THINK GLOBAL. Act locally with Global Justice Now

Transcription

1 THINK GLOBAL Act locally with Global Justice Now May 2016

2 Contents 02 Welcome 03 News roundup 04 Migration 06 EU refferendum 07 Food sovereignty campaign 09 Trade justice campaign 10 Energy democracy campaign 11 Groups and activism news 12 Current materials Inserts CETA postcards Migration briefing EU referendum briefing EU referendum leaflet (sample) Take Back Our World festival flyers The view from Scotland: possibilities still flowering Liz Murray Scotland team Over a year and a half ago, Scottish politics changed. The independence referendum brought a huge surge in political engagement and contrary to the expectations of many, it hasn t gone away. We re still seeing incredibly high levels of political participation: in elections, in political parties and in campaigning in general. The new political formations that developed were mostly proindependence, but often had a broader concern for social justice. And that has led to an increased engagement with Global Justice Now campaigns: Women for Independence and Radical Independence Campaign local groups have picked up the issue of TTIP and CETA and helped to make this a major issue in Scotland today. This is because those issues chime so closely with what many people saw as a key issue in the independence referendum: the concentration of power into the hands of the few, and away from the many. What lessons can we draw from this? An obvious one is that we need to react flexibly to political developments around us we proactively sought relationships with new groups to help engage them with corporate power. But it also shows the importance of putting in efforts to create communities. Getting people together face to face, in town halls, community centres, even pubs, as well as online strengthened people s sense of political commitment by helping them learn from each other and to discuss and debate the issues that were really important to them. Discussions and debates in many cases took on a positive slant people started to consider alternatives beyond the boundaries of conventional political discourse. To me, this shows how imperative the work of local activist groups is. Sometimes, when the national mood is not so lively as it was in Scotland, this can be difficult. But creating opportunities to bring people together to discuss, debate, and of course to take action is a fundamental part of a democratic society. By being flexible, reactive but also committed and sustained in your work, Global Justice Now activists play a fundamental role in making society more democratic, and helping to create the conditions for a more just society. More power to you! 2 May 2016

3 News from Global Justice Now National Gathering 4 June, 10am-6pm 7-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA This year s national gathering, which incorporates the AGM, includes a session with Shadow International Development Secretary Diane Abbott, as well as sessions on public energy, the latest on TTIP and CETA, a campaign surgery and an open space session. It s proving very popular, so if you haven t booked your place, please do so now. For more info and to book, see globaljustice.org.uk/national-gathering-2016 Take Back Our World festival Tickets on sale for the Take Back Our World festival, our weekend of radical politics, creativity and celebration. Flyers are included. We re hoping to get lots of young people along so do promote this to any you think might be interested. Media The day before the far right was due to march in Dover, we projected Refugees Welcome in enormous letters on the nearby white cliffs. The projection was featured in Mashable, the i-100, the frontpage of the Morning Star, as well as appearing in the coverage of the march in the Sun, the Express, the Daily Mail and the BBC. In April we had our most successful week on facebook in the history of the organisation, gaining 1,500 new likes on the page (we normally average ) and reaching for the first time a million post reach. The content that was posted on our facebook page for that week was exposed to over 1.2 million people. A big thank you to everyone who regularly shares and likes our content. Adam Smith International It s never been a better time to be an aidfunded business DfID spends some 1.4 billion through private contractors annually, with most of it going to just a handful of private development consultants. Enclosed you ll find our new report exposing how the consultancy firm Adam Smith International (ASI), receives hundreds of millions of the UK s aid budget, including 90million in 2014 alone. This report marks the start of our Aid Watch work which is about exposing the growing trend of UK aid money being diverted away from its intended purpose of poverty reduction and instead being used to benefit private business. Action checklist Food sovereignty Organise a stall or stunt using the new Monsanto stunt pack Trade Get people to sign the new CETA postcard to MPs in Westminster Lobby your Conservative MP over TTIP and CETA Climate/energy Come to the Going Backwards on Climate Change demonstration in London Migration Raise awareness of our migration work organise a talk with Alex Scrivener, or contact local media Come to Calais, or organise a stunt to highlight the deaths of migrants EU referendum Host an EU debate in your local area If you are in a relevant city, get involved in the Another Europe is Possible tour. May

4 Migration A day before an anti-immigrant demonstration we projected this message on to the cliffs of Dover Last year we asked local groups whether we should work on migration. We believed that, given the sharp rise in anti-immigration sentiment, the scale of suffering and death on Europe s borders, and the lack of coverage of the causes of migration, we had something to say. Activists were worried about workload, but largely thought there was an important gap to be filled. The crisis has gone from bad to worse, with 1,000 people having drowned in the Mediterranean in just one week this April. The response of many European countries, including Britain, has been disgraceful, and the EU risks undermining its much talked up ideals of human rights and democracy, as potential refugees are refused entry to Europe, shot at and turned back by British warships. Why campaign on migration? The purpose of our work on migration, however, is to go further than talking about refugees. We want to: Challenge the demonisation of immigrants in popular discourse, talking about rights more than humanitarianism Research the causes of migration, particularly the role of British policies, and propose free movement as a means of tackling poverty and inequality Push for more just policies in the UK and EU on immigration Key arguments, and campaign materials Our new briefing is now available, laying out our key arguments and our position on immigration, and a more concise leaflet for use on stalls that will be ready mid-may. activism@globaljustice.org.uk to order copies. Key points that we make include: A just policy on migration goes beyond those fleeing war and violence. People fleeing poverty and unemployment, climate change and dispossession are also human beings with rights. 4 May 2016

5 Western policies have increased poverty, inequality, climate change and conflict. It is unconscionable to leave people in their misery when our government s policies have helped create that misery. Freedom of movement can help redistribution of wealth and can create a more equal world. Although we can t lift all borders overnight, we should work towards a world with fewer borders. What we ve done so far We ve made a start to this work in early One day before an anti-immigrant demonstration in Dover, we projected Refugees Welcome onto the white cliffs nearby, an action which featured in the online sites of the Daily Mail, Express, Sun, Indy 100 and Mashable. We think it was our most covered stunt ever. We also launched a campaign to stop David Cameron s response to the immigration crisis, namely sending warships to the Mediterranean to turn back migrants to Libya a country whose chaos Cameron is in no small part responsible for. We got coverage of this campaign on the Independent website and are now looking at possible follow up actions. Finally, we have sponsored a solidarity trip to Calais, organised by Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC). We see this as more political than traditional aid as the delegation is challenging notions that white people provide aid to black people, and the activists are also involved in making aid efforts more culturally appropriate. The projectionist Feral-X at work lifejackets to highlight the loss of life and the inhumanity of EU and British policies. 2. Make sure your local MP, MEPs and local newspapers know your opinions. Use our briefing to help write letters. 3. Support or take part in a solidarity mission to Calais let us know and we can help and advise. A big delegation will go out on 12 June. 4. Invite policy officer Alex Scrivener from to come and talk to your group. Involve local migrant and refugee rights groups to make better links. For more information about our migration work, contact alex.scrivener@globaljustice. org.uk. How you can get involved So far most of the campaigning we have done has been carried out by staff, but we d really encourage groups and activists to get involved from now. If you want to, we have some suggestions! 1. Organise a stunt to highlight the deaths of migrants. You could use clothes or May

6 EU referendum Earlier this year we asked members whether we should take a position on the EU referendum. We received overwhelming support for a stay in the EU to change Europe position. As the referendum approaches, we have registered to campaign and are working with trade unions, MPs such as Caroline Lucas and Clive Lewis, and NGOs like Friends of the Earth. Why? The EU is deeply flawed captured by corporations, committed to neoliberalism, with a democratic black hole. After the disgraceful imposition of depression on Greece, we understand why progressive citizens might want to vote to leave. However, we also believe that we can change Europe, but only by staying in and joining with people from across the continent. We have more chance of confronting corporate power and halting climate change in the EU than as a small nation state. Furthermore, since this debate is becoming a referendum on immigration and human rights, Brexit will not help a progressive agenda for change. Our position Our position, agreed by council after consultation with groups, is as follows: The choice we re being presented with between a big business dominated EU and a nationalist free market Britain is a deeply unattractive one. We do not wish to take either of these sides, as neither represents the sort of fair, just and sustainable world we want to see. Instead, we want to use this referendum to press for a better world. However, we believe the implications of this referendum are relevant to many of Global Justice Now s campaigns. We find it difficult to imagine how we could create the better world that we seek outside the EU. We want to join with the many exciting movements and campaigns across Europe to transform this continent. We do not believe that standing alone, with governments which have consistently pushed for more free market solutions in Europe, offers any hope. We therefore call for an in vote, in order to begin that process of transformation. We believe the referendum is the beginning and not the end of our campaign for a better Europe. The story so far We have launched a briefing explaining our position, and we are producing a series of articles to try to move the debate onto progressive terrain and critique the current terms of the debate. We will be producing a leaflet soon. We have worked with European initiatives such as DIEM25 and Plan B, as well as the alternative remain campaign Another Europe is Possible, to use the referendum to create long-term change in the EU. The next conference is expected to be held in Copenhagen in the Autumn. How can you get involved 1. Host a debate in your local area. Even if you are supporting one side rather than the other, you don t need to worry about registering unless you re spending over 10, Get involved in debates in your areas and try to inject our issues into the meeting and/ or hold a stall. Order more briefings or leaflets from activism@globaljustice. org.uk. 3. If you are in Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, London or Newcastle, get involved in the Another Europe is Possible tour. Get details from Michael Chessum: chessum.michael@gmail.com 6 May 2016

7 Food sovereignty Spoof round up labels applied to bottles on shop shelfves Expose Monsanto Group contacts should have received their Monsanto stunt packs in the post by now. If you have not or would like more of any of the materials, please contact globaljustice.org.uk We are turning our attention on Monsanto as we continue to challenge corporate power in the food system. Monsanto is one of the biggest players in corporate agriculture in the world and is at the heart of the push for corporate control of agriculture that we are campaigning against. Monsanto is also one of the corporate partners in the New Alliance. Monsanto s main weed-killer, Roundup, accounts for a third of company sales. But the chemical in Roundup, glyphosate, has been classified as probably causing cancer by the World Health Organisation. The EU is currently considering the relicensing of this toxic chemical and there will be a decision on this on 18/19 May. Leading up to this date, we are encouraging groups to use our Monsanto stunt pack to help raise awareness and take action to stop Monsanto s toxic chemicals in Europe. Your stunt pack includes a guide to help you plan your actions. It would be great if you could use your stunt pack before 18/19 May before the EU decision is taken! Also please use the hashtag #MonsantoExposed if you tweet any photos of your actions. We also have a webpage to support this action (globaljustiice.org.uk/monsanto) where you can upload any photographs you take using the Monsanto materials. What are the risks of doing the in-store Monsanto action? As part of the stunt pack, one of our suggestions is that activists may wish to enter May

8 shops where Roundup is held and to put the spoof labels on bottles of Roundup. We have been asked about the risks associated with this and so are offering this note of clarification. Overall the probability of getting into trouble with the law is very small, but activists are advised that they are undertaking this action at their own risk. The main risk will be if a member of staff from the retailer approaches you about your action. If they ask you to remove the label or to leave, you can mitigate this risk by complying with their request. Also, please note we are not campaigning against the retail stockists of Roundup nor are we boycotting the product, so we encourage activists to be polite to shop staff and to other customers. New! Made by Monsanto W E E D K I L L E R The World Health Organisation classifies this product as probably causing cancer #Monsanto Roundup degrades farmers power Monsanto Profits: 5.5 billion For use in: Corporate takeover Challenging the New Alliance in the European parliament At the time of writing, the European parliament s development committee has just voted on the amendments of the draft report on the New Alliance. We were pushing for a recommendation that the EU withdraw its support from the New Alliance. However MEPs on the committee have voted on a compromise which stops short of asking for withdrawal and instead asks for the deficiencies of the New Alliance to be addressed. Unfortunately, this is not as strong as we would have liked but the overall tone and content of the report still echoes our critique of the New Alliance and is still useful for the campaign. The report will be voted on at a plenary session of the European parliament in May or June. If the plenary votes for the report, it will become an official European parliamentary report and will then be sent to the European commission who will have to provide an official response within three months. What can groups do? At the time of writing we have not seen the final report but once we have, we will groups with a full assessment and an update on what actions to take next on this. People s food policy One of the key outcomes from the national food sovereignty gathering last October was a working group set up by the movement to work on a people s food policy based on the principles of food sovereignty (this will primarily be for England as Scotland and Wales already have a process). The process is starting by getting volunteers to organise workshops in communities so that it is a bottom-up process of working out the policies. The working group has developed workshop guidelines to enable people to run their own workshops, if your group is interested, you can find out more by going to the UK food sovereignty movement website: foodsovereigntynow.org.uk. You can also speak to Heidi at the office: heidi.chow@globaljustice.org.uk. Supporting and mobilising grassroots demands for food sovereignty in the UK is part of our support for the global movement for food sovereignty. 8 May 2016

9 Trade justice Crucial time to defeat CETA The Canada-EU deal CETA is now the trojan horse for TTIP. It s further advanced than TTIP and contains many of the same problems - including the corporate court system. Even though the EU has made changes to this system, it s stlll toxic, and would still allow big business to sue governments. CETA timeline June EU Council (made up of national leaders like Cameron) discuss final issues Sept EU Council ratifies CETA Jan-Feb EU parliament votes 2017 onwards - CETA goes to member parliaments From Romania to Belgium, governments are getting worried about aspects of CETA. In particular, there is every chance that June s EU Council will agree that CETA should be implemented after the EU parliament vote but before member state parliaments like Westminster have voted. We have a chance to stop this: 1. The enclosed postcard to MPs asks for CETA to be a mixed agreement meaning a vote in national parliaments would be necessary - though that vote still might happen after implementation. 2. We want to apply pressure to David Cameron to hold a vote in Westminster before CETA comes into effect. The last chance to do this is the June council. An EDM will be put down soon in parliament and we urge you to ask your MP to sign it. We can help get letters in local papers about this. Guy for help on this: guy.taylor@globaljustice.org.uk. TTIP Free Zones We re now up to 41 TTIP Free Zones, and student unions are coming on board as well the University of Manchester Students Union has now been declared a TTIP Free Zone. In April Barcelona municipality hosted a meeting of councillors and mayors against TTIP. A resolution was agreed which: Called for the immediate cessation of negotiations on TTIP Called for CETA not to be ratified Agreed to promote TTIP Free Zones and deepen the work that councils and councillors can do against TTIP and CETA. There will, at some point in the future be a follow up event in Grenoble and we hope to be able to organise a UK-wide event along the same lines. Holyrood candidates pledge to stop TTIP and CETA Scottish parliament candidates from across Scotland, and across all political parties (other than the Scottish Conservatives), have been signing our pledge against TTIP and CETA in the run up to the Holyrood elections in May. By signing the pledge, candidates are committing to opposing and speaking out against these trade deals if they are elected to the Scottish parliament. The pledge has been created by Scotland Against TTIP, the coalition of trade unions, NGOs and local activists that Global Justice Now in Scotland helped found. If you live in Scotland, you can take the e-action to persuade your local candidates to sign the pledge and oppose these trade deals, take the pledge along to hustings, or talk to your candidates about TTIP and CETA when you see them out canvassing. You can find both the e-action and the campaign pack on the Scotland Against TTIP website: scotlandagainstttip.org.uk. TTIP would hit Scotland hard New information exposes a serious threat to Scotland s sovereignty from TTIP. In May

10 answer to a parliamentary question, the UK government revealed that, under TTIP, the Scottish government would have to rely on the UK government to defend legal challenges from US trans-national companies over its policy decisions, but would have to pay the fine if the UK government lost the case. The Scottish parliament has passed stronger legislation on climate change, public health and public services than Westminster, and has a fracking moratorium in place. In other words, it s taking exactly the sort of decisions that could mean it gets sued by American companies if TTIP or CETA go through. Scottish day of action On 23 April a day of action against TTIP and CETA took place across Scottish towns and cities. Global Justice Glasgow joined with other Stop TTIP groups to take action in Glasgow, Irvine, Saltcoats, Coatbridge, Kirkcaldy and Dundee. Stalls and street theatre were used to engage the public. Climate and energy justice Switched On London We went along to Switched On London s launch this month. Thanks to the campaign all three of the leading mayoral candidates have now pledged to set up community-led green energy schemes for the city. The event brought together a refreshingly diverse mix of activists, campaigners and local residents from the south London Myatt s fields estate a battleground in the movement against gentrification and for fairer city living. After a hugely inspiring day, we are even more excited to be supporting the Switched On campaign in London, and other similar projects across the country. There is starting to be a small wave of local councils considering setting up their own energy company and opportunities for local groups to influence these proposals. If you hear about moves from your local council, please let our new campaigns assistant Kahra Wayland-Larty know via kahra.wayland-larty@globaljustice.org.uk European mobilisation Last August over 1500 people occupied an open-cast mine and blocked the coal diggers in one of the largest open cast coal mines in Europe near Cologne in Germany. This year the same group are aiming to stop a similarly gigantic mine in its tracks - the Lusatia mine in Eastern Germany. People are going to Lusatia from May to take action. If you re interested, details are here: ende-gelaende.org/en/. Going backwards on climate change demo Sunday 8 May, 12noon, Trafalgar Square Called by Campaign Against Climate Change. We ll be marching down Whitehall - but backwards! Join the Global Justice Now group - look out for our flags. As part of the march we ll hear from those directly affected by flooding in the UK, focus on the dismantling of our renewables industry, fracking, the expansion of Heathrow airport and campaign group Fuel Poverty Action. The march will end at the Treasury - responsible for so many of the backwards steps. And we ll hear positive messages from speakers including Natalie Bennett (Green Party) and Asad Rehman (Friends of the Earth). See globaljustice.org.uk/events 10 May 2016

11 Groups and activism news Global Justice Cleveland had a stall at a local farmers market in which they engaged families with gardening while talking about the New Alliance. One of their members has given two talks to local political groups about the effects of TTIP, and another member did a local radio interview, challenging the idea that overseas aid should be withdrawn to address domestic economic problems. Global Justice Sheffield worked with a wide range of other groups to organise How to Feed the World!, a day of action in solidarity with the International Day of Peasant Struggle. Along with an event at a local church, around 90 action cards against the New Alliance were signed. The London Action Network, a new Global Justice Now grouping in London, had a launch event at the end of April. Marina Prentoulis from Syriza UK spoke about the importance of grassroots mobilisation and they started to develop campaign plans. Global Justice Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Northamptonshire worked with Ed Lewis to organise the East Midlands Gathering. This was a very successful day for activists in Leicester, with on the new Monsanto campaign and the EU referendum, which led to plans for more campaigning around the Monsanto petition and CETA action. Global Justice Gloucestershire organised two public discussions in April one on the Sustainable Development Goals, and another on TTIP and CETA. Global Justice Glasgow have run stalls at the local Greens Conference and a Share the Seeds about the corporate take-over of food, co-organised a This Changes Everything film screening with Unison, and organised a pub-based get together with a local renewable energy expert. They have also attended MSP hustings, asking questions about climate change and CETA/TTIP and encouraging candidates to sign the MSP TTIP pledge. Members have also spoken at events organised by the Better than Zero campaign and a local mosque. Global Justice Merseyside organised a public meeting with Dan Iles from the food team, focusing on his trip to Tanzania and the political issues surrounding it. Students Against TTIP have been continuing to spread the word about TTIP and CETA, with activists speaking to groups in Cardiff, Liverpool and London. In Manchester, the Students Union has been developed a TTIP Free Zone thanks to pressure from SATTIP Global Justice Richmond and Kingston worked with a local Transition Towns group to organise a very successful event on the food campaign, Whose Food is it Anyway?, with around 45 people attending and lots of the campaign literature being distributed. Global Justice Watford organised a public meeting on the state of the climate movement following Paris. Global Justice Manchester have been developing a relationship with their local Unison branch and has organised stalls on TTIP and the agribusiness campaign, one of which was covered by a local newspaper online. Global Justice Bexhill and Hastings had a stall at the annual Peace and Justice Assembly, at which they distributed lots of materials and attracted new people to their group. They also organised a This Changes Everything screening with over 70 people. St Andrews TTIP Action Group and Stop TTIP Dundee activists have been promoting the TTIP Free Zones campaign in talks in Angus, Perth and Kinross, and the St Andrews group organised a demonstration on CETA to pressure their MEP to opposed the deal. May

12 Current materials Exploring alternatives booklets BOOKLET: Another Economy is Possible - economic democracy BOOKLET: Seeds of Change - food sovereignty BOOKLET: Rays of Hope - energy justice Food sovereignty MONSANTO ACTION PACK: includes spoof Roundup labels, Monsanto campaign leaflet, spoof Roundup leaflet REPORT: Irresponsible Investment BRIEFING: Growing evidence against the New Alliance ACTION CARD: Growing Power BOOKLET: On Solid Ground (agroecology) REPORT: From The Roots Up (agroecology) POSTER: Colonial infographic poster BRIEFING: Agribusiness campaign questions and answers BRIEFING: MP talking points (agribusiness) BOOKLET: Stop the corporate takeover of African food BRIEFING: Problems with corporate controlled seeds BRIEFING: Food sovereignty BRIEFING: Food sovereignty tricky questions Energy justice LEAFLET: Give corporate controlled energy the boot BRIEFING: Energy privatisation in Nigeria BRIEFING: Towards a just energy system (campaign overview) ACTION CARD: Energy justice in Nigeria BRIEFING: 10 reasons why energy privatisation fails FILM GUIDE: List of films relating to the campaign Recycle your inkjet cartridges Do you have old ink cartridges lying around or know someone who does? Why not turn them into people power? Global Justice Now will get up to 1 for every inkjet cartridge you send to Recycle 4 Charity for free. You can recycle your inkjet cartridge if it has a circuit board - the bit where the ink comes out - and if it is made by HP, Dell, Lexmark, Canon, Samsung or Neopost. Simply slip it into the Freepost envelope enclosed with this issue of Think Global and pop it in the post. Trade ** NEW ACTION CARD: CETA TTIP and tax justice TTIP and trade justice BRIEFING: The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership LEAFLET: 4-page TTIP leaflet FLYER: group-specific TTIP flyer BRIEFING: Five reasons TTIP and CETA are a disaster for the climate. BRIEFING: Regulatory Co-operation BRIEFING: CETA TTIP Free Zone campaign pack: POSTER, BADGE and LEAFLET BRIEFING: Profiting from people and the planet (general trade briefing) BRIEFING: Campaigning on TTIP in local authorities General materials LEAFLET: Another world is possible (about Global Justice Now with joining form) LEAFLET: Join a local group leaflet (can be overprinted with groups contact details) SIGN-UP SHEET: Double-sided, Global Justice Now branded STICKERS and BADGES