Community development and human rights
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 10th December
Today is Human Rights Day - a day celebrated annually to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of World War II.
Human rights are central to community development, with its practice rooted in the belief that all people should have access to health, wellbeing, wealth, justice and opportunity.
We see all too often that people's rights are not properly upheld, and that some groups and communities are excluded and oppressed by the way society and structures are organised.
That's why enshrining those rights into law is so important. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government published a discussion paper after a proposed Human Rights Bill was dropped from the 2024/25 Programme for Government - despite extensive contributions towards its development from a range of individuals and groups.
In Scotland, there are many organisations, from larger national networks to grassroots community groups, working to support people to realise their rights and demand more from the duty-bearers responsible for upholding them.
In a time when human rights feel under threat, those individuals and groups play an essential role in achieving a more just, equal society where all communities matter.
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