Morag Alexander, Scotland Commissioner for the
Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), today announced the
appointments of the first six committee members to the Scotland
Committee of the CEHR.
The new Commission, set up to champion equality and
human rights issues and eliminate discrimination across Britain,
takes on the functions of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE),
Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and Equal Opportunities
Commission (EOC), with new responsibilities for sexual orientation,
age, religion and belief, and reserved human rights in Scotland from
October 2007.
The Scotland Committee is a statutory, decision
making committee of the new Commission and will be responsible for
overseeing the work of the CEHR in Scotland.
Appointed to the Committee are:
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Di Airey:
equality and diversity consultant, and the Director of
Diversity Dynamics
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Bob Benson:
previously Executive Director, Community Development, at
disability charity SCOPE and Scotland Director of the Disability
Rights Commission
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Christine Cnossen: Dean of the School of Social Sciences,
Media and Communication, at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
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Rajiv Joshi:
the current chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, where he
also sits on the Equal Opportunities Committee
-
Ronnie McDonald:
previously the Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish
Trades Union Congress (STUC) since 1998 until her retirement
last year
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Angela O’Hagan:
previously Acting Head of Oxfam in Scotland and Campaigns
and Communications Manager for Oxfam, currently pursuing a PhD
in gender budget analysis
Announcing the first six Committee members Morag
Alexander said:
“I
am delighted to welcome such an excellent range of talented and
experienced people to the Scotland Committee of the CEHR. We have an
ambitious mission - to create a society built on fairness and
respect, to establish a Scotland at ease with itself, a nation
comfortable with all aspects of its diversity.
Together
and individually the Scotland Committee members bring together a
vast amount of knowledge and insight from the public, private,
voluntary and trade union sectors in Scotland. They know the key
issues and challenges from across the equalities and human rights
spectrum.� This will ensure the new Commission delivers in Scotland
and for Scotland.
They are committed to creating a fairer society and I
look forward to working with them as we embark on our task of making
Scotland a better place to live.”�
For
media enquiries please contact Alyson Thomson on 0141 245 1831 or
07740 737479.
ENDS
�Notes
to editors:
�
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The
Scotland Committee is a statutory, decision-making committee of
the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which was
established under the Equality Act 2006. It is responsible for
overseeing the work of the CEHR in Scotland, contributing to the
strategy of the CEHR in Scotland and for advising the CEHR Board
on how its policies and programmes may affect people living in
Scotland. It will also work closely with Scottish institutions
and civic society, including the Scottish Executive, Scottish
Parliament and the Scottish Commission for Human Rights.
The CEHR will enforce equality legislation on age, disability and
health, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or
transgender status, and encourage compliance with the Human
Rights Act 1998. It will also give advice and guidance to
businesses, the voluntary and public sectors, and to
individuals.
-
Scotland Committee
members will be expected to undertake 8-12 days work per year,
covering a range of duties, including attending meetings of the
Scotland Committee. Committee members will be remunerated at
�250 per day plus reasonable expenses as agreed by the CEHR.
-
Further
appointments to the Scotland Committee, which has places for
nine members, are expected shortly.
-
Other appointments
for CEHR in Scotland include Scotland Commissioner, Morag
Alexander, and Scotland Director, Ros Micklem.� For further
information on these and other appointments please visit
www.cehr.org.uk.
-
Biographies of the
six appointees are available from Alyson Thomson on 0141 245
1831 or 07740737479.
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