A third sector organisation has withdrawn from a government leadership group as a scathing letter warns John Swinney of failing to listen to leading human rights groups.
Anger has grown in recent months over the Scottish Government’s decision to shelve the Human Rights Bill.
The proposed law would have incorporated UN treaties, enshrining the right to food, housing and healthcare.
Clare MacGillivray, director of Making Rights Real (MRR), delivered a strong message to the First Minister over the decision to exclude the Bill from the Programme for Government (PfG), which sets out the agenda for the year ahead.
The organisation has told Mr Swinney its decision to withdrawn from the Scottish National Action Plan (Snap) leadership group on human rights should serve as a “wake up call” to minister.
Ms MacGillivray said failing to include the Bill in the PfG signals that human rights are “not a priority” for the Scottish Government.
The Bill would have also strengthened protections for disabled people and those with mental health concerns.
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It was previously promised by Humza Yousaf in his first year in government. But Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has now confirmed it will not be passed before the Scottish Parliament election in 2026.
Ms Somerville said ministers needed more time to consider the “complex” legislation.
It comes as the Law Society of Scotland said the Bill’s aims were “laudable” but would have been “complex” to implement.
In a letter seen by The Herald to Mr Swinney and Ms Somerville, MRR said it would no longer be engaging with the Scottish Government following “broken promises”.
The organisation was one of a 100, including Amnesty, to write to the Scottish Government ahead of the PfG to argue the legislation should not be “kicked into the long grass”.
Ms MacGillivray told the First Minister the Bill would have been “instrumental” for vulnerable Scots.
“The egregious way that the Scottish Government has dismissed the thousands of rights holders involved over many years to shape the rights framework in Scotland is outrageous,” she said.
The group, she said, “fundamentally disagrees” with the Scottish Government’s position that it is not the time to pursue the proposals.
Ms MacGillivray said her organisation had “engaged in good faith” with Scottish ministers through the leadership panel but ultimately said it remains “wholeheartedly disappointed” at the Government’s decision.
“As a small voluntary organisation, we have supported the vision for a brighter Scottish human rights framework bringing our expertise, and precious time and resources to the Snap leadership panel,” Ms MacGillivray said.
“However, your decision to pull the Human Rights Bill from the PfG, and the silence around how progress will be made on the Bill is a broken promise too far.”
“We have little trust that promises made by the Scottish Government will be carried out,” she added.
“Because you have breached our trust, we feel that we can no longer participate in a process where our expertise is not valued.”
The scathing letter went on to say: “The rollback in action by your government to advance human rights, and the lack of transparency around future plans for the Bill, leaves us with no option but to publicly mark our objection to your apathy by withdrawing labour from the Snap leadership panel.”
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Calling for the move to be a “wake up call”, Ms MacGillivray said her third sector organisation “cannot remain complicit” in the failure to prioritise human rights.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are determined to embed a human rights based approach in everything we do and I am committed to working with stakeholders on practical action to advance right now and prepare the public sector for new duties in the future.
“The Human Rights Bill is an opportunity to build a human rights culture across public services in Scotland and increase accountability for meeting people’s everyday rights.
“For the first time in 14 years, we have an opportunity to work constructively with a new UK Government which appears more willing to address issues together, including how devolution is working in practice and I hope this will continue to be the case.
“We remain open to engagement with civil society on this work. We have a singular opportunity now to get these proposals right, to produce a Bill that provides clarity for public bodies, so that it can be implemented effectively and make a real impact for rights-holders in their everyday lives.”
The Scottish Government said Mr Swinney had received the letter and would respond in due course.
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