Scotland’s outgoing children’s commissioner has warned Humza Yousaf that it will be his “personal failure” if he fails to make good on Nicola Sturgeon’s promise to put international children’s rights standards at the heart of Scottish law.
In one of his final interviews before he steps down from the role after six years, Bruce Adamson accused Scottish ministers of “heartbreaking” delays, lack of transparency and “constant broken promises”, after the supreme court ruled that initial attempts at incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law went beyond Holyrood’s powers.
Although the UK government has previously said it agrees with the principles of the convention, Scotland is the first part of the UK to try to fully include it in domestic law, which would make the rights legally enforceable.
Adamson describes the incorporation bill – which was passed unanimously by MSPs in March 2021 – as “the most important thing that we can do in legislative terms for children”.
But – after a challenge from UK law officers – the supreme court ruled later that year that four sections of the bill required amendment because they went beyond Holyrood’s powers, because they could affect Westminster’s ability to make laws for Scotland.
Adamson said: “Then the frustration really kicks in. Over 18 months afterwards, we’ve had no progress whatsoever: no timeframe, no sight of amendments, just constant broken promises. Childhoods are running out because of that delay.”
Although Yousaf committed to completing the bill during his campaign for SNP leadership, he did not mention it when he set out his immediate policy priorities as first minister.
In a message aimed directly at Yousaf, Adamson said: “Every day of delay is a failure to properly respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights. This bill was approved by parliament, but the prevarication and delay is robbing children of the protections they are entitled to.”
The UNCRC, the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, grants all children and young people under the age of 18 a comprehensive set of rights – including rights to health, education, family life, play and recreation, and protection from abuse and harm – and sets a legal requirement for all public authorities to comply with them. Scotland was in breach of the convention until November 2020 when it banned the physical punishment of children.
Adamson said the delays meant that public bodies that were planning to urgently implement the new rules to comply with their legal obligations had put their plans on hold.
“Certainly, in conversations with Police Scotland and with local authorities, they are really stepping back where they’ve got a lot of competing priorities and tight budgets.
“Until the bill is passedwe won’t see changes in practice, we won’t see changes in budgets, we won’t we won’t see the real commitment to rights which this bill promised.”
Adamson said there was a “simple answer” to meet the concerns of the supreme court, but accused Scottish ministers of “a real lack of collaboration and transparency” since the judgement was made.
He said it was “nonsense” that, despite years of delay, the Scottish authorities would not commit to immediate commencement of the bill once it was finally passed, instead of the usual six-month grace period to allow affected bodies to prepare.
Speaking to Yousaf, he said: “A commitment to immediate commencement is something really simple and easy to do and entirely within your power, as is bringing the bill back to parliament as quickly as possible. So this is this is a personal opportunity but at the moment it’s a personal failure”.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “It is important to remember that although the UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1991, it has done little to implement these rights into its national legal framework. The strongest children’s rights protections in the UK have been through efforts in the devolved nations.
“It is critical to get this bill right for children now and for generations of children to come. The Scottish government is committed to bringing the UNCRC bill to parliament for reconsideration as soon as practicable. Work to achieve this is well under way, including engagement with UK government lawyers to try to reduce the risk of another referral to the supreme court on a revised bill.”
