POLITICIANS from all Holyrood parties must call for an end to public grants for arms companies implicated in Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, the Scottish Greens have urged.
The motion will be heard by MSPs today in a Green opposition debate led by Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater.
The Government’s commercial arm Scottish Enterprise has provided funding to firms operating in Scotland which provide products to Israel – though the agency has repeatedly said the cash is for research, training and apprenticeships rather than munitions.
Slater said: “The Scottish Government rightly called for a ceasefire in Gaza when Westminster refused to, but it has continued to support companies who have enabled the killing.
“Fundamentally, this is a debate about our values and the sort of country we want to be. The Scottish Government may not be able to set UK foreign policy, but it can decide which companies it supports and the criteria it applies for doing so.
“If a company is profiting from war crimes and genocide, it should not be receiving public money from our government.”
In 2018, the Scottish Greens secured new requirements for Scottish public bodies to conduct human rights checks for grant applicants. Despite this, Scottish Enterprise has continued to fund the world’s biggest arms dealers.
Slater added: “These human rights checks are clearly not good enough. If firms who have profited from some of the worst atrocities of this century are not beyond the pale then who is?
“I hope all MSPs who have backed a ceasefire and condemned the destruction of Gaza will join us in saying enough is enough and calling for these grants to be halted.”
Ahead of the debate, Jamie Livingstone – the head of Oxfam Scotland – called for funding to be halted.
He said: “A fragile ceasefire does not mean an end to the suffering in Gaza. Thousands of people have been killed, entire communities wiped out and the Israeli blockade continues to limit essential aid.
“Against this brutal backdrop, it’s utterly indefensible that Scottish taxpayers’ money has flowed to arms companies selling components to Israel, including those used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets – the same jets which have been relentlessly bombing Gaza.
“The Scottish Government’s humanitarian aid to Gaza and its condemnation of war crimes have shown moral leadership, but they’re morally incoherent with bankrolling the very firms enabling them.
“Assurances that public funds aren’t used directly for weapons manufacturing don’t wash when the companies themselves are profiting from this humanitarian catastrophe.
“It’s time for the Scottish Government to end public funding for arms firms fuelling the devastation in Gaza.”
Recent freedom of information (FOI) requests submitted to the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise by Amnesty revealed that more than£3.5 million in grants has been awarded to major arms companies, including ones linked to Israel and Saudi Arabia, since January 2023.
The FOI responses also confirmed no company has ever failed Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks.
Following the FOI disclosures, Amnesty wrote to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes on November 11, 2024.
In the letter, Amnesty Scotland expressed concern that Scotland may be failing to meet its international obligations and called on Forbes to launch an urgent review of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks and of Scottish Enterprise’s funding for arms companies.
After receiving a response to that letter on February 23, Amnesty have described it as “not good enough” with growing concern that the issue is not being taken seriously by the Scottish Government.
In the letter, Forbes failed to respond directly to questions around the monitoring and impact of the grants and instead placed responsibility on Scottish Enterprise.
Neil Cowan, Scotland director at Amnesty International UK, said: “The Deputy First Minister’s response to our letter is not good enough. It underlines our deep concern that the Scottish Government is not taking seriously its potential indirect complicity in international humanitarian law violations or crimes against humanity, including genocide.
“We have repeatedly stated our view that, with grants to arms companies seemingly waived through on a regular basis, the credibility and robustness of Scottish Enterprise’s human rights checks are seriously undermined.
“When Scottish public money has been awarded to arms companies involved in the manufacture of F-35 jets used as part of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, looking the other way is no longer an option.
“MSPs should use today’s Scottish Parliament debate to demand the Scottish Government acknowledges its international obligations in relation to funding for arms companies and takes urgent steps to ensuring those obligations are being met.”
A spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise said: “Our role as Scotland’s national economic development agency is to support economic growth and create high-value jobs.
“Our support for defence companies is consistent with Scottish and UK government policies, and we make it clear to those businesses, through legally binding contracts, that our help can only be used to deliver agreed projects in Scotland.
“None of the projects we support involves the manufacture of munitions or weaponry.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “The Scottish Government and its enterprise and skills agencies do not provide funding for the manufacture of munitions.
“Support for defence sector companies is focused on helping firms to diversify their activities and technologies, ensuring Scotland continues to benefit from significant economic returns and thousands of jobs in the sector.
“Export licensing is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government continues to call for an end to all licences for arms exports from the United Kingdom to Israel.”
