SCOTLAND will take a seat at a table of parliamentarians from all over the world as states renew their commitments to ditch nuclear weapons.
Among the diplomats and parliamentarians travelling to Vienna for the First meeting of States Party (FMSP) to discuss the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), is SNP MSP Bill Kidd.
And in the run up to conference, Kidd met with Canadian Senator Marilou MacPhedran on Monday to discuss the event.
Kidd said: “Senator McPhedran and I look forward to strengthening the Scottish Canadian joint efforts towards nuclear disarmament, and will be proactively engaged in the 1st MSP meeting at the United Nations, Vienna, next week. We intend to amplify the voices of the majority of Scots and Canadians who are strongly opposed to nuclear weapons."
READ MORE: Rwanda flight protest gathers in Glasgow to condemn 'grubby' deportation policy
The treaty was adopted by an overwhelming vote in the UN back in 2017 and has received support from Nicola Sturgeon when she signed the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) parliamentarian pledge to support the agreement.
Around 70% of Scottish parliamentarians have signed up to the ICAN pledge, despite the UK Government opting to abstain from all TPNW deliberations in 2017.
In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Scotland’s position on nuclear weapons and the positioning of the UK’s nuclear submarine base at Faslane has been cast back under the spotlight but the war has not changed the SNP’s stance on ridding Scotland of the arsenal.
Janet Fenton, ICAN Scottish liaison, said: “The FMSP is the first opportunity for countries which have already prohibited any nuclear weapons activity to get together and firm up the blueprint for a nuclear weapons-free world, under the jurisdiction of the United Nations.
"It will be a wonderful day when an independent Scotland, simply by acceding to this Treaty, can be protected from any participation in a game that is insanely dangerous for everyone involved.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here