
Human rights




Rhiannon Sims: People can't afford to live in their own cities - it's time to tackle housing inequality
Rhiannon Sims, Policy and Research Adviser at Oxfam Scotland, marks Scottish Housing Day by calling for housing to be treated not just as an asset but as a human right, ahead of the launch of a documentary on housing inequality this week
HOUSING is more than just an asset: it is a human right. It is something everyone needs, but not everyone has.
When we’ve asked people in Scotland what matters most to them, access to a secure and affordable home is top of the list. Without it, people’s chances of escaping poverty are massively reduced.

UK Government hosts global press freedom conference on same day as it defends spying on journalists in court
“It is ironic that on the very day the Bureau is making this case against the British government’s surveillance regime in the highest court in Europe, the same government is hosting a global summit on press freedom.”


Beyond the Noise: Serco evictions – the ‘Hostile Environment’ in Scotland
Beyond the Noise with David Jamieson is a weekly podcast with CommonSpace journalist David Jamieson, where he gets behind the 24/7 news cycle and gets to heart of issues, trying to find the substance behind the headlines.
THIS week Jamieson is joined by Robina Qureshi, director of Postivie Action in housing, to discuss the Serco's plans to evict some 300 refugees from their homes in Scotland and the mounting campaign to stop them.
They discuss:
00:38 – What are the latest developments in Serco’s drive to evict refugees from their homes?

‘Completely unacceptable’: John Swinney condemns Home Office following reports of children detained at Dungavel
Reports that child refugees are still being held at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre almost a decade after the Home Office announced an end to the policy have led to fresh calls for the devolution of asylum powers

The dream of a right to food: What lessons can Scotland draw from the rest of the world?
If we are to establish a national right to food, what can the history of other countries’ attempts tell us? Sean Bell takes a look.
FOOD defines humanity, and determines life. Hunger cannot be argued with. It is a historical truth and a global reality – and Scotland is no exception.

‘He simply wouldn’t be able to understand’: Grandparents caring for autistic teenager threatened with deportation to Iran
The Home Office is attempting to deport an elderly couple to Iran, despite having built a life in the UK for over 40 years and acting as co-parents to a grandchild requiring care