I AND most people in the Yes movement want to see Scotland independent – not to be separate or apart, but to join the world, making our own decisions at home and working with our friends and allies across the world.

This is why I always say in meetings that multilateralism and international law are baked into the SNP’s DNA.

We know we’re a smaller country in the wider world and that the challenges facing humanity like climate change, organised crime, resilience, cybersecurity and god forbid another pandemic or disease outbreak are in our interconnected world bigger than any one country, however big or small. Only working together will we achieve them.

So this week an initiative from our Nordic neighbours caught my eye. Jeppe Kofod, Pekka Haavisto, Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Ine Eriksen Søreide and Ann Linde – the five foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden respectively – signed a joint letter making a few startling commitments to the Council of Europe and to human rights more generally.

READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: Is Michael Gove's comedy sketch about Scots self-hate speech?

The Council of Europe is not the European Union. It was set up in the aftermath of World War Two and established in Strasbourg on the basis of international law. Today, 47 European states representing 830 million people have joined, committing to this foundation upon which our societies are built. It is lower profile than the EU, but still an important forum.

Crucially, it also runs the European Convention on Human Rights, administered by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg as the guarantor of individual citizen liberty against their own state. The convention is a rule book that states sign up to and they submit to external scrutiny of their own actions in order to keep the rights of their own citizens safe.

This is significant anywhere, but especially in some of the former Soviet states where the rule of law is less dug in and that external scrutiny is vital.

Covid has hit the Council of Europe and the court hard, same as it has everywhere else, and there has been a backlog in cases which is limiting the capacity and effectiveness of the court. There has also been backsliding among the member states in implementing some of the provisions they have signed up to, particularly the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, commonly known as the Istanbul Convention, and reversals on press freedom too.

Their joint statement says it best: “It continues to be our firm belief that international law, these principles and multilateral commitments are the necessary preconditions for peaceful, safe and just societies where everyone can thrive. Significant progress has been achieved in Europe in the last 70 years.

“Since being opened for signature 10 years ago, the Istanbul Convention has had a documented positive impact on prevention, ending impunity, and protecting victims – those who have survived domestic and gender-based violence. Violence against women is a grave human rights violation, and international standards to combat such violence must be upheld, implemented and strengthened.

“The elimination of gender-based violence, including against women, is central to advancing gender equality and ensuring women’s full enjoyment of human rights.

“Another worrying trend is the threat to media freedom and the safety of journalists in Europe and beyond.

“Without access to information and freedom of expression, the pluralism upon which democracy is predicated is seriously eroded. Journalists must be free to do their work without fear of violence, intimidation and harassment. It is deeply concerning that during the Covid-19 pandemic the threats faced by journalists have increased.

​READ MORE: Kevin McKenna: Tartan and Irn-Bru not enough to save this Union, Your Majesty

“The challenges to human rights in Europe are also reflected in the caseload of the European Court of Human Rights, which, despite many reforms, continues to be high, placing the court under significant pressure. Moreover, changing circumstances – such as the current pandemic – present a host of new questions for the protection of human rights.

“These and many other issues need to be addressed promptly by the court to ensure that the protection attained to date is not eroded.

“We, the Nordic foreign ministers, are convinced that threats to international human rights law, to democracy and the rule of law are best confronted through strong multilateral efforts. We therefore reaffirm our unyielding commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based international order where we all work together towards common goals.

“We further express our firm support for the European Court of Human Rights and its role as the guardian of human rights in Europe.

“To this end, we, the five Nordic countries, also pledge to support the court in strengthening its overall resources.”

There's a statement I would love to see a Scottish Government minister sign as well. There is a resource issue in the court and a political issue amongst the membership, and here is the Nordic bloc providing real leadership and focus to the wider organisation. A clarion call.

And for those who would say, correctly, that we Scots are already represented in the Council of Europe, by the UK, I’d say only: look at what the UK Government is saying and doing.

A government that walks away from solemn binding commitments within months. A government that regularly talks about unelected foreign judges. A government that presents human rights as luxuries for minority groups to abuse, not an underpinning of decent society. A government that talks about breaking international law “in a limited and specific way” – what a cracking lesson for the Lukashenkos and Putins of the world.

Damn right we’re represented by the UK, but we could do a damn sight better as an independent state doing it ourselves.