people, that their rights would be enshrined in Scottish law, to have the ability to have their country stand by them and say ‘you have rights, the must be upheld’ and however uncomfortable sometimes for vested interests, for the status quo or indeed their elders, the right to be part of the decisions that are made about their lives.”
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton – a former youth worker – said: “It’s not enough to just write legislation, we have to live it, year in, year out, day by day.
“It must be delivered in a meaningful way, we must weave the spirit of its words into all of our actions.”
Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament Mollie McGoran MSYP said it was "an important step in Scotland’s human rights journey."
“Decision makers and duty bearers in Scotland must now work towards embedding and respecting children and young people’s rights in every aspect of Scottish life. We want Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow up and this is now an incredible opportunity to make that a reality,” she added,
Member of Children’s Parliament Omima said: “I think the change is definitely going to be gradual. But I think if it is up there, and children know 'all my rights do matter enough to be put into law' then they’re going to start valuing themselves more, and valuing the way that they’re treated and the way that adults especially treat them.
"I think that’s just to me a big pick up for our generation - to make us feel as if we are heard and valued as people not just as children.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel