THE credibility of the SNP’s commitment to human rights is at stake, a leading charity has warned Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes after it emerged that a promised review of Scottish Government funding for arms companies is being conducted internally, with no independent oversight or clear timeline.
In February and under pressure from Amnesty International, within the SNP, and opposition parties, Forbes told MSPs that a review would be launched of public funding given to weapons companies that supply Israel.
The government agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) has given £8 million to 13 companies involved in weapons manufacturing since 2019 – although the SNP Government maintains that the funding doesn’t go directly to the production of munitions and that “due diligence” checks are thorough.
However, that has been called into question given that, of the 199 human rights checks between 2021 and 2023, no firm ever failed. Pressure has also built around arms firms' links to Israel, which is accused of conducting a genocide in Gaza.
Forbes said in February that the Scottish Government did “not believe that public funding should be spent on the manufacture of weapons or munitions” and that it would “review and ensure" the most robust processes are in place for funding given to weapons companies.
Amnesty International’s programme director for Scotland Neil Cowan then wrote to the Deputy First Minister asking for an outline of the review’s scope, terms of reference, and timeline – and requesting that it should be independent of both Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Government.
In a response seen by The National, which Cowan said left those key questions unanswered, Forbes wrote: “I can confirm that Scottish Government officials are in contact with Scottish Enterprise on this matter, and that Scottish Enterprise has begun work on a review.
“With regards to my offer of a meeting with Scottish Enterprise concerning monitoring, impact, evaluation, and compliance linked to grant funding, Scottish Enterprise is happy to discuss this with you, and they will be in touch shortly to arrange a date.”
Cowan has now responded to Forbes, asking the same questions as he did in his first correspondence.
“The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated, and urgent assurance that this review is not simply being swept under the carpet is required,” he added.
“It is our firm view that a process that takes place in-house at Scottish Enterprise with no external scrutiny is unacceptable and entirely undermines the credibility of the review. Indeed, in Amnesty’s view, it would be directly at odds with the various and repeated commitments Scottish ministers have made to championing and protecting human rights internationally.
“It is therefore vitally important that the Scottish Government sets out what transparency and oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure the review’s conclusions are robust and impartial. Without these mechanisms, this review will not be credible.”
Cowan went on: “It is critical that we do not lose sight of the backdrop to this issue.
“Amnesty, supported by MSPs from a range of parties during the debate on February 26, called for this review because there is a clear risk that the current process at Scottish Enterprise leaves the door open to Scottish public funds being awarded to companies linked to states guilty of grave international humanitarian law violations, including an ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
The Holyrood debate which led to the review being agreed was brought forward by the Scottish Greens, and last month party co-leader Lorna Slater also wrote to Forbes requesting details of the process.
After the latest intervention from Amnesty, she told the Sunday National: "It is completely wrong for the Scottish Government to continue bankrolling Israel's arms dealers, and no amount of spin or rhetoric can change that.
"This review must be transparent and robust if it is to have any credibility. It can't be a whitewash. It is impossible to see how any company arming and supporting genocide could possibly pass any ethical test worthy of the name.
"With the humanitarian situation getting worse, and with many in the Israeli government joining [Donald] Trump in openly calling for ethnic cleansing, it is vital that all governments end their complicity in the destruction.
"The Scottish Government has rightly stood against the assault on Gaza, now it is time for it to put its money where its mouth is and end the funding for those enabling the killing."
Richard Leonard, the former Scottish Labour leader, backed the calls for the review to be independent of Government or SE, saying that the issue was “too important to allow governments to mark their own homework”.
Scottish Labour called for the system of human rights checks to be reviewed in the debate in February.
Former first minister Humza Yousaf told the Sunday National he stood by every word he had said in that debate, which saw him say that “not a penny of public funding should be going to arms companies, including those in Scotland”.
“For those who still believe in a rules-based order … now is the time to ensure that we are, at a minimum, complying with international law,” he had said.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Deputy First Minister has received [Amnesty International’s] letter and will respond in due course.
“The parliamentary motion tabled by the Scottish Greens called on SE itself to review its due diligence checks. This is now taking place.
“The Scottish Government and its enterprise and skills agencies do not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions. Support for the defence sector focuses on helping firms to diversify their activities and technologies, ensuring Scotland continues to benefit from significant economic returns and thousands of jobs.”
The motion which passed at Holyrood on February 26 called on SE “to review its human rights due diligence checks to ensure that they take account of where products’ end use is, and that they fully comply with legal obligations under the Export Control Act 2002 and international law”.
