The Scottish Human Rights Commission is an independent public body, accountable to the people of Scotland through the Scottish Parliament.
The Commission has a general duty to promote awareness, understanding and respect for all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – to everyone, everywhere in Scotland, and to encourage best practice in relation to human rights.
The Commission has powers to recommend changes to law, policy and practice; promote human rights through education, training and publishing research; and to conduct inquiries into the policies and practices of Scottish public authorities.
Our full duties and powers are set out in the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006.
The short animation below introduces our aims and approach. You can also read the animation script.
The Commission is accredited as an "A Status" National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) within the United Nations (UN) system.
This means we can report directly to the UN on human rights issues. We are the only Scottish organisation that can make direct contributions to the UN Human Rights Council.
In 2021, the Commission was awarded "A Status" accreditation - the highest grade of international accreditation - for a third time.
The decision was made by a Committee of National Human Rights Institutions from around the world, following an extensive review of the Commission and its work in Scotland. This review took place against a set of detailed standards endorsed by the United Nations in 1993, known as the Paris Principles.
You can find out more about the accreditation process in our Question and Answer Briefing and in the short video below.