The research highlights gaps in human rights protections
Scottish prisons are falling short when it comes to human rights, a new report has found.
The Scottish Human Rights Commission and UK National Preventive Mechanism published a report on prisons and forensic mental health settings in Scotland, identifying 10 areas of concern including mental health, segregation and deaths in custody.
The comprehensive study concludes that little progress has been made against 29 international human rights recommendations.
The findings demonstrate that 83% of recommendations by human rights bodies have yet to be implemented in Scotland, with little or no meaningful progress over the last decade. 24 human rights recommendations show little or no progress, with only five recommendations showing progress, and not one recommendation is marked as complete.
The research highlights gaps in human rights protections such as: widespread use of segregation or solitary confinement and a failure to meet the minimum requirement of two hours of human contact per day.
Inadequate provision of mental healthcare for people in prisons.
No specialised high secure psychiatric unit for women prisoners in Scotland resulting in women not getting access to mental healthcare or being transferred 300 miles to a facility in England.
Gaps in the system for investigations of deaths in prisons.
No independent system for investigating deaths of people detained in mental health settings in Scotland.
The commission works together with the NPM which is made up of 21 bodies that monitor and inspect places of detention in the UK and Scotland, to prevent torture and ill-treatment for people in prisons.
Under human rights laws, absolute rights like the right to life and protection from inhumane and degrading treatment must never be breached.
Shelley Gray, a member of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said: “The commission is concerned about the wide range of human rights issues that continue to exist for people in Scotland’s detention system. This is despite human rights recommendations being made repeatedly over a long period of time.
“Our research exposes inadequate provision of mental healthcare for people in prisons and an overuse of segregation for prisoners and gaps in the system for investigation of deaths in detention.
“As Scotland moves to bring into law additional human rights in a Human Rights Bill, it is important to consider the state of progress on rights long protected in law.
“Absolute rights are the most fundamental of human rights and there is no excuse for allowing these breaches or failing to act when these rights are at risk.
“The level of inaction and delay is no longer acceptable, and we want to see these important human rights concerns addressed by the Scottish Government with the urgency they deserve.”
Sam Gluckstein, head of the UK National Preventive Mechanism, said: “The evidence in this report is clear: not enough is being done to protect the fundamental, absolute human rights of people deprived of their liberty.
“Recommendations from international human rights organisations provide valuable information on where systems are failing, and where they need to improve. Our report does not seek to oversimplify what we know are complicated and entrenched issues which can take time to resolve.
“However, the sheer volume of inaction and delay is no longer acceptable. We urge government to act immediately on the many long-outstanding recommendations outlined in this report.”
