The role of the independent SNAP Secretariat is to support the work of the SNAP Leadership Panel and co-Chairs, and the ongoing development, implementation and monitoring of SNAP actions. The Secretariat plays an important role to help Scotland fulfil the eight criteria for national human rights action plans developed by the United Nations (UN).

The SNAP Governance Principles note that:

Dedicated, independent secretariat support is needed to ensure the effective governance and delivery of SNAP, including support for rights holders’ participation and administration of events and meetings.

During the development phase from 2021 up to the launch of SNAP 2, the Leadership Panel and co-Chairs were supported by an independent SNAP Secretariat.

In October 2021, an interim Secretariat Lead was appointed, temporarily hosted by the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and resourced by SHRC and the Scottish Government. Lucy Mulvagh, the interim Secretariat Lead, helped to recruit and train members of the Leadership Panel, and then supported their work to review, revise, finalise and publish SNAP 2.

After SNAP 2 is published, the independent SNAP Secretariat will be hosted by the Scottish Government, within the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights.

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