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Campaign and petition email responses | Statement on the Anti-BDS Bill

Campaign and petition email responses

Statement on the Anti-BDS Bill

The stated purpose of this Bill is to “Deliver the manifesto commitment to stop public bodies from adopting their own approach to international relations.”

The Bill will “Empower Government to ban public bodies that are already subject to public procurement rules from conducting their own boycott campaigns against foreign countries or territories.” This would be banned in instances that are deemed “inconsistent with official UK foreign policy as set by Her Majesty’s Government.”

In short, the Bill would ban public bodies from carrying out their own boycotts, sanctions, and/or divestments against (a) foreign countries and/or territories; (b) the sale of goods and services from foreign countries or territories; and (c) UK firms which trade with such countries or territories, where such an approach is not in line with UK Government sanctions.

The Downing Street briefing specifically mentions the examples of a Leicester City Council motion in 2014 boycotting goods made in Israeli settlements, and a 2021 motion in Lancaster City Council urging the Council’s pension fund “to divest from all companies active in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and all arms companies which supply weapons to Israel.

The Downing Street briefing also specifically states that “There are concerns that such boycotts may legitimise and drive antisemitism as these types of campaigns overwhelmingly target Israel.” Additionally, it states that “Unofficial boycotts have gone beyond those directed at a particular state and contribute to the horrific rise in antisemitism in the UK.”

We at the SNP are against the spirit, nature and content of this Bill.

Putting the bear-baiting and divisive politics to one side, we also believe that this Bill is not a priority for precious Parliamentary time right now. We fundamentally believe that the UK Government should have a laser focus on tackling the cost-of-living crisis instead of inflaming tensions with this Bill.

This Bill and the Israel/Palestine conflict cannot be separated. In line with other Governments in Europe and the EU itself, the Scottish Government does not advocate a policy of boycotting Israel.

However, the Scottish Government strongly discourages trade with companies active in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (an occupation which is recognised as illegal under international law).

There is a stark and crucial distinction however between boycotting an entire state, and boycotting goods and services born from illegally-occupied land. This is a distinction that this current UK Government legislative proposal does not address nor acknowledge.

The SNP acknowledges that Israeli settlements are illegal, and as such the UK should ban all trade with settlement goods and services. SNP MPs are also continuously raising human rights abuses and lack of international recognition in the House of Commons. For example, SNP MP Alan Brown called for the banning of importing settlement goods during the most recent FCDO questions in the House of Commons. Additionally, former SNP International Development Spokesperson, Chris Law MP, questioned the UK Government’s decision to cut funding for UNWRA, the UN’s Relief Agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

The UK has an obligation to uphold international law, including by ending its complicity in supporting settlements through trade. This is simply upholding international law – a bare minimum requirement for a democratic state.

This Bill represents a serious blow to our civil society. It risks blocking campaigners from seeking accountability, and from protesting when institutions and corporations are involved in violations of international law or other activity damaging to human rights and our planet.

Please rest assured that my SNP colleagues and I at Westminster will continue to oppose this anti-democratic Bill at each stage of its legislative process in the House of Commons.

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@StewartMcDonald on Twitter

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