Scottish Human Rights

This is an extract from Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award Judge Neil Cooper’s moving speech given at the Award Ceremony in Edinburgh last Friday. There was a very silly newspaper article published the other day by a...

Award-winning author Jackie Kay began this year’s annual Amnesty Scotland Annual Lecture with a poem. Her son Matthew, sitting beside her on the stage, had made the documentary Over the Wall about a British football team’s trip to the...

In the midst of the freedom of expression explosion that is Edinburgh’s yearly Fringe Festival, one little choir is seizing their democratic rights to vent their spleen at what most annoys them. The Complaints Choir is an international...

China is never far from the headlines. In the last week the Daily Mail ran a banner feature on Chinese citizens being banned from using Pizza Hut salad bars due to their fondness for building giant ‘salad towers’ of food. Apple’s...

Last week, we and many of the other charities in Scotland we work closely with, were surprised by a U-turn by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) who announced that charities can campaign openly for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in next year...

Though much of the distressingly inaccurate press they get would have you believe they were living charmed lives in the UK; Asylum-seekers can tell you some of the most heart-wrenching stories you will ever hear. But for every account...

Katie Cunningham is our media volunteer in the Scotland office. When I started university in Edinburgh one of the first things drummed into my head – before my classes had even started – was that I was in danger. Warning signs in...

Guest blog by Stephen Sacco A full orchestra comprised of Edinburgh’s classical musicians filled Reid Concert Hall in Bistro Square with the sounds of Tchaikovsky, Walton and Wagner on a recent Sunday evening. The concert was a tribute...

GUEST POST by Amnesty Scotland's new media volunteer Katie Cunningham I have recently joined Amnesty in Edinburgh as a media volunteer. One of my first “official duties” was to attend an event at the Scottish Parliament to thank MSPs...

The cavernous wooden ceilings of Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket concert hall remind me of the hull of an upturned ship. It was a fitting reminder at the Refugee Week Opening Concert that, through countless serendipitous chances, many...

Rea Cris is the Parliamentary Office Administrator at Scottish Environmental LINK and Communication Co-ordinator at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. You can find her on the Me Eco You Eco corner of the blogosphere or...

Amnesty Scotland is closely involved with the Human Rights Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament. The last meeting gave us some insight into how businesses handle human rights issues and the impact UK-registered companies have...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains truths which transcend borders, nationalities, and the words we use to communicate. The issue of human rights moves people to act, to wake up, and connect with others. “Much like music...

The conferences have started. From Holyrood to Glasgow City Chambers academics, lawyers and politicians are beginning to work through the implications of the referendum on whether or not Scotland should be an independent country. I've...

Forensic anthropologist Lourdes Penados has spent the past 15 years exhuming mass graves in her homeland of Guatemala. Her work is part of a social initiative supported by NGOs, lawyers, academics and victims’ communities to collect...

Last month, Edinburgh School of Music student Isla Ratcliff scored the top prize for Lyrics in Amnesty International UK’s Power of Our Voices protest song competition. Amid a hectic exam schedule, Isla gave us a quick rundown of what...

Guest post by Pauline Kelly, Media and Campaigns Officer at Amnesty International Scotland. Since joining Amnesty a few months ago, I have realised there are situations where the mention of human rights can feel like a thought grenade...

I’ve always been bookish, but last Saturday, I became one: I was a human book at Aye Write!, The Mitchell Library’s amazing book festival. I joined the Human Library for the day. It works like this: readers go up to the lending desk...

I was at a meeting this week with the SHRC to discuss SNAP. The next day I was at the CPG on HR discussing Climate Justice and yesterday I talked about SGT with SG at VQ. Yes, I've arrived, I now speak human rights! What that means is...

Ganesh Pandey is something of a cycling superhero. In his native Nepal, he and his family faced terrible poverty wrapping chocolates for a mere 20-30 rupees (20-30 pence) a day. Recalling such adversity, Ganesh pays tribute to his...