THINK GLOBAL
Act locally with Global Justice Now
July 2017 
Contents 02 Welcome 03 News roundup 05 Migration 06 Trade justice 08 Pharmaceuticals 10 Groups and activism update 12 Current materials
Inserts Migration
• Bin the Daily Mail Migrants welcome here poster
Trade
• Dangerous Deals leaflet/ action card • Giving Away Control? briefing • Ten alternatives to a corporate trade agenda discussion paper Cover photo: Global Justice Glasgow at a protest at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre
2 July 2017
The cracks in neoliberalism are widening Ed Lewis National organiser It’s been an extraordinary few weeks. We’ve witnessed violent attacks on the streets of the UK, the most remarkable general election in a generation, the start of the Brexit negotiations and the visceral anger around the Grenfell Tower fire. Coming after the events in 2016, it’s clear that we are living through a period of profound historical change. There is much to lament or to be angry about – but also huge possibilities for change. One thing that seems clear is that the neoliberal consensus that has been dominant among global elites since the 1980s is continuing to weaken. Recently, many of us have felt that the most powerful challenge to this consensus has come from reactionary forces – from the anti-migrant politics of hard Brexiteers, to Donald Trump’s obsessive attacks on globalisation, to the rise of far right politicians such as Marine Le Pen in France. Of course, a progressive challenge to neoliberalism has also been part of the story of the past few years – from the Occupy movement, to the Europe-wide campaign against TTIP to the rise of new political formations like Podemos in Spain or the Bernie Sanders campaign in the US. But recent events have brought the progressive challenge to neoliberalism much more sharply into view. Shortly after the election, Trump suggested he would not be coming on his visit to the UK, precisely because of the threat of the protests that Global Justice Now and others have been building for. In the election itself, the most radical Labour Party leadership in modern times saw the largest swing to the party in any election since 1945, as turnout among 18-24 year olds soared by over 20 points since the last election. The conviction that the British public is committed to a hard Brexit and continued austerity took a powerful blow. If there’s one lesson we can draw from the general election, it’s the power of collective action. By organising together, we can change things. With the cracks in neoliberalism widening, the future is ours to write.
News from Global Justice Now Honest Accounts 2017 report Our latest report on how the world profits from Africa’s wealth compares financial flows into and out of Africa and highlights how inflows such as aid and remittances are outweighed by factors such as tax avoidance and debt payments. You can read it at globaljustice.org.uk/resources
Media highlights
Our Honest Accounts report in May was covered in the Guardian, the National and the Independent, as well as generating coverage in international media such as El Pais and being featured on the main Al Jazeera news hour programme. A comment piece by Nick Dearden for Al Jazeera on the report was the top trending item for the entire English language section of the site for a sustained period. Our comment on Trump pulling out of the Paris Accord on climate was picked up by the Press Association and syndicated to over 300 regional newspapers. In April we were featured in the Guardian in the context of the aid money being scrutinised by a parliamentary watchdog,
Action checklist
as well as the protests that were taking place at the Pearson AGM over the issue of aid money being used to entrench private education systems in countries in Africa.
Groups consultation
Thanks to the 23 groups who responded to the groups consultation on our campaign priorities. We will include a full summary of the responses in the September Think Global. However, one outcome we can report is that the trade campaign was clearly the most popular both in terms of the importance of Global Justice Now working on it, and in terms of likely engagement from local groups. We’re developing the new trade campaign in a way that provides for plenty of group involvement. You may also have seen that a shorter, simpler version of the consultation was sent to all individual members, and we’re awaiting the results of that. These will need to be taken into account too as we plan our campaigning priorities in 2018, along with an analysis of the opportunities for creating change that we think there might be. Some campaigning around the pharmaceutical industry was already planned for the autumn, so it’s good that there’s enthusiasm in the network for this. Beyond decisions about campaign priorities, the other feedback on very specific issues such as the style of campaigns materials is all useful for us.
General Organise a stall with a Corporate Monopoly board game Migration Let us know if you want to join us at the M&S action inside or outside the AGM on 11 July
Trade Organise a speaker on the new trade campaign Collect signatures for the trade democracy petition Ask your MP the questions in the citizen researcher survey
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News continued General election update
Our response to the snap election was to promote democratic participation and the values and policies we stand for. We used social media and email to promote youth voting in particular, and had a number of policy successes as well – several parties (Labour, the Green Party, Plaid Cymru and the SNP) adopted some of our policies on trade in their manifestos. Labour’s number one position on aid was to address the role of private consultants – a key demand of ours. For group activities around the election, see pages 10-11.
Attac European Summer University 23-27 August, Toulouse, France As previously trailed, this is a major event bringing together activists from our sister organisations in ATTAC across Europe. Most sessions will either be in English or have simultaneous translation. Individual registrations are now open, and the full programme is available online www.esu2017.org. Speakers will include Susan George, Pablo Solon and many more. At the time of writing, hostel accommodation is still available in Toulouse. There is a group of Global Justice Now activists already booked, including 15 from our youth network. Let Sam know if you’re intending on coming and we can make sure GJNers meet up during the event: sam.lund-harket@globaljustice.org.uk 4 July 2017
Corporate Monopoly
As mentioned last month in Think Global Extra, our Corporate Monopoly game is back. We first brought it out two years ago and had very positive feedback so thought it’d be good to upadte it. The game centres on two Monopoly characters – the hat and the boot, representing the 1% and the 99% respectively. As each character proceeds along the board, they have different experiences, taking them through various issues in our campaigns. One version of the game is the same size as a regular monopoly board and will be foldable and easy to use on stalls. You can order these and keep them. We have also produced some giant versions of the board. They are 2 meters by 2 meters and can be rolled out and played on the floor. These are even more eye catching. We have three giant ones to loan out. The boards, especially the large-scale boards, work very well to attract people to stalls. The game is a very effective engagement tool and, because it relates to all of our campaigns, you can use it to talk about any one of them or the work of Global Justice Now more generally. Whatever version of the game you would like please order from Sam on 020 7820 4900 or by emailing activism@ globaljustice.org.uk.
The new version of our Corporate Monoppoly board game
Migration Take action at the M&S AGM
As the next phase of our campaign to get M&S to withdraw their advertising from the Daily Mail we’re taking action at their AGM on Tuesday 11 July. We’ll be sending a clear message to M&S shareholders as they enter the AGM in Wembley stadium, and presenting a letter signed by groups campaigning for migrant rights from across the UK calling on M&S to stop advertising in the Daily Mail. We’re taking action both outside the AGM and also inside – where we will be trying to read out the letter. • Where: The AGM is at Wembley Stadium, London. • When: We’ll be starting our action at 8.50am at Wembley Park tube station, and the main focus of our action outside the AGM will be from 9:20-11:00am. The action inside the AGM will be from 10.30am until around 1pm. If you’d like to join us please let Ed know on ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk. If you would like to join the action inside, make sure to mention that - we need a list of people who are prepared to go into the AGM to try and get the letter read out.
Deterring migrants from coming to Europe Late in June, Priti Patel’s Department for International Development announced plans to use £75 million of aid money to “help reduce the number of people risking the perilous Central Mediterranean route to Europe”. On paper, this could appear to be a promising move – ensuring safe passage to Europe, tackling exploitation and offering a safe haven in the UK to process asylum claims. But the truth is much of this money will be used to prevent people reaching Europe at
Global Justice Glasgow’s Paddington Bear protesting in solidarity with those locked up in Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre
all. It will be used to send people home, or to trap them in transit countries unable to reach their final destinations, or even to resettle them in a third country in an entirely different part of the world. It’s important we stay abreast of the antimigrant policies of the UK government, and we will keep a close eye on developments as the campaign progresses
Where next for our migration campaign? The groups consultation showed that there is enthusiasm from some groups for campaigning on migration, but groups wanted to see the campaign widen beyond the media, and also to have a clearer global dimension. Consequently, we are developing the campaign to take this into account. We also need to be mindful of the changing political context – the Queen’s Speech revealed that there will be a new Immigration Bill in this parliament, so we will be responding to that when there are further details. July 2017 5
As the UK looks to start making its own trade policy when it leaves the EU, there is a blank slate. If we do not seek to fill it with trade policy from the perspective of justice and rights, it will be filled by others. Those
Trade justice
change UK trade deals so that trade rules can complement and support the rest of society, here and around the world, and provide the space to enable people to build economic alternatives.
Photo: Anthony Quintano CC BY 2.0
Fearless Girl facing off with Charging Bull, sculptures near Wall Street in New York Trade as we tend to think of it in everyday language Trade has always been part of society and always is also a much wider, more varied subject than the will be. But it is only one aspect, not the most As we expected, the Queen’s Speech particular type of trade that is covered in trade important thing in our lives. Decent jobs, restoring included mention a trade bill tochange, be We don’t just need trade democracy in many deals. People trade things with each other in the environment andof tackling climate brought to parliament at some point in the order to try and stop bad trade deals, different kinds of markets, formally and informally, ending poverty, creating a more equal society, at many levels locally,toregionally, and respect foryears. rights and freedom from fear, good next two Detail was predictably scant, we need it in– order push for nationally a different internationally. Yet this complex web of different health, and education that helps everyone reach and no timetable has been given, but it’s a approach to trade. Some ideas for this have types trade is often by on trade rules their potential – all of things these things and more matter signal for us to get in motion. beenoflaid out in ourundermined new briefing trade which only privilege international commodities. far more in life than trade. Trade should help us alternatives (see below). achieve these things – it is not an end in itself.
Trade justice alternatives
The need for trade democracy What we do know is that major new trade deals can be expected – and at the moment, MPs have virtually no say over trade deals. They can’t set a mandate to guide the government’s negotiating positions, they can’t see the details of negotiations, they can’t amend deals and they can’t stop them. In turn, that massively limits the power that ordinary people have over trade deals – despite their huge significance for our lives.
That’s why, in this new phase of our trade campaigning, our first priority has to be demanding trade democracy. The UK will start negotiating new trade deals when we leave the EU – which means we may have less than two years to get a more democratic system of trade negotiations implemented. 6 July 2017
In Scotland, the Trade Justice Coalition that we helped to found, composed of Scottish NGOs, trade unions and local campaigners agreed a set of ten ethical principles on which future trade between the UK and the rest of the world should be based. In the run-up to the general election, we canvassed candidates asking them to sign up to our principles. Of those who signed up, four became MPs. We will now be in contact with those MPs to try and work with them to promote a more ethical and socially just approach to trade. You can read the ethical principles at gju.st/just-trade (opens a pdf).
New resources
We’ve produced three new resources with this issue of Think Global. • Dangerous Deals leaflet and postcard: An explainer leaflet with a detachable postcard to send to the trade secretary. • Giving Away Control briefing: Provides an introduction to the trade democracy issue. • Ten Alternatives to a Corporate Trade Agenda discussion paper: Starts a conversation on what a progressive vision of trade deals might be. Together with the earlier Trading with Trump briefing on a potential US-UK trade deal, these four resources provide a basis for the campaign. They give an overview of the need for a more accountable way of making trade deals, the risks from toxic trade deals that we would currently have no way of stopping, and the potential of building something better for the UK’s trade policy. Some copies of the new resources are enclosed. Please contact Effie if you would like more: effie.jordan@globaljustice.org.uk
Kicking off the campaign
Whether you’re part of a Global Justice Now local group or not, here are three actions you can take now to build this campaign:
1. Book a speaker Campaigners from the Global Justice Now offices would be very happy to come and speak about the new campaign at a local event. Contact Guy on guy. taylor@globaljustice.org.uk if you would be interested to have someone come along.
2. Trade democracy petition We want to mount real pressure on the trade secretary with our petition calling for trade democracy. We already have more than 4,000 signatures, but we want to get thousands more by the end of the summer.
There are two ways you can collect signatures: • Share the online petition via social media globaljustice.org.uk/tradescrutiny • Postcard on the Dangerous deals leaflet Could you hold a stall over the summer at a local event with copies of the postcard? Or organise your own event? We are working with the Trade Justice Movement, its members and other groups on trade democracy. We would encourage local collaboration as well.
3.Citizen researchers We are looking for citizen researchers who’ll be able to tell us how the newly elected set of MPs feel about trade democracy. With trade agreements not usually being discussed in parliament it’s been easy for MPs to ignore this area leading to diminished democratic oversight of the issue. That’s why MP lobbying will be a central part of the campaign in a couple of months, at the end of parliament’s summer break, when there will be a new Early Day Motion for MPs to sign. For now we want to put this issue firmly on their radar by asking them a few questions about their position on trade deals. Would you be able to visit your MP’s surgery or write them a letter to find out the answers to the questions in this survey? bit.ly/citizensresearcher Use the Giving Away Control briefing as a guide and let us know what you find out by filling in the online survey. If you can’t access it online, please contact the activsm team and we will be happy to help.
July 2017 7
Pharmaceuticals
An infographic we produced in May
In the last few months, we’ve been working on a new campaign highlighting the problem of corporate power in the pharmaceutical sector. You may have read about the campaign in the consultation, and as it seems a fair few of you are interested in working on this topic, we’re moving ahead with planning the campaign and producing materials.
What is the campaign about?
Pharmaceutical companies have developed into the most profitable industry in the world. By taking over and patenting health technology, they can hold patients for ransom to earn massive profits. We want to challenge this profit-driven model and fight for the right to a healthy life to take centre stage in the research and development of medicines. There is a growing recognition that the profitdriven research and development (R&D) model is not fit for purpose. In September 2016, the UN published its critique of the 8 July 2017
current model for R&D, calling for alternative models of R&D that prioritise public health needs over corporate profits. This critique has also been echoed by the European parliament with a resolution in February 2017 calling for alternative models for R&D to ‘ensure affordable patient access to medicines, and benefit to society, whilst avoiding any unacceptable impact on healthcare budgets’.
Campaign aims
We want publicly funded medical research and development to result in public health benefits rather than corporate profits. We want the UK government to change the way they fund medical R&D to ensure the resulting medicines are affordable and accessible both here and in the UK. And we want the UK government to support an international convention on R&D to make sure similar approaches are implemented globally.
Where we’re at with campaign development We’ve commissioned a report along with STOPAIDS to be released in September. The report will look at UK public funding of medical research and development, and problematise the corporate takeover of public research. The UK is one of the biggest funders of medical R&D, but corporations can buy up research, patent it and charge extortionate prices, leaving people and health services unable to afford them. We want to expose the extent of that problem and to make sure public funding results in public good, in this case affordable and accessible medicines. Over the next few months, we’ll be producing a series of briefings to give you a quick background to patents, the pharmaceutical industry, the NHS and alternatives to the current model. We will also be developing materials to communicate our campaign to the public: A short leaflet to explain the campaign, an action card to get people involved and a poster to decorate stalls. During the development process, we’d love to get your feedback on concepts for materials. So if any of you would be up for giving feedback on some of our concepts for materials design, then please email morten.thaysen@globaljustice.org.uk. We’re looking into doing a speaker tour around the UK in November with a speaker from one of the campaigns we’ll be working with in the global south – possibly South Africa. Let us know if your group is interested in hosting one of the speaker events and we’ll keep you updated on how it develops. Email james.onions@globaljustice.org.uk
ALLY UPDATE
Reclaim the Power Since Cuadrilla began building a fracking pad at Preston New Road near Blackpool in January 2017, people have been at the roadside every day, putting their bodies on the line to stop this toxic industry. The resistance is working – supply chain companies are pulling out and the building schedule has been delayed by months. This summer, as Cuadrilla gets nearer to trying to drill, Reclaim the Power is joining the frontline struggle in Lancashire to support and reinforce the amazing local resistance, and they invite you to join in. Reclaim The Power wants to spread out the resistance to the fracking industry across the entire month of July. The general idea is turn up, meet like-minded folk, get trained and plan or support an action against the fracking industry or the supply chain. After a few days, another wave of people will arrive and go through the same process – and the rolling resistance rolls on... there are roles for everyone, and support to take part. Reclaim the Power recommends you arrive on one of the Fridays in July and stay for 4 or 5 days if you can. However any support is welcomed. Accommodation details will be announced soon. More info at reclaimthepower.org.uk
July 2017 9
Groups and activism news General
Global Justice Milton Keynes and Global Justice Oxford teamed up to run a stall at the Leamington Peace Festival where they had a number of good conversations with other festival-goers.
three members attended the AGM and national gathering in Bristol.
Wider migration solidarity
Global Justice Nottingham held a successful screening of Precarious Trajectories. There was a good turnout and the director, Simon Parker, came along to talk about the film and discuss with the audience. Global Justice Glasgow have been extremely busy during the Scottish Refugee Festival. They held a well attended film screening and discussion jointly with Take One Action, Refugee Survival Trust and the Scottish Refugee Council. They have also created a life-size Paddington costume, to encourage a more positive perception of migration.
Global Justice Milton Keynes and Global Justice Oxford stall at Leamington Peace Festival
M&S actions
Global Justice Cambridge organised a stall at the Arbury Carnival, focusing the stall on current campaigns, especially M&S. They also organised a mosque visit to Cambridge’s Abu Bakr Masjid where they discussed shared concerns such as climate change. They are now discussing how the mosque could help bring Global Justice Now’s messages to the attention of its members. Global Justice South East London ran a stall at the Nunhead Cemetery Open Day on 20 May, at which they collected dozens of signatures on a petition to the CEO of Marks & Spencer, asking the company to stop advertising in the hate-filled Daily Mail. In recent months they have welcomed several new people to their group meetings, and 10 July 2017
Paddington featured in a protest at Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre, organised jointly with Global Justice Ayrshire and local activists from Justice and Peace and Hope Not Hate. They’ve also run a social media campaign based on pictures of the life-sized Paddington at iconic sights in Glasgow city centre during the Refugee Festival.
General election
Global Justice Manchester have focused their actions over the last two months on getout-the-vote activities across Manchester. Their biggest action was organised with Manchester College’s trade union activists to organise stalls across six campuses for the day to encourage more young people to register to vote. It was a very encouraging experience and a great window into the increasing politicisation among young people. The London youth network group were actively involved in promoting voter registration among young people, working
with other groups to create and disseminate promotional literature and engaging people at university campuses with registration forms. The Leeds University group also teamed up with their local Open Rights Group to promote a hustings on human rights.
Trade
Global Justice Reading have got off to an early start with the new phase of trade campaigning, with a couple of stalls this month on trade deals being done in the dark. In June they were at East Reading Festival and had an excellent response to our message. Over 90 people signed a card or petition to the new trade secretary. Matt Rodda, the new Labour MP for Reading East, visited the stall and will be much more supportive of our message than the previous (Conservative) MP.
Group websites We are in the process of making some changes to the template for local group websites. This is to make the sites ‘mobile friendly’, ie. to ensure they display well on mobile phones and tablets. It is also an opportunity to ensure they fit better with Global Justice Now’s design style - at the moment there are some style elements left over from the old WDM house style. Groups shouldn’t have to do anything, but if you’ve added any unusual functionality to your site, do let us know. The changes should be completed by the end of July. If your group just has a page on our main site and you’re interested in running your own website, get in touch with the activism team and we can talk you through the how it works: activism@globaljustice.org.uk
Climate and energy
Global Justice Reading at East Reading Festival
Global Justice Leicester and Leicester City Council sponsored a speaker meeting on the subject of climate change and migration in Refugee Week, attended by over 60 people. They used contacts from different communities to arrange talks on Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Phillippines, Caribbean and the Niger Delta, including an opening talk with Asad Rehman, the new director of War on Want. Over 60 people attended what was a very successful event. Alison Skinner from the group also organised a screening of This Changes Everything for 20 people in Rugby in conjunction with Rugby Friends of the Earth.
July 2017 11
Current materials Food sovereignty
• BOOKLET: Farmers under fire • BRIEFING: Post-Brexit alternatives to the Common Agricultural Policy • BRIEFING: Growing evidence against the New Alliance • 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
• **NEW BRIEFING: Giving away control • **NEW ACTION CARD: Dangerous deals done in the dark • **NEW 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
• **NEW POSTER: Bin the Daily Mail - Migrants welcome here • LEAFLET: M&S stop funding hate • ACTION SLIP: M&S stop funding hate • POSTER: M&S stop funding hate • LEAFLET/POSTER: This is not a migrant crisis • BRIEFING: Migrant crisis or poverty crisis?
Exploring alternatives booklets
• BOOKLET: Another Economy is Possible economic democracy • BOOKLET: Seeds of Change - food sovereignty • BOOKLET: Rays of Hope - energy justice
General materials
• **NEW BRIEFING: Decimating rights (Great Repeal Bill) • **NEW REPORT: Honest Accounts 2017 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