There was a little noticed attempt recently to put the debate over land reform in Scotland, in a wider international context.
There was a little noticed attempt recently to put the debate over land reform in Scotland, in a wider international context.
In particular the well rehearsed and apparently irreconcilable divergence between the rights of landowners to do with as they see fit, the land they bought or inherited; and the rights of communities to aspire to make it work better for them.
Professor Alan Miller, chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, was giving evidence to the Rural Affairs and Climate Change Committee on the Community Empowerment Bill. He revealed he was " a little embarrassed that the way in which human rights had been interpreted was contributing to " quite narrow parameters around debate about land reform and community empowerment."
Phrases such as "right to buy" or "absolute right" polarised the debate unhelpfully and did not reflect "a clear "understanding of what the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) contributes to the debate."
But his bigger frustration "with the policy framework is this: human rights does not begin and end at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; there is a much broader framework of international human rights that are relevant to the Government and the Parliament, but which are largely invisible."
The Scottish Parliament's founding legislation called on ministers to implement international obligations. One was the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This placed a duty on the ministers to use the maximum available resources to realise the right to housing, employment, food, etc.
Professor Miller said that in this land was seen as "a national asset", to be used for sustainable development.
Consequently human rights provided a broader impetus for land reform, not an obstacle - "whether a landowner has a red card that can be used with reference to the ECHR to stifle discussion about different use of the land."
Next year UN member states would have sustainable development goals and be required to develop national plans.
"That will come to Scotland in due course. If we look at the bigger picture, having a proactive plan for using the national asset and resource of land to achieve sustainable development is where things will be in two or three years."
He said that if human rights were seen in this context of the UN drive on sustainability, there could be compromise on land.
"There will be a realisation that it drives us not towards courts and lawyers but towards having an environment in which there is more constructive dialogue between landowners and communities, because landowners will know that there is a legal framework to which communities will have recourse as a last resort, if that is in the public interest.
This would lead to more responsible use of land, whether by existing landowners or by the public and communities.
The Scottish Government plans new powers "to direct private landowners to take action" if they are preventing sustainable development locally. If necessary by forcing them to lease or sell their land. So Professor Miller's contribution is timely.
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