Human Rights Defenders

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 December 2019.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Oliver Mundell Oliver Mundell Conservative

This has largely been an enjoyable and interesting debate, which has built consensus across the chamber. There have been points when we have strayed from that, which is always a challenge when we discuss such issues. Ruth Maguire captured that point perfectly in her speech when she said that we must be prepared to speak out ourselves when we have concerns, but must also listen to the concerns of others.

There is always a danger, when we discuss human rights, that we take the view that we know best what those rights are, that our views are right, that our opinions are the ones that matter and that we are somehow better than other people.

We all face challenges—within our parties, in our personal approaches to things in life, as a nation in Scotland, as a United Kingdom and as a global community. We all have things that we must face up to on which we do not quite hit the mark. It is always hard, because there is always an urge and a requirement to challenge things that are going wrong, while accepting with humility that we do not always get it right.