In the run-up to the launch of SNAP 2 on 30 March 2023, Lucy Mulvagh, the interim SNAP Secretariat Lead, shares a few thoughts.

SNAP 2’s vision is a Scotland where everyone can live with human dignity. It has both international and national origins, and began its development in 2017 as SNAP 1 drew to a close. Over the years, hundreds of organisations and individuals from across Scotland have contributed to its development.

Most recently, this has been the responsibility of the multi-stakeholder SNAP Leadership Panel, to which I have provided Secretariat support. Since being appointed in February 2022, members of the Panel have worked together – as equals – to finalise SNAP 2. They have reviewed a wealth of evidence about human rights in Scotland, gathered even more, consulted, deliberated, and reached consensus on a range of issues.

Most importantly, this includes more than 50 recommended actions, as well as the underpinning principles and positive outcomes that will be achieved.

The SNAP 2 actions will cover a broad range of rights-related issues. To name just a few, this includes equality, climate change, education, justice, health, and participation. Of course, it’s not realistic for one plan alone to cover all the human rights issues that Scotland currently faces, so while SNAP 2 is ambitious, it is also designed to be achievable. It’s built on firm foundations about what the United Nations requires for such plans, robust human rights research, and substantial public engagement.

Through the SNAP 2 actions, there will be numerous opportunities for rights holders, civil society organisations and public bodies to work together to promote and advance human rights across Scotland. Indeed, rights holder participation is a central factor for SNAP – in both action delivery, as well as its oversight through membership of the Leadership Panel.

After SNAP 2 is published, the Leadership Panel and independent SNAP Secretariat will be hosted within the Scottish Government Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights. My secondment will come to an end, and I’ll return to my job as a Director at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. Even so, I fully intend continuing to champion and support SNAP 2, as a vitally important part of Scotland’s national efforts to progressively realise and make rights real in everyday life. I’d encourage everyone to join me.

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