Oil, defence, the economy, the European Union and the pound. A glance at the headlines would give the impression these are the subjects that matter most to the people of Scotland. They have come to dominate the debate about which way is the right way forward for the country. It’s true that they’re important issues; they affect us all directly or indirectly. But they’re also the routine fodder of parliamentary elections, not historic events which will have an impact for generations to come. On 18 September we’re voting either to form a new state or to remain in a union with three other nations. Surely this deserves a bit deeper consideration than that which we give to voting for a government?

> **Why is it that these basic entitlements and freedoms – our human rights – haven’t been more noticeable in the bartering for referendum votes?**

Shouldn’t we, for example, be talking about what either option would mean for our basic entitlements and freedoms? And what protection these would be given by those who would govern us? Why is it that these basic entitlements and freedoms – our human rights – haven’t been more noticeable in the bartering for referendum votes? It’s not that they’ve been completely overlooked. The Scottish Government’s white paper talks of how an independent state could protect human rights, but makes no promises. The UK Government has limited itself to a legal analysis of what independence would mean in terms of human rights treaties. But there are, of course, some good reasons why human rights haven’t been higher on the referendum agenda. Firstly, for many, they are as hard to grasp and relate to everyday life as the outcome of the referendum itself. Secondly, they can be seen as unnecessary in our developed world where we have good norms of behaviour by the government and our fellow citizens. If they’re valuable anywhere, the argument goes, it’s in those ‘bad’ countries overseas. Lastly, there’s the prevailing negativity about human rights. We’ve all read the sensationalist headlines about how human rights have given prisoners a legal route to an easy life and satellite TV. It seems that, following some targeted influencing by those in politics and the media, many have formed a view that human rights offer protection solely for prisoners, terrorists or so-called illegal immigrants. The truth is, they don’t. Our human rights, as defined following the horrors of the second world war, are regularly invoked for good reason in the Scottish courts. They’ve been used to clarify the law on adoption, to determine whether medical staff can choose not to take part in certain medical procedures, and to establish tenancy rights on farmland, for example. In the English courts, they’ve been used to address negligent deaths in the NHS and to stop people being put into care as a cost-cutting measure. Overseas, they’ve protected welfare benefits and pensions. While these examples demonstrate the value of recognising human rights, we shouldn’t be complacent. Neither the UK nor the Scottish Government has used the powers available to them to embed human rights in our legislation. And that’s despite successive UK governments signing treaties that oblige us to respect and protect human rights at home and abroad.

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored, learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)