Blog: TARP Aberdeenshire supports Highlands and Islands human rights report

At the end of 2024, the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) released a damning report on the human rights violations happening across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

It said:

“Some of the most critical issues that the report identifies are the apparent failure to meet the most basic international obligations related to the right to food, the right to housing, the right to health, and the right to cultural life.”

As part of the Taking Action on Rural Poverty programme, the Poverty Alliance has been working with a panel of people in Aberdeenshire who live on low incomes. Together, we're learning more about how the double whammy of the rural poverty premium affects them. The challenges they face through no fault of their own -  due to caring responsibilities, illness, or disability - are compounded by the additional costs they face simply for living in a rural part of Scotland.

The SHRC report amplifies many of the challenges faced by households across Aberdeenshire. As people living with these issues, the panel voiced their support for the report and for the opportunities that human rights offer as a means of tackling poverty: seeing an organisation like the SHRC monitoring the human rights violations of people living in rural Scotland was heartening.

It is important for all citizens to understand that human rights are for everyone. Currently, many processes don't make room for the voices of those often left out of conversations, including people on a low income and living in the hardest-to-reach places. Shining a spotlight on the degradation of some of the most basic human rights is the start of addressing where change needs to happen.

The Aberdeenshire panel shared many experiences where their human rights have been violated. The absence of childcare, let alone affordable childcare, often makes accessing suitable employment or educational opportunities impossible. Shortages of GPs and healthcare staff were also linked to lack of housing, lack of transport and, in turn, means waiting lists get longer, creating serious health implications. One panel member shared they had been waiting three and a half years to be referred to a clinic. These health issues going untreated have a financial implication on households and on the state. Closing minor injuries units means people have to travel for hours, if they can, to access treatment, assuming they have a private car and an understanding employer. Another panel member has waited 18 months for an essential hearing test referred by a GP, with no alternative but to wait. Difficulty even accessing transport to get to health appointments, and the cost implications, means difficult decisions need to be made.

The cost of accessing nutritional food is also of considerable concern. One panel member observed:

“Accessing food starts with government. When benefits are cut for a decade and then food are prices going up and benefits aren’t - you will have problems accessing food”

These examples from a small selection of people reflect on-going violations of human rights linked to accessing basic essentials like healthcare, food and housing - and in turn result in communities becoming frustrated and losing trust in those who should be ensuring these rights are met.

The Scottish Human Rights Commissions recommends that communities must be listened to, and the Citizen’s Panel agreed that people living in these situations are best placed to be involved in decisions affecting them. A human rights-based approach using the PANEL principles holds meaningful participation as one of its key pillars.

The Citizen’s Panel supports all eight of the recommendations made by SHRC Spotlight report.

The Panel asks that those making decisions affecting them speak to the Panel, and others like them, to ensure that their human rights are protected and strengthened, with a progressive realisation of these rights, putting an end to the erosion that they see year after year.