Two appointed to Scottish Human Rights Commission

Two new part time commissioners have been appointed to the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Dr Anna Black is a GP in Glasgow, a non-executive director of Public Health Scotland and is currently completing her PhD in Public Health at the University of Glasgow which has explored how women who are asylum seekers or refugees access primary healthcare in Glasgow.

Dr Jacqueline Kinghan is a human rights lawyer and academic with expertise in access to justice and human rights. She is a senior lecturer at Newcastle Law School, where she co-convenes the Forum for Social Justice & Human Rights and leads the Community Social Justice programme. Based in Scotland, she works with charities and NGOs on a range of legal and social change projects.

Both appointments follow an open appointment process by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, and are for six year terms, starting on 1 May 2021 as current commissioners Susan Kemp and Dr Alan Mitchell come to the end of their appointments.

Judith Robertson, chair of the Commission, said: "This is a crucial time for human rights in Scotland. The development of a new human rights bill for Scotland is on the horizon and with that comes a pressing need to ensure this leads to real changes in practice and access to justice for people in everyday life. We look forward to welcoming Dr Black and Dr Kinghan to their posts as commissioners and to benefiting from their expertise and experience.

"Our departing Commissioners, Susan Kemp and Dr Alan Mitchell, have made significant contributions to the Commission’s work since their appointments in 2015. They have brought specialist knowledge and expertise to our work on policing, prisons, justice and healthcare in particular, while contributing more broadly to developing and overseeing the commission’s strategic plan and the wide-ranging programme of work this entails."