Human Rights and the Pandemic Response

That the Parliament notes the findings of new research by the Human Rights Consortium Scotland (HRCS) and Amnesty International Scotland, that many public bodies across Scotland could not provide evidence that legal duties under the Human Rights Act were upheld as major service redesigns took place during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic; understands that the research indicates that human rights breaches may have taken place across Glasgow and Scotland; acknowledges that the report makes 14 key recommendations, one of which is that the Scottish Government and public authorities should develop and publish action plans for a human rights-based approach to pandemic recovery and renewal, including the participation of marginalised groups and those whose rights were particularly impacted by COVID-19; further notes calls from HRCS and Amnesty International Scotland for the immediate commissioning of a public inquiry into the handling of COVID-19, with a remit to specifically include consideration of whether human rights duties, standards and principles were met during the pandemic, and further understands that human rights organisations have also urged the Scottish Government to prioritise the strengthening of human rights legal protections as part of a rights-based recovery from COVID-19.