ALEX Salmond is set to give a speech at the Centre for UN Studies next month to make the case for an independent Scotland which “works cooperatively with the international community”.
The former first minister will speak at Buckingham University, home to the centre, on September 5 and is likely to bring up the pioneering legal opinion published by the Alba Party earlier this year which set out international routes to Scottish independence.
The Centre for UN Studies promotes the study of the international organisation, with the stated aim of improving its effectiveness as well as hoping to encourage a worldwide network of organisations focused on improving diplomacy.
Speaking ahead of his appearance, Salmond said in a statement: “Our core belief is independence for our country. Not as an aspiration for the future but something to be delivered with urgency.
“The vision for an independent Scotland that we seek is one that works cooperatively with the international community. One that prioritises peace and humanitarian work, not foreign conquest and invasion.
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“The levels of poverty in Scotland are a political scandal and parliament must now take bold and radical action to ensure that the scourge of inequality is no longer accepted in our great nation.”
The National understands Salmond is likely to address the implications of a review commissioned by Kirkcaldy MP Neale Hanvey and written by Professor Robert McCorquodale, of Brick Court Chambers and a member of the United Nations’ working group on business and human rights.
The report, published in June, said the Supreme Court was “mistaken” in its interpretation of the SNP’s arguments in the indyref2 court case last year, in which the party argued Scotland had a right to self-determination.
Prof. McCorquodale argued that there were international legal routes through which Scotland could secure independence – but said they were very limited.
These were obtaining an “advisory opinion” from the International Court of Justice – which would need substantial backing by the UN – or a unilateral declaration of independence, which is widely seen as a risky move.
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