Open Letter to Scotland's First Minister

Asking him to incorporate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) into Scots law

In its first weeks, the Starmer government has introduced funding cuts that have precipitated Holyrood spending cuts and approved Ofgem plans to transfer renewable power from Scotland to England, with no benefit for Scots. On top of that, the Secretary of State for Scotland announced he will bypass the Scottish administration and use direct funding to further undermine the devolution settlement and there’s talk about ending universal services like free prescriptions and university tuition.

It’s clear that the UK government doesn’t respect Scottish sovereignty which lies with the people. But our own administration claims it’s powerless to act. So we the People must apply maximum pressure on Scotland’s elected representatives to push back against the colonial power by incorporating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) into Scots law, which would give the Scottish People the right to hold referendums on devolved legislation, breathing life into the principle of Popular Sovereignty.

If you would like to also sign the letter to the First Minister requesting enactment of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR), please go to https://wecollect.scot/contact/ and copy and paste the following text in the message box: “I would like to add my signature to the RSS letter to the First Minister about ICCPR enactment”. Your signature registration will be confirmed by e-mail but your e-mail address will remain confidential.

Dear First Minister,

Your government has acknowledged that the Scottish People are sovereign and has confirmed that “popular sovereignty remains the best way of ensuring good government for current and future generations of people who live in Scotland.”^[1]

Popular Sovereignty was codified in the Claim of Right 1689, a pre-condition of the 1707 Treaty of Union, which has been endorsed by the Scottish Parliament and the Westminster Parliament^[2] both of whom recognise “the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best suited to their needs.”^[3]

However, Popular Sovereignty requires that the People have direct political rights, such as the right to popular referendums, without which they are unable to exercise their sovereignty. These rights aren’t part of UK law despite the UK Government ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) back in 1976. ICCPR, Article 25, commits the UK to guaranteeing civil and political rights and Popular Sovereignty is the “other form of government best suited to our needs.”

The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has repeatedly criticised the UK government for failing to legislate political rights but recently praised the Scottish Government for enacting into Scots law another UN convention ratified by the UK, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the UK has also failed to incorporate into domestic law.

There are no legal reasons why the Scottish Government can’t do the same for ICCPR. Under the Scotland Act 1998, “observing and implementing international obligations, obligations under the Human Rights Convention and obligations under EU law” are not reserved.^[4]  

Incorporating political rights into Scots law, as recommended by the Scottish Human Rights Commission^[5], would give the Scottish People the power to accept or refuse proposed devolved legislation via a Referendum. Without political rights, Popular Sovereignty is meaningless.

Furthermore, legislating for political rights would be a significant step towards a more consensual form of government than the Westminster model. It could give an immediate boost to the entire independence movement and offer a compelling argument in favour of the independence parties during the 2026 election.  

Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to contact us if we can provide any further information. 

On behalf of Respect Scottish Sovereignty (RSS),

Henry Ferguson - wecollect.scot
Andy Anderson - AndersonPublications.co.uk
David Younger - ScotlandDecides.org
Leah Gunn Barrett - DearScotland.substack.com

Lewis Beattie

Peter A Bell

Fraser McAllister

Ann Rayner

Robert Dixon

Derek Kerr

Ian Grant

Maureen Pickering

Norman Cunningham

Kira Gunn Barrett

Derek Bell-Jack

Michéle Doyle

Joyce Cox

Andrew Cox

John Randall

John Greer

Eric Low

John Brown

Lorna Ross

Sandra Edmondson

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Jim Daly

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Iain Bruce

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Neil Murray

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Pats Nielsen

Brian Allan

Edith Davidson

Patricia M Macalpine

John Duncan

William Craig

Yvonne Stevenson-Robb

Robert Traquair

Thomas Graham

Lori Moffat

Jerry Ozaniec

Peter Wilson

Laura Alexander-Lawrie

Jackson Gunn Barrett

 Lachie Munro

Jacqueline McMillan

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John Oliver

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Hamish Scott

John Horne

Lynn Stewart

Alastair Baird

Karen Robertson

Lesley Baird

Margaret Donald

Jeff Craig

Alice Hoy

Jean Reynolds

Ian Allan

Stuart McHardy

John Grigg

Sheila Boettcher

Margaret Noakes

Robellya McKay Livingstone

Jim McCluskie

June Deans

Wilma Veitch

Maureen Finn

Brian McCabe

Warren Jamison

Susana Allardyce

Mark Carr

Ronnie Black

Elaine McEwan

Doris Edwards

Stephen McElroy

Bobbie Jeal

Chris Terrell

Derek Aitken

Alan McMahon

Andrew Haddow

Alison Rollo

Rhona Anderson

Hugh McShane

John Blair

Elizabeth Milne

Janice Alexander

Michael Blaney

James Michael Queen

Kenneth Coutts

Georgie Nicholson

Irene Byng

William Bryan

Gordon Millar Robertson

William Laing

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Alan Short

William Elrick

Frances McKie

Fay Smith

Terry Smith

Helen McGowan

Doreen A Milne

Hugh Meikle

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Robert Morrison

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Gordon Taggart

Geoff Bush

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Kate Fraczek

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Valerie Rettie

Francis Mair

John Kirk

Brian Scott

Catherine Gunn

Dr P R Ashby

Sue Harley

Roderick Adamson

Gavin C Barrie

Donal Hurley

Jacqueline Oudney

Gordon Gaffney

Mike Slessor

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Dorothy Anne Devine

Robin Thomson

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Doreen Anderson

Margaret Goldthorp

Veronica Fairley

Mary MacCallum Sullivan

Neil Mair MacCallum

Jim Davidson

Patricia Farrington

Margaret McPhee

James McArthur

David Mclean

Fiona Mclean

William Whyte

David Hood

Geoff Caldwell

David Heriot

Lindsay McCrea

Philip Taylor

Gordon Innes West

Bruce Borthwick

Jim Graham

Helen Buchanan

Karin Laurie

Alasdair Watson

Alex Holmes

James Dippie

Jane MacKenzie

Paul Winkler

Leslie Wilson

Linda Mayes

Ian Waugh

James Stamper

Andrew Milne

William Craig

Mary Edwardson

Carole Watt-Kiehl

Patricia Scully

Fiona Middler

Patrick McCarthy

Elisa McCarthy

Patricia Dickson

Jadzia Kruklinski

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John Hutchison

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Carole Inglis

Robert Lowe

Phil Riddel

David Greenlees

Marie Wistuba

James Stamper

Stephen Lynas

Andrew Barrett

Michael Brown

Valerie Gadsby

Alex Batchelor

Val Grant

Fiona McOwan

Jim McGuinness

Lesley McGuinness

Lynn Richardson

Calum Anderson

John Alexander Snelgrove

Antony Perridge

John & Irene Hunter-Paterson

Duncan Goldthorp

Craig Allison

Liz Thomas

Ian Munro

Kieran Brennan Kelly

Duncan McDonald

Malcolm Smith

Charlotte Liston Sutherland

Douglas Andrew Arthur -aka - Marvin Stone

Al Eddie

Charles Fleming

Gordon Sprott

Thomas Sanderson

Sally Sanderson

Sandra Gibbs

Frank Armstrong

Iain McNaughton

Julia Laurie

Brogan J Lynch

Jim Cornwall

Iain McGill

Sheila Durie

Eleanor Reilly

Leslie Johnstone

Ian McAlpine

Chic Kirk

Fiona Tavendale

William Mutter

Paul Gourlay

Kevin Bletsoe

Calum MacLeod

J Carson

Matty Bean

Peter Jeal

Julie Brown

Anne-Marie Aitken

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Archie Rutherford

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Dianeí Gardiner

J C

Jean Kiani

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Frank Fraczek

Sharon Murray

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Robert Bruce

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Rebecca Glen

Daniel Laurie

Fiona Hicks

Catherine Coutts

Phil Bremner

Sophie Alderdice

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Richard Gwynne-Jones

Tom Banigan

Bobby Mcdermott

Graham Campbell

Margaret Banigan

Archie Dalrymple

Jacqueline Herriott

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Kevin McIntyre

Irene Farish

William Goldie

Tony Davison

Robin McHugh

Elizabeth Webster

Willie White

Alexander McAulay

Antony Ivatt

Bryan Cunningham

Deborah Shearer

Hilary Finch

Mark Batchelor

Elaine Toye

Donald Malley

Penelope Dransart

James Cruickshank

Maureen Law

Roddy Scott

Alan Duncan

John & Sandra Christison

Jan Mayor

Duncan

Margaret Wallace Long

David McGrath

Joanne Clunie

Stan Kujawa

Korin Vallance

Mark Duffy

Barbara Small

Kit Sebastian Renard

Brian Powell

Susan Johnson

Christine Boyle

Michael Mathewson

Marion Laird

Graham Campbell

Gavin Johnston

Caroline Williamson

Margaret Brogan

Helen Mc Clymont

John Wood

Brian McKenna

Gerald Smith

Ian McMillan

Ali Brown

Linda Watkins

Pauline Campbell

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^[1] https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-creating-modern-constitution-independent-scotland/

^[2] Anon, 1988. A Claim of Right for Scotland, Edinburgh: [The Campaign]. The Scottish Parliament endorsed the Claim of Right on 26 January 2012, 28 March 2017 and 10 January 2023. The House of Commons endorsed the Claim of Right on 4 July 2018

^[3] https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-creating-modern-constitution-independent-scotland/pages/5/

^[4] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/schedule/5

^[5] https://www.scottishhumanrights.com/media/2606/iccpr-parallel-report-uk-examination.pdf