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.scotAndy Anderson - AndersonPublications.co.ukDavid Younger - ScotlandDecides.orgLeah 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
Bill Gorman
Denis Knowles
Jim Daly
Morris MacLeod
Michael Ure
Roger Houston
Julian Smith
Alan Crowe
Alfred J. Baird
Keith Calder
Hayley Calder
Kyle Calder
Connor Calder
Charles Maitland
Andrew Gallacher
Jean Ferguson
Jeff Kirk
Iain Bruce
Richard Thomas Laird
Eileen Randall
Heather Wilson
Nick Masson
Pauline Murray
Kenny Lochrie
Neil Murray
Denise Borland
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
Nancy Masson
John Oliver
Hazel Morrison
Diane Davidson
Paul Convery
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
Gordon Currie
Liston Thomson
Dermot Durkin
Alan Short
William Elrick
Frances McKie
Fay Smith
Terry Smith
Helen McGowan
Doreen A Milne
Hugh Meikle
Neil Macdonald
Robert Morrison
Duncan MacFarlane
Gordon Taggart
Geoff Bush
Michael Sayers
Kate Fraczek
David Moore
James Marshall
John Rentoul
Ron Strathdee
Brian Quinn
David Johnstone
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
David Lester
Dorothy Anne Devine
Robin Thomson
John Sharp
Malcolm Campbell
Doreen Anderson
Margaret Goldthorp
Veronica Fairley
Mary MacCallum Sullivan
Neil Mair MacCallum
Jim Davidson
David Heriot
Lindsay McCrea
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
Barbara Stevenson McBeth
John Hutchison
William Duguid
Carole Inglis
Robert Lowe
[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/
I would like to add my signature to the RSS letter to the First Minister about ICCPR enactment”