Human rights: Tracker Design Group - terms of reference

Purpose

The Scottish Government is seeking to convene a group of stakeholders with expertise in human rights monitoring and implementation. Building on earlier scoping work, the purpose of the group is to help identify project design priorities, with particular emphasis on ownership and sustainability, and suggest next steps to support the Scottish Government and other delivery partners to advance the development of a tool that provides a repository of recommendations from international treaty bodies and tracks progress with regard to implementation in Scotland. The tracker is aimed to be a mechanism to improve transparency, support civil society and the Scottish Parliament to monitor and scrutinise progress, hold government to account, and drive improvement through the implementation of human rights concluding observations and recommendations. The design group is intended to be voluntary and short-life, and membership does not constitute a public appointment.

Context

Guidance from the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner outlines the importance of the development of a tool that keeps track of recommendations and that is periodically updated with implementation information to strengthen the State’s commitment to follow-up and monitor, public accountability and transparency. The Equality and Human Rights Commission developed a tool in 2019 that collates international recommendations and tracks implementation in relation to reserved matters. There is currently no equivalent national mechanism relating to devolved matters in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2024 commits to strengthening the implementation of human rights obligations. In October 2024, the leadership panel for Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP2) wrote to ministers setting out prioritised actions which includes the development of a tool to measure, monitor and support the implementation of international treaty body and Universal Periodic Review recommendations. Also in October 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice committed to explore the development of a human rights tracker at pace. This builds on earlier recommendations, including the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee which identified a role for a treaty monitoring database in their 2018 report Getting Rights Right: Human Rights and The Scottish Parliament.

Objectives

The objectives of the design group are:

• draw out the expert opinion of members and external professionals (such as analysts) as required on project design questions, including the purpose of a tool, scope, ownership, functionality, navigation of devolved and reserved matters, and an understanding of likely costs (not exhaustive)
• contribute views to a project initiation report to guide the development of a tool, including tasks, timeline and project oversight to inform policy and delivery choices by the Scottish Government and other delivery partners
• following those further policy and delivery choices by the Scottish Government and delivery partners, to provide input as appropriate towards the phased development of any tool with a view to launching an initial product by March 2026 subject to budget availability and the deliverability of the technical specifications agreed

Status and membership

The design group is a voluntary and time-limited group established to deliver the objectives defined at paragraph 4 above, and members are able to exit the group at any time. Membership will be drawn from those with expertise of monitoring and implementing human rights across Scotland.

See the full list of members.

Membership of this group does not constitute a public appointment. There will be no remuneration, financial or otherwise, for the time of members participating in this group. Members are selected in recognition that informing the work to develop the Human Rights tracker is a relevant, and indeed central, aspect of their existing role for which no additional payment is required.

Attendance

The design group will be convened and chaired by the Scottish Government. Members are expected to attend meetings (which will usually be conducted via Microsoft Teams), however in exceptional circumstances representatives will be accepted.

Other attendees may be co-opted to attend meetings as considered appropriate on an ad-hoc basis, such as to present relevant information, facilitate discussions or similar.

Observers are invited to attend meetings, participate in writing and during discussions.

Frequency

The design group will agree a meeting schedule at their first meeting, likely monthly until conclusion of their objectives.

Secretariat

Secretariat functions will be provided by Scottish Government officials, with papers agreed in advance between the Chair and where appropriate other members with an expertise in the topic.

Papers will be sent prior to meetings by the secretariat and members will be invited to comment via correspondence between meetings as appropriate.

Minutes taken by the secretariat will include a record of points of consensus or dissent and will be issued for clearance prior to the next scheduled meeting.

A Project Initiation Report will be drafted by the secretariat and sent to members for comments. This report will also include a record of points of consensus or dissent.

All papers, documents and other materials developed by or on behalf of the design group will be stored within the Scottish Government’s electronic records and document management system.

Accountability, reporting and governance

Scottish Government officials will remain accountable to Scottish Ministers, in line with normal Civil Service arrangements. Members of the design group will retain their own accountability.

The design group will provide insights on an advisory basis, with the Scottish Government retaining decision making power on development (or otherwise) of the tracker. The design group secretariat will provide periodic updates to a Human Rights Oversight Board as well as the SNAP2 Leadership Board and other stakeholders with an interest in the project as needed.

Information sharing

The design group will comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs).

It is likely that most potential requests for information can be addressed by means of a pro-active policy of publishing such information as the design group believes is likely to be of interest to public bodies, civil society and the general public. The design group will be asked to approve proposals for a publication scheme, and this is likely to include information such as the agendas and minutes of meetings.

Confidentiality and responsibility

Information shared with members should be treated as sensitive and not for onward distribution, unless prior permission in writing has been sought and obtained from the Secretariat. Any papers shared with the design group for discussion will be considered confidential and not for further sharing without written permission from its author.

Design group members are free to engage with media and communications as they so wish but should be clear that they are speaking in a personal capacity except where they are explicitly authorised to represent the agreed views of the group.

For the avoidance of doubt, participation in the work of the gesign group is without prejudice to the statutory independence of the National Human Rights Institutions and their compliance with the requirements of the Paris Principles.

Review

The terms of reference will be reviewed and agreed by the design group at their first meeting.

The terms of reference can be reviewed periodically at the instigation and agreement of the chair.