Angus Robertson: Independent Scotland would have a seat at the UN

An independent Scotland would be a "good global citizen" with a seat at the UN, Angus Robertson has said.

The Scottish Government has today launched the latest in its series of papers making the case for constitutional change.

The eleventh in the Building a New Scotland series, it covers international policy and positions the country as includes applying for a membership to global organisations including Nato, protecting and promoting Scottish interests internationally, as well as giving aid to developing countries, establishing a Scottish armed forces and removing nuclear weapons from Scotland.

External Affairs Secretary Robertson said: “Scotland is already making a contribution on the world stage, where we can, to address global poverty, the climate and biodiversity crises and threats to human rights.”

Robertson said membership into various international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union would allow Scotland to negotiate directly in these organisations to push the country's values and "ensure our voice is heard on critical global issues, such as on the Israel-Gaza conflict".

The proposals say Scottish defence policy would aim to be modern, effective, and flexible and Nato membership would allow the government to work towards Scotland’s goals of creating a global peace.

Previous papers have covered areas including citizenship, the economy and culture.

Robertson said: "Ultimately, independence would enable Scotland to determine the kind of state it wants to be on the world stage."