SCOTTISH independence campaigners have arrived in Geneva in a bid to have Scotland “decolonised”.
They are hoping to prove to the United Nations that Scotland is not in fact a partner in a union with England but rather a colony of its southern neighbour.
Liberation Scotland and Salvo, two linked organisations, have organised a conference as part of the 60th Human Rights Council taking place at the UN headquarters in Switzerland, with the assistance of legal firm Justice pour Tous Internationale.
Their event on Thursday will feature a range of speakers, including a UN expert and a special rapporteur, who will attempt to convince diplomatic players of their cause.
It is not expected to yield immediate results, if any, given the often grinding process of international relations which plays out behind closed doors, but campaigners hope to steadily build allies that they envisage as helping to progress Scotland’s case at the United Nations.
First, they must convince them that Scotland is in fact a colony rather than a partner in a political union with England.
This is a minority stance in Scotland, but those involved with the campaign are adamant on the point and often cite the case of Ireland, which was also part of a political union and whose citizens participated readily in Britain’s imperial conquests.
Now, they say, few would argue that Ireland was not a colony and indeed, they argue, a chunk of it still is.
Proving this in Scotland’s case is an argument with knotty political, historical and legal dimensions.
A generally accepted fact of Scottish history is that in 1707, Scotland’s parliament was dissolved and a new state, the Kingdom of Great Britain, was created.
But Professor Robert Black (above), the emeritus professor of Scots law at Edinburgh University, who will speak at Thursday’s event, has argued that this standard telling is a fiction.
Instead, he set out at a Scottish Sovereignty Research Group event earlier this year, Scotland was “absorbed” into the larger nation.
Liberation Scotland’s co-convener Professor Alf Baird, formerly of Edinburgh Napier University, told The National earlier this week that the Union was one of the longest-running “political hoaxes” in history.
The primary objections to this reassessment are that Scotland has enjoyed political representation in the UK Parliament since the Acts of Union; that Scotland has never been popularly understood as a colony and is not today unlike the specific status as possessions of other conquered territories; and that Scots were active participants in the British Empire, to the extent they were overrepresented in the numbers of imperial troops.
The primary task in Geneva is to lay the groundwork before making a formal application to the UN’s special committee on decolonisation, sometimes called the C-24, asking for Scotland to be added to the list of “non-self-governing territories”. This includes places like Guam, Gibraltar and Western Sahara, places many would think have incomparable political situations to Scotland.
Salvo and Liberation Scotland have presented a petition to the C-24, which said that Scotland is “a dependency subject to external governance” from London.
They must convince the UN that Scotland is:
- Geographically separate from the “administering power”
- In possession of “distinct ethnic, cultural or linguistic characteristics”
- Denied a “full measure” of self-government
If these tests are met, it would set the stage for a legal showdown with the UK Government, according to Salvo.
Sara Salyers (above), co-founder of Salvo, told The National earlier this year that were Scotland’s case taken to the International Court of Justice, the UN’s top court, this would force the UK Government to argue either that Scotland is in a voluntary union – and so in her mind able to leave by some mechanism or other – or it would need to concede that Scotland is a colony with no way out.
The full list of speakers at Thursday’s event is as follows (times in CEST):
- 10am to 10.15am: Opening remarks from Junius Ho (founder and CEO of the International Pro Bono Legal Services Association) and Sharof Azizov (executive director of Justice pour Tous Internationale)
- 10.15am to 10.45am: Professor Robert Black KC, emeritus professor of Scots law at Edinburgh University, and Ailsa Gray, lawyer, discuss “Scotland as a dependency, the UK’s legal personality and the foundations of the UN petition”
- 10.45am to 11.15am: Professor Alf Baird, co-convener of Liberation Scotland, and Sara Salyers, director of Salvo, discuss “Political testimony: Realities on the ground”
- 11.15am to 11.45am: Craig Murray, former ambassador to Uzbekistan, discusses “International legal context, comparative cases”
- 11.45am to 12.15pm: Alex Thorburn, activist, and Sharof Azizov discuss “Human rights dimension of the petition”
- 12.15pm to 12.45pm: George Katrougalos, UN expert on equitable international order, and Professor Surya Deva, UN special rapporteur on the right to development, discuss “The colonial legacy, development and equitable international order”
- 12.45pm to 1.30pm: Q&A
We will be liveblogging Thursday’s event, so follow along for all the updates.
