CONSULTATION SUBMISSION: A New Future For Social Security Social Security in Scotland October 2016 The Scottish Rights Commission was established by The Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006, and formed in 2008. The Commission is the national human rights institution for Scotland and is independent of the Scottish Government and Parliament in the exercise of its functions. The Commission has a general duty to promote human rights and a series of specific powers to protect human rights for everyone in Scotland. Summary of key points Human rights context in Scotland The development of Scottish social security legislation provides a timely opportunity for the Scottish Government to fulfil recent public commitments by the First Minister to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and further develop economic and social rights in Scotland. A Principled Approach Social security is a human right, which provides for access to benefits without discrimination in order to secure protection from social risks and contingencies. The fact that social security is a basic human right should be reflected in the vision and on the face of the forthcoming legislation. rights provide a legal and objective foundation to the concepts of “dignity” and to be built into the social security system. Human rights also assist “respect” in reframing the conceptual basis for the provision of social protection as a universal right and therefore entitlement, to be realised in support of the realisation of all other human rights and broader social justice, as opposed to a welfare model tainted by perceptions of charity, stigma and discrimination and punitive practices. In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, there are additional specialised human rights instruments and guidance such as the Council of Europe’s Code of Social Security, Art. 12 of the European Social Charter, Art. 34 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and General Comment 19 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that provide detailed
CONSULTATION SUBMISSION: A New Future For Social Security Social Security in Scotland October 2016 The Scottish Rights Commission was established by The Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006, and formed in 2008. The Commission is the national human rights institution for Scotland and is independent of the Scottish Government and Parliament in the exercise of its functions. The Commission has a general duty to promote human rights and a series of specific powers to protect human rights for everyone in Scotland. Summary of key points Human rights context in Scotland The development of Scottish social security legislation provides a timely opportunity for the Scottish Government to fulfil recent public commitments by the First Minister to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and further develop economic and social rights in Scotland. A Principled Approach Social security is a human right, which provides for access to benefits without discrimination in order to secure protection from social risks and contingencies. The fact that social security is a basic human right should be reflected in the vision and on the face of the forthcoming legislation. rights provide a legal and objective foundation to the concepts of “dignity” and “respect” to be built into the social security system. Human rights also assist in reframing the conceptual basis for the provision of social protection as a universal right and therefore entitlement, to be realised in support of the realisation of all other human rights and broader social justice, as opposed to a welfare model tainted by perceptions of charity, stigma and discrimination and punitive practices. In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, there are additional specialised human rights instruments and guidance such as the Council of Europe’s Code of Social Security, Art. 12 of the European Social Charter, Art. 34 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and General Comment 19 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that provide detailed