Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2017
I reinforce the point that I have just made. We will maintain our commitment to human rights. While we already consider human rights in all our engagements with other countries—we regularly raise these issues with countries when we meet them—we will do the same in our engagements with overseas businesses, and we will sign investment agreements only where appropriate due diligence has been undertaken, including on the human rights records of the companies involved.
I know that Amnesty International has today contacted members stressing two key points in relation to this debate. The first is that countries and businesses should know that human rights abuses affect their business and their credibility, and we agree with that. The second is that the Scottish Government must ensure that thorough due diligence is done on all future business relations, including a robust human rights impact assessment. We are happy to discuss with Amnesty International, as part of our regular engagement with it and as part of the Scottish Government’s overall approach to human rights, how such assessments could work and at what point in the process of investment they should take place. We are happy to have that discussion with Amnesty International. That builds on the work that we are already doing to give effect to the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights.
We believe that those lessons are important, because attracting investment is, of course, an essential part of building a stronger economy in Scotland. We are an attractive location in terms of skills and infrastructure, and the Government and our agencies build strong working relationships with potential and existing investors. This morning, the First Minister joined professional services firm Genpact to announce that it is expanding its European operation in Glasgow, creating more than 300 new jobs over the next five years.
In recent months, we have seen welcome investment from China that has not been the subject of such intense discussion, including by Red Rock Power Ltd, which wishes to invest in renewable developments, and Skymoons Digital Entertainment, which employs 21 people in the games industry. It is also true to say that companies that are active in the North Sea are owned by parent companies from China, and have been for some years.
Earlier this month I was in Germany to build on our trading links, and next week the First Minister will undertake a series of engagements in the USA that are focused on creating jobs, opportunities and economic links for Scotland.
In discussing trade, we cannot really fail to note that this morning saw the triggering of article 50 by the United Kingdom Government.