Scottish Government 'must immediately freeze' all arms firm funding
Both Oxfam and Amnesty International have hit out at the lack of action from the SNP after ministers committed to looking at "due diligence" procedures around state support for arms firms earlier this year.
In a Holyrood vote in February, MSPs backed a review into grants given by government agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) to weapons firms linked to Israel.
SE has given £8 million to 13 companies involved in weapons manufacturing since 2019, leading to a barrage of criticism – although the Scottish Government has always maintained that the funding doesn't go directly to the production of munitions. and insisted that the 'due diligence' checks are thorough.
READ MORE: Scottish Labour by-election candidate refuses to take part in TV debate
But that has been called into question given that, of the 199 human rights checks between 2021 and 2023, no firm has ever failed – leading to claims the system 'isn't fit for purpose'.
In early April, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes faced criticism after failing to outline the review's scope, terms of reference, or timeline – only saying that SE was conducting it internally.
Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater (below) has also since called for Forbes to update MSPs on the review.
But now – a day after the UK Government announced it would suspend trade deal talks with Israel in a bid to ramp up pressure as it continues to bombard and starve Gaza – both Oxfam and Amnesty International have urged the SNP to end the delays and take immediate action.
Jamie Livingstone, the head of Oxfam Scotland, first stressed that the UK Government must now go further and suspend all arms exports.
Last September, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the suspension of around 30 arms sale licences to Israel.
However, earlier this month The National reported how UK firms have exported thousands of military items to Israel despite the ban.
But Livingstone said that 'it's time for tougher action' from the Scottish Government too.
'Months after Scottish ministers promised a review of how arms companies are assessed for public funding, the wait goes on,' he told The National.
'Scottish taxpayers' money should never be used to line the pockets of those fuelling this horror. Delay is not neutral, it is indefensible.'
Neil Cowan, Amnesty International UK's Scotland programme director, said that the Scottish Government has 'rightly condemned' the UK Government's continued failure to suspend arms transfers to Israel.
'But for years, ministers have stood by while Scottish Enterprise awarded millions in public grants to arms companies involved in the manufacture and sale of weapons to Israel and other states accused of serious violations of international humanitarian law,' he said.
'In February, the Scottish Government finally accepted the need for an urgent review of Scottish Enterprise's human rights checks, but that review is happening behind closed doors and is being led by Scottish Enterprise itself. That's simply not credible, and it makes a mockery of Scotland's stated commitment to human rights.
'Scottish ministers must immediately freeze all grants to arms companies supplying states implicated in rights abuses. And they must urgently change course by ensuring the review is truly independent, transparent and accountable. Anything less would be a profound moral failure.'
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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