THINK GLOBAL. Act locally with Global Justice Now

Transcription

1 THINK GLOBAL Act locally with Global Justice Now November 2017

2 Contents 02 Welcome 03 News roundup 04 Trade democracy 06 Corporate power / Pharmaceuticals 08 Migrant solidarity 09 Aidwatch 10 Groups and activism news 12 Current materials Inserts Trade Trade democracy posterleaflet Trade white paper summary General Ninety-Nine magazine, September 2017 issue Pharmaceuticals Pills and Profits report (groups only) Big pharma is making a killing out of public money Morten Thaysen Policy team The pharmaceutical industry is probably the most profitable industry in the world and is certainly one of the most powerful. It s power that was used to sue South Africa for importing cheap drugs during the AIDS pandemic, and to charge very high prices for a drug that could cure hepatitis C. Today, essential medicines are priced out the of reach of large parts of the world, leading to the preventable death of millions. The common defence for these costs is the need for research and development (R&D), but this conveniently overlooks the key role of public money in developing new drugs. And then there s the huge costs of marketing. Most big pharmaceutical companies spend more on this than they do on R&D. Both of these issues are exposed in our new report, Pills and Profits: How drug companies make a killing out of public money. However, there has been inspiring resistance to the power of big pharmaceutical companies, such as the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, which has been instrumental in securing the largest universal AIDS programme in the world. That s why we re so excited to be hosting Sibongile Tshabalala, national chair of the TAC, as part of our nationwide speaker tour this month. We d really encourage you to get to one of the events if you can (listed on page 7). But this isn t just an issue for the global south it affects us here in the UK as well. Last year alone the NHS spent more than 1bn on drugs that were discovered with significant public funding. Essentially the public ends up paying twice for drugs - first when they are developed and then again when we buy them. And in some cases UK patients have had to go without medicines discovered in the UK, because companies were charging too much money for the NHS to afford them. From South Africa to the UK, it s the same multinational pharmaceutical companies restricting access to medicine. Our new campaign is demanding that politicians put affordability conditions on new health research. Over the long term we need to overhaul the entire R&D system to make sure we keep health technology under public control. A great way to start campaigning on these issues is with a stall on World Aids Day on 1 December or a screening of the film Fire in the Blood. See more info on page 6. 2 November 2017

3 News from Global Justice Now In the media We launched our new report on the pharmaceutical industry in October with an hour-long BBC Radio 5 Live show a mustlisten. The report was also covered in the Telegraph, Independent and the BBC News website. Nick Dearden has written several comment pieces on trade recently - for the New Statesman, Red Pepper, Al Jazeera and Novara Media. Jean Blaylock was interviewed on BBC World Service and Radio 4 in September. Our stall at Labour conference was featured in the Daily Express, while our event at SNP conference made the National. Aisha Dodwell, our policy manager, was quoted in the Guardian on aid following Priti Patel s speech at the Conservative conference. When the Great Repeal Bill was introduced to parliament in September, we held a Henry VIII stunt with Another Europe is Possible to protest the bill s unaccountable powers. It was on all the main evening news bulletins (BBC, ITV, Channel 4), and there were photos in the Telegraph and the i. Local group activities have also made it into the local press in both Manchester and Bradford see more info on page 10. Climate justice working group Climate and energy issues remain a key concern for Global Justice Now activists, and the next UNFCCC climate talks (COP23) are in Bonn this November. The German climate movement is mobilising to push governments not to backslide on the meagre commitments they made in Paris in In order to maintain a small campaign stream on climate justice issues, we re experimenting with a new structure - an activist-led network within Global Justice Now of people interested in climate justice. It s actually more similar to the way ATTAC groups in Europe work and we re happy to report an initial meeting of about eight activists went well and two of them are now going to Bonn. Some other activities are also planned. If you d like to get involved in this group please sam.lund-harket@globaljustice.org.uk. New group websites As previously reported, those groups with their own websites (as opposed to a single page on our main site) will soon be getting a new look. The new template is now designed and we will be applying it to each site over the first weeks of November. We ll each group concerned when this has happened. Action checklist Pharmaceuticals Organise a stall around the time of World Aids Day. Put on a screening of Fire In The Blood. Promote and come along to a speaker tour event. Migration Organise a Having difficult conversations workshop. Trade Plan to attend the the National Action for Trade Democracy, 5-6 February Submit a response to trade white paper if you have time before the 6 November deadline. November

4 Trade democracy Global Justice Glasgow holds a stunt outside SNP conference It s been an exciting couple of months for the debate around the future of UK trade. Our push for greater democratic accountability on future UK trade deals is beginning to yield results, with more and more politicians backing our stance. Labour s shadow trade secretary, Barry Gardiner, told the TUC that his party would fight every step of the way to ensure the Trade Bill provides for proper parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals in the future. He also reaffirmed the fact that Labour rejects the concept of ISDS in all its forms. Also, at the time of writing, 101 MPs from various parties had signed early day motion 128 that calls for parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals. So our campaign for trade democracy is gathering a head of steam at Westminster. Meanwhile in Scotland, the SNP s trade spokesperson Hannah Bardell called for Scotland to develop its own trade policy an opportunity we intend to use, together with the Trade Justice Scotland Coalition (to which we belong), to push for a trade policy based on democracy and social justice. DIARY DATE: National Action for Trade Democracy, 5-6 February 2018 To build on this momentum, we are seeking to escalate the campaign for trade democracy through a significant mobilisation early in 2018, organised jointly with War on Want. Over two days there will be a mixture of training, education, action on the street and a mass lobby of MPs at Westminster, as well as opportunities to meet other activists and strengthen the national network of trade campaigners. Monday 5 February (in and around the City of London, starting around lunchtime) Trade impact tour: take a walk around London hot spots to unveil the real impact 4 November 2017

5 that the next raft of free trade deals could have locally. Public meeting: Trading with Trump: a post Brexit nightmare? A panel discussion to debate the latest developments in trade deal negotiations. Speakers tbc. Trade activists meet-up: join other activists to talk trade politics over some food and a social. Tuesday 6 February (based in and around parliament) Trade democracy demo: we ll gather in a central location with banners, chants and speakers to make our views known. Mass lobby of MPs: meet your MP, present the arguments for trade democracy and try and convince them to support our key demands. There will be support in lobbying skills before this. We re encouraging people to come for the full mobilisation, but obviously not everyone will be able to do so, and each event will work as a stand-alone activity as well. More information, check out our website globaljustice.org.uk/events. The event page will be updated as plans progress. For people needing accommodation in London, there will be a list of recommended options on this page. Liam Fox s white paper The Department for International Trade, led by Liam Fox, has released a white paper called Preparing for Our Future UK Trade Policy. It is available online at uk/government/publications/preparing-forour-future-uk-trade-policy DEADLINE Monday 6 November We encourage groups and activists to submit responses to the white paper. The white paper invites responses to be sent by to stakeholder.engagement@trade.gsi.gov. uk by 6 November. To help you do this, see the insert summarising the white paper and guide to responses. MP lobbying We re currently focusing our lobbying efforts on increasing the number of MPs who ve signed Early Day Motion 128. The total number of signatories is 101 at the time of writing, with 38 out of the 59 Scottish MPs having signed it due to the hard work of Scottish activists. This means the EDM is now the fourth most popular in this parliamentary session, and there s no reason why we can t get this even higher in the list. You can check the latest list of signatories here: If your MP has yet to sign, you can take the action on our website at globaljustice.org.uk/ campaigns/trade. Better still, write to them in your own words outlining your concerns and the need for trade democracy. We re especially keen to see more centre ground Labour MPs sign up to the campaign so if you re in one of these constituencies, all the more reason to have a go at lobbying your MP directly. It s also worth noting that frontbench Conservative MPs (ie those who are part of the government) do not sign EDMs as a matter of course. The parliamentary tradition is that frontbench Labour MPs (shadow ministers) do not sign EDMs either, although it is still worth asking as some recent shadow ministers have been known to. However, whoever your MP is, there are two further requests we d encourage you to make: Ask them to attend the trade democracy campaign parliamentary launch on 21 November, chaired by Caroline Lucas ( pm, Room C, 1 Parliament Street). Ask them to write a letter to the trade secretary, Liam Fox, about scrutiny of future trade deals. Lastly, if you do organise a lobbying meeting with your MP, please fill in the Citizens Researcher Action. You can find this in the shared drive at globaljustice.org.uk/drive. November

6 Corporate power/ Pharmaceuticals Activists in South Africa protest pharmaceutical company proftis and patient deaths New report Last month, we launched our new report: Pills and Profits: How drug companies make a killing out of public research. The report exposes how publicly funded research and development of new drugs gets bought up by drug companies who then sell the drugs at extortionate prices back to the NHS. The report is a joint initiative with StopAIDS and will be used for advocacy and lobbying. We have included one copy for the group contacts, please contact the office you would like more copies. Take action on World Aids Day, 1 December World AIDS Day is on 1 December and it s a great opportunity do a stall and to talk to people about problems with access to medicine. HIV medication has been a key battle ground between big pharmaceutical companies and patients as described in the documentary Fire in the Blood (see below). There has been some improvement since, but still a million people a year die from AIDS, and even if some cheaper HIV medication is now available, there are still big problems. If HIV positive patients experience side effects or become resistant to older, cheaper drugs, they require newer third-line options that cost at least 18 times as much. Even in the UK some HIV medications are still restricted, such as PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) which can prevent you from getting HIV if you re in a high risk group. The effectiveness of PrEP was proven in a largely UK-funded study, but still Gilead (which sells PrEP) is demanding so much money for it, the NHS can t afford it. The leaflets, posters and scratch cards sent in the September Think Global can form the basis of a stall kit. There are plenty more in the office. tamara.hopewell@ globaljustice.org.uk to order more materials. 6 November 2017

7 Fire in the Blood film screenings Fire in the Blood is an internationally acclaimed documentary that tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south in the years after causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths. The story is told through contributions from campaigners and global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz. We have acquired a license to screen this film in 10 locations, so if you would like to organise a public screening of the film in your local area, please get in touch with Tamara: tamara.hopewell@globaljustice.org.uk For more information and to see a trailer: fireintheblood.com Speaker tour At the time of writing we are preparing to host our South African speaker Sibongile Tshabalala, who was recently elected national chair of the Treatment Action Campaign. TAC has been at the forefront of the struggle for access to medicine in South Africa. The speaker tour will be part of our public launch of the campaign along with the report launch for which we got substantial coverage (see page 3). Sick of corporate greed speaker tour dates 31 October: LONDON 7pm, Seven Dials Club, 42 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LA 1 November: READING 7.30pm, RISC, London Street, Reading RG1 4PS 2 November: LEEDS 7pm, Woodhouse Community Centre, 197 Woodhouse Street, Leeds LS6 2NY 3 November: LIVERPOOL 7.30pm, The Casa Bar, 29 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BQ 4 November: BRISTOL 2.30pm, Quaker Meeting House, Champion Square, Bristol BS2 9DB 7 November: DUNDEE 7pm, Dalhousie LT1, Dundee University 8 November: NOTTINGHAM 7pm, Friends Meeting House, 25 Clarendon Street, Nottingham NG1 5JD 9 November: BRIGHTON 7pm, Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton BN1 1YD 10 November: FALMOUTH 6pm, Lecture Hall 1, Woodlane Campus, Falmouth TR11 4RH Speaker tour leaflet November

8 Migrant solidarity Recent activities We organised a successful fringe meeting at Labour party conference in September on the importance of defending free movement, and also extending it beyond the EU. We also took part in The World Transformed and organised an event discussing open borders. In September we joined the Stop The Arms Fair week of protest. Working with migrant groups we organised on the day of action aimed at preventing the privatisation of borders and showing solidarity with migrants and refugees who suffer violence at borders. Campaign direction Global Justice Now staff have been engaging in an extensive period of outreach to partners in the migrant rights field in order to develop our campaign plans and strengthen relationships, while a number of groups have been building stronger local relationships in this area. Based on this, and outreach to Global Justice Now groups that we have begun (see below), we are developing plans for campaigning and education around two themes. First, the hostile environment for migrants that is being created in the UK, ranging across the media, access to public services and the law. This is a very immediate andd practical campaign which allies in the migrant rights movement are already working on. Secondly, however, we want to focus some policy work on developing the arguments we need to build a movement towards open borders and free movement globally. By introducing these ideas into mainstream debates we can both build towards a long term goal and shift the terms of the debate around migration in the short run. Global Justice Glasgow has produced these fantastic Paddington Bear t-shirts. They re happy share information about how to make them. Group support on migration Following the group survey earlier this year, we have started contacting groups that are most interested in migration campaigning to discuss potential local activities with them and to inform our national campaign plans. If your group would like to have a conversation with us, ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk. Having difficult conversations about migration workshops We are now able to provide more How to have difficult conversations about migration workshops, previously provided by Hope Not Hate. These workshops explore techniques for trying to persuade people that don t already completely agree with a progressive approach to migration. If you would like to book a workshop, ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk. 8 November 2017

9 Aidwatch At September s Conservative Party conference, it was clear that our work campaigning against for-profit private development consultants profiting off the aid budget has been having an impact. Priti Patel, the secretary of state for international development, announced in her conference speech the government s plans to crack down on excessive profiteering from the aid budget by private consultants. We also did successful media work on the issue, including coverage in the Guardian. And we hope to have some more high profile media coverage later this year. Our aid report Re-imagining UK Aid, which was launched in July, has been well received by politicians and others in the aid industry. Global Justice Now staff have been invited to meet with parliamentarians and various aid practitioners to share our ideas for how the UK aid budget could be spent to ensure it truly addresses poverty and inequality overseas. We have also been invited to speak at various events, including parliamentary events and NGO conferences. National activists Facebook group The aim of this group is to share info on local campaigning in a less formal way. If you re on Facebook, search Global Justice Now activists and request to join. Google drive To help Global Justice Now activists share resources and information, we ve created a shared Google drive. This is a place where documents and files can be shared by anyone (so it is crucial that you do not include sensitive information). Find it at globaljustice.org.uk/drive. Riseup list This is an interactive list for GJN activists which any member can post to. It s actually a pretty low traffic list, but it s especially useful if you re an active member of a group who isn t the group contact, as the activism team uses it to get relatively urgent info out from time to time. sam.lund-harket@ globaljustice.org.uk to be added. In addition, we co-organised a fringe event at this year s Labour party conference on the future of aid spending and spoke alongside shadow secretary of state for international development Kate Osamor to help shape the future of Labour s development policy. We are now busy researching for a new publication looking into a particular fund supported by UK aid the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). We hope that this will be ready for publication in December. November

10 Groups and activism news Party conference and trade actions A Donald Trump doppelganger a.k.a Steve and Bob from Global Justice Glasgow greeted Scottish National Party delegates as they arrived at their autumn conference. Waving a rubber chlorinated chicken and handing out leaflets, Trump was there to highlight our conference fringe event on the dangers of post-brexit trade deals and the need for Scotland to have a voice on trade deals which was later proposed by the SNP (see the trade section above). Global Justice Bradford successfully lobbied two local MPs, Naz Shah and John Grogan, to sign EDM 128, demanding trade democracy and got the story covered in their local paper. In September Alison Skinner, chair of Global Justice Leicester, spoke to the Leicester Trades Council monthly meeting about our new trade campaign. There was a lot of interest and there may be potential for partnership as the campaign develops. The group is also hoping to co-organise a Don t Dump Fairtrade demo at a local Sainsbury s on the day of action 28 October. Festivals and outreach activities Groups and activists have been getting out and about engaging people on the street or at events Global Justice Manchester organised a similar stunt at the Conservative Party conference demonstration, with another Trump doppleganger waving a chlorinated chicken, dancing with a masked Liam Fox. The group got 50 trade postcards signed and a photo in the Manchester Evening News. Global Justice Nottingham used the Giant Corporate Monopoly board at the Green Festival in September. It attracted a lot of attention and was the starting point for some good conversations (picture above). Global Justice Leicester had a stall at a CND peace event alongside other groups, using the opportunity to talk to more people about their activities. The group have also 10 November 2017

11 managed to secure a permanent exhibition for the Monsanto photos at a local Asian neighbourhood centre. Global Justice Merseyside have been out on the street promoting campaigns around migrants rights and food sovereignty. They also teamed up with Global Justice Bolton teamed up to run a stall a Wigan Diggers Festival, where the giant Corporate Monopoly proved an effective tool to engage people. of workshops on alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. Public meetings Groups across the country have been organising public meetings on everything from trade justice to migrants rights to food sovereignty. Global Justice Derby organised a public meeting with Nick Dearden about trade and Brexit. Global Justice Reading organised a public meeting, Putting people before profit building a new global economy with Nick Dearden. It was part of Reading International Festival and attracted 75 people. Rotherham for Global Justice ran a stall focusing on the trade campaign at Rotherham Mela (picture above). Global Justice Cambridge used the giant Corporate Monopoly game to run a stall at the Cherry Hinton Village Festival., where the game went down well. Global Justice Bristol organised a public meeting and community meal exploring the links between migration and the food system, with speakers from Migrant Right s Network, FoodCycle Bristol and Real Economy Bristol. Global Justice Shropshire organised their most successful ever public meeting, with Patrick Holden, CEO of Sustainable Food Trust speaking to over 100 people. Youth action Global Justice York (youth group) organised a well-attended public meeting and campaign training on migration and are organising a postcard campaign for the women and children held in Yarl s Wood detention centre as a follow-up. In Falmouth, following a successful fresher s fair stall, FXU Global Justice Now organised a screening of Fire in the Blood and are hosting an event as part of the speaker tour. Our Future Now, the Global Justice Now London youth group, are working on a series November

12 Current materials Food sovereignty BOOKLET: Farmers under fire BRIEFING: Post-Brexit alternatives to the Common Agricultural Policy BOOKLET: On Solid Ground (agroecology) REPORT: From The Roots Up (agroecology) BRIEFING: Problems with corporate controlled seeds BRIEFING: From handouts to the super-rich to a hand-up for small-scale farmers Energy justice LEAFLET: Repowering the future: Municipal energy in practice BRIEFING: Towards a just energy system Trade BRIEFING: Twenty ways to fight for trade democracy BRIEFING: Giving away control ACTION CARD: Dangerous deals done in the dark DISCUSSION PAPER: Ten alternatives to a corporate trade agenda BRIEFING: Trading with Trump LEAFLET/POSTER: If you liked TTIP you ll love CETA BRIEFING: CETA: TTIP s little brother BRIEFING: Five reasons TTIP and CETA are a disaster for the climate REPORT: TTIP and tax justice BRIEFING: Regulatory Cooperation Migration POSTER: Bin the Daily Mail - Migrants welcome here ACTION SLIP: M&S stop funding hate POSTER: M&S stop funding hate BRIEFING: Migrant crisis or poverty crisis? Pharmaceuticals **NEW REPORT: Pills and profits LEAFLET: Sick of corporate greed ACTION CARD: Sick? PACK OF BRIEFINGS POSTER: imagine if the NHS couldn t afford the medicine to save your life General materials REPORT: Re-imagining UK aid BRIEFING: Re-imagining UK aid executive summary BRIEFING: Decimating rights (Great Repeal Bill) REPORT: Honest Accounts How the world profits from Africa s wealth BRIEFING: The Dangers of Trump LEAFLET: Stop Trump coalition HOW TO GUIDES: Guides to various aspects of activism SIGN-UP SHEET: Double-sided, Global Justice Now branded STICKERS and BADGES LEAFLET: There is No Alternative membership leaflet POSTER: Trumped up world MAGAZINE: Latest issue of Ninety-Nine Scotland specific materials BRIEFING: Scottish migration briefing BRIEFING: Update for trade campaigners BRIEFING: Principle for a just trade system You can now find this list online, with links to electronic versions of the materials so you can see what they re like. Just go to globaljustice.org.uk/current-materials Exploring alternatives booklets BOOKLET: Another Economy is Possible - economic democracy BOOKLET: Seeds of Change - food sovereignty BOOKLET: Rays of Hope - energy justice