ANGUS Robertson’s enthusiasm for Nato may have caused some anxiety for some Scots. Fortunately, it does not have any real bearing on the effectiveness of the most significant nuclear disarmament treaty of our era.
In 70 (and growing) member states of the United Nations, pretty much any activity relating to nuclear weapons – from facilitation to possession to development – is now forbidden by their own legal systems.
They are the member states of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which came into force in 2021.The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution to the TPNW being adopted by 122 states at the UN.
The then-first minister of Scotland sent a special message of support to the president of the negotiations, and support from the Scottish Government for the TPNW has been clear at every significant milestone in its rapid growth.
READ MORE: Independent Scotland not committed to treaty banning nuclear weapons, Robertson says
Despite some controversy around the position of those who support a Nato future for Scotland, the point is that signing the TPNW and Nato membership are not incompatible. There is absolutely no legal impediment to being a member of both, whether you like the idea of joining a military alliance or whether it is an anathema to you.
Nuclear weapons deployment is a policy currently held by members of the Nato – it is not a part of the foundational treaty, it is the current strategy.
It is not within the remit of the TPNW to prohibit military alliances, and so it has no view on any one of them. There is a history of divergence within Nato itself on nuclear and other controversial weapons policies, which may mean that adjustments in behaviour and policy will be needed by Nato states that join the TPNW.
However, the prohibition that is very definitely in the TPNW includes any aspect of use, storage support or acquisition of nuclear weapons. Importantly for Scotland, the treaty requires a TPNW member state to ensure the removal of nuclear weapons belonging to another state from the TPNW member’s territory.
There is also complementarity between the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) which requires nuclear disarmament in its Article Vl “in good faith” and not (as has recently been suggested) when the nuclear armed states think its the right time. The TPNW provides the legal instrument to actually take that obligation forward.
Scotland’s political parties that advocate for independence – along with some politicians and people who do not – would like to see the (approximately 200) nuclear weapons at Faslane and Coulport gone. That is a majority view of Scotland’s elected representatives. It will be very unfortunate if the controversy around the SNP position on Nato leads to other independence supporters undermining the SNP position on the TPNW because of what could be no more than kite flying.
The majority of Scottish parliamentarians at Westminster and Holyrood – including Robertson – have signed an internationally recognised undertaking to “work for the signature and ratification of this landmark treaty by our respective countries, as we consider the abolition of nuclear weapons to be a global public good of the highest order and an essential step to promote the security and well-being of all peoples”.
ICAN executive director Melissa Parke said: "ICAN encourages all states, including NATO members, to join the nuclear ban treaty. An independent Scotland could join the TPNW and choose to be a member of NATO or a neutral state. There is nothing in the treaty preventing its members from being in a military alliance, although it would mean the country could not possess nuclear weapons or allow other countries to base their weapons on Scottish territory, or contribute to supporting nuclear weapons in any other way."
READ MORE: Angus Robertson 'overstepping remit' on nuclear weapons, senior SNP figure warns
It is important to recognise that, whatever one thinks about Nato, acceding to the TPNW would ensure Scotland had the full support and backing of the UN and all the TPNW member states – rather than finding itself in some kind of David and Goliath requirement to negotiate with Westminster for the removal of the weapons at their Faslane launchpad.
A newly emerging Scotland would have a golden key to real security, and such a move towards the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons could be a real and lasting manifestation of the kind of country that we aspire to become.
Accession to the TPNW is the obvious first step for any independent Scotland, and this country could be one to formally suggest that a nuclear-free Nato could reduce the risk of nuclear armageddon and climate disaster.
Janet Fenton is the secretary of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a non-MSP member of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Nuclear Disarmament.
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