THINK GLOBAL
Act locally with Global Justice Now
January 2017 
Contents 02 Welcome 03 News roundup 04 Food sovereignty campaign 06 Trade justice campaign 08 Corporate power and aid 09 Migration campaign 10 Groups and activism news 12 Current materials
Inserts General
• Trump recruitment poster • New sign-up sheets • Groups agreement renewal (groups only) • Selection of new ‘how to’ guides (groups only)
Your role in setting our campaign agenda for 2017 Nick Dearden Director Many of us will be glad to see the back of 2016 – a year in which decades of unsustainable ‘market knows best’ economics produced an upsurge in racism on the streets and authoritarian governments across the world. But let’s not forget that 2016 was also the year in which popular pressure, driven by activists around Europe, succeeded in defeating TTIP, one of the most destructive trade deals we’ve seen since our campaigns against the World Trade Organisation in the early 2000s. Let’s remember, we can change things. The campaigning focus for the coming months remains the Canada-EU trade deal CETA, as MEPs debate and vote on it. And we’ll be developing campaign activities around TISA, the Trade in Services Agreement, too. In the last year, however, we’ve also introduced two new areas of work. The first was to step up our work on migration. In the new year we want to try to further challenge the hatred being whipped up by the tabloids and to specifically fight Europe’s unjust migration deal with Turkey (see page 9). We’ve also started talking about taking on corporate power as whole, in order to change the debate and lay the ground for better control of corporations at the global level. ‘Big Pharma’ is one of the most damaging corporate sectors in the world, and uses trade rules and lobbying power to deny medicines to millions of people worldwide. We think it could be a good focus for the campaign. For a taster of what that could look like read about our work on antibiotics so far on page 8.
Trade
Then in late spring you’ll all be consulted on our entire future campaign agenda, instead of just one particular campaign, as we have done previously. This reflects the changing circumstances we face, and the need to think about our campaigning in the light of that.
Brexit
For now, I’d like to wish you a happy new year. The world is changing fundamentally. It’s up to us to make sure it changes for the better.
Food
• Brexit CAP reform briefing • Trade deals overview table
• Dreaming of Empire briefing 2 January 2017
News from Global Justice Now Take Back Our World Scotland 28 January, Glasgow University
Anyone within travelling distance of Glasgow should consider attending our major Scottish activist conference. The excellent line up of speakers from around the world includes Larry Sanders (political activist and brother of Bernie Sanders), Hilary Wainwright (Red Pepper), Dorothy GraceGuerrero (corporates campaigner from the Philippines), Christine Berry (New Economics Foundation) and Geneviève Savigny (La Via Campesina). View the full programme and book your ticket at globaljustice.org.uk/events Please also take a minute to share this event with others – we’d love a full house! Find it on Facebook via the Global Justice Now Scotland page.
Dates for your diary National gathering and AGM
Saturday 10 June, Bristol A similar event to last year’s national gathering in London, with a mixture of speakers, workshops and opportunities for networking and organising. More details soon.
Action checklist
Attac European Summer University 24-28 August, Toulouse, France A major event bringing together activists from our sister organisations in Attac across Europe which we are involved in organising. Most sessions will either be in English or have simultaneous translation. Affordable accommodation options will be available. Toulouse is a lovely city in France’s beautiful south west, so the event could easily be combined with a holiday.
Media highlights
In November the Department for International Development announced that it intended to quadruple the amount of aid money being funnelled through its controversial private equity arm, the CDC group. Our criticisms of this decision were reported in the Financial Times, the Guardian and the Independent, and we were invited to contribute analysis to the Times’ coverage of the issue. In December our quotes about the toxic trade deal TISA were carried by the Express, and our arguments about it being people power and not Trump that stopped TTIP informed feature article in the National. Our recent briefing, Dreaming of Empire? UK foreign policy post-Brexit formed the basis of an opinion piece in the Guardian by regular columnist Zoe Williams
Trade justice Organise a stall, stunt, MEP lobby or meeting to mark the day of action against CETA on 21 January General Organise a banner drop on 20 January to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump, as part of the Bridges Not Walls protests
Complete the groups agreement form and return to the office (groups only) Migration Book a screening of Precarious Trajectories or a training session with Hope Not Hate Start organising to attend the protests at the Security and Policing Fair in March January 2017 3
Landworkers Alliance
Food sovereignty
What’s coming up on food sovereignty in 2017 In 2017 we will continue to support food sovereignty both here in the UK and globally. We will do this through the development and promotion of food sovereignty-based alternative policies in the UK post-Brexit and also by supporting a global movement to push for rights for small-scale food producers. Throughout this year we have been supporting and contributing to the development of a People’s Food Policy based on food sovereignty principles. This will articulate what food sovereignty would look like in a UK context. This is a grassroots initiative that emerged from the UK food sovereignty gathering in Hebden Bridge in October 2015. The policy has been built bottom-up from face to face consultations and online surveys and it should be ready around April. We will be working with the People’s Food Policy to build a broad UK coalition to campaign for this policy and we hope our local groups will join in and get involved too. We will have more information next year. In addition, we will be publishing a report that we commissioned the New Economics Foundation to write. The report will propose 4 January 2017
an alternative for EU subsidies for farming. UK farming currently receives subsidies from the EU (the ‘Common Agricultural Policy’) but this policy has been widely criticised for subsidising rich landlords and shutting out small-scale farmers. Our new report will present an alternative subsidy system which is based on subsidising public goods such as local employment and positive environmental impacts. A four-page briefing based on the report’s findings is included with this issue of Think Global. Combined with the People’s Food Policy we are hoping we can articulate a vision for food sovereignty in the UK in 2017.
International We have been asked by our ally La Via Campesina to help fight for a UN declaration of rights for small-scale farmers. Smallscale farmers across the globe are facing huge waves of oppression, violence and criminalisation. Their whole way of life – growing food for local and regional markets using ecological techniques – is an affront to the aggressive growth of agribusiness. La Via Campesina, one of the largest social movements in the world, has played a big role in pushing for a declaration of rights to achieve recognition of small-scale producers
as rights-holders. This is a key tool in pushing back against violence and oppression from state and corporate power. The UK government has been opposing this process and so we will be campaigning to pressure the UK government next year to support this process or at the very least to not oppose it.
New Alliance
Bridges Not Walls On 20 January Donald Trump will become president of the United States of America, a frightening symbol of the rising power of the hard right across western societies. In response, a coalition of activists and groups including 350.org, Black Lives Matter UK and Global Justice Now are calling for a coordinated set of actions across the UK.
The New Alliance was transferred from the G8 to the African Union last year. There is a drive in the African Union (AU) to try and harmonise the New Alliance processes with the existing African Union agricultural policies and processes as they do not want to have duplicated reporting structures. Our critique of the New Alliance has always been around the push for industrial agriculture through the policy changes and corporate investment that is documented in each country’s cooperative framework agreement.
We are calling for groups and activists to hang banners off bridges anywhere in the country on 20 January. The banners could read ‘Bridges Not Walls’ or any other suitable slogan to challenge the rise of racism and authoritarianism.
The next big fight is to make sure that the content of these agreements are dropped in the AU’s harmonisation process. However, we are unable to target the AU ourselves and instead will be supporting our African friends and allies in their efforts.
Our answer to Trump is that we need to organise more people with progressive values to win a better world. So we’ve produced a new poster to help you do that. There is space for local group details at the bottom. Order more from us at activism@globaljustice.org.uk
If your group wants to take part you can find more information and register your protest or banner drop on the website: bridgesnotwalls.uk. Alternatively, search ‘bridges not walls’ on Facebook.
Group recruitment poster
We will still have a role in pushing for the Parliamentary International Development Select Committee to conduct a review into DfIDs’s support for agribusiness and corporate controlled agriculture so please keep using the action cards to help build up pressure for this.
Monsanto
The Monsanto tribunal that took place in October will be reporting their legal opinion in April 2017 (rather than December as previously expected). This legal opinion will provide legal arguments for various groups around the world to progress legal cases in national courts. We will feed back the opinion of the tribunal when it comes and will keep a watching brief over developments in order to let you know if there are any other follow up actions. January 2017 5
Trade justice Stopping CETA in the European parliament The vote to ratify CETA in the European parliament is still due to be on either 1 or 2 February. Many of you are already pressuring your MEPs to vote against this deal, and over 10,000 emails have been sent to UK MEPs already. But we need to keep up the pressure at this crucial time. The Labour Party and the SNP have yet to decide how to vote. With Conservatives and the Lib Dems set to vote for CETA, the best progress we can make is by focusing on persuading Labour MEPs to vote against CETA (though we think it’s worth informing all of our representatives of what’s at stake if they vote for CETA). Insider knowledge tells us that there is a fine balance among Labour MEPs and there’s everything to play for.
Recent anti-CETA protest at the EU summit in Bratislava
6 January 2017
Here are a few ideas you may want to use: • Keep a look out for your MEPs’ public appearances, and use any opportunity to ask them their voting intentions and congratulate / pressurise them accordingly. MEPs are not required to be in Brussels or Strasbourg from now until 9 January • Ask for a chance to meet them at a surgery or similar event. • Write your own letter targeted at the individual MEP – a break from the proforma emails coming from the likes of us or 38 Degrees. If you have any feedback from your MEP(s) please send it to guy.taylor@globaljustice. org.uk so we can keep up with the latest on each of our representatives in Brussels. We have produced a video on Facebook which puts the basic arguments against CETA across in a witty and punchy way – it’s getting plaudits from across the EU! Please share this over social media.
London youth network members at an anti-CETA protest outside the offices of Gabriel Resources
International day of action against CETA As part of the global efforts to stop CETA, Saturday 21 January has been called as an international day of de-centralised action against the deal by a coalition of groups from Belgium, France, Greece and Portugal. There are events planned in many countries in different cities and towns, including street meetings, stalls, getting a big card to MEPs signed, indoor meetings, MEP hustings and stunts. If your group plans to do something, advertise it at www.stopceta.net
After the European parliament vote If CETA is rejected by the European parliament in early February then we will have achieved an enormous victory for democracy against corporate power. However, we have to be aware that it may pass. If that happens, it is far from the end of the road for our efforts to stop CETA, however. National parliaments will still have to vote to ratify CETA, including the UK. This will give us another major opportunity to challenge CETA, and in the uncertain context of Brexit the UK government may
have substantial difficulties pushing it through. Hopefully it won’t get to that stage, but the European parliament is by no means the last hurdle that CETA’s backers have to overcome.
Trade justice – the wider agenda Enclosed is a brief overview of different trade deals currently in play – some to be agreed, others in full swing. It will help depict the global trade agenda and how it all fits together. We continue to work on the alternative trade agenda and will announce further details of the work in the New Year. Due to demand from international partners our TISA briefing is now available in French and Spanish.
January 2017 7
Corporate power Corporate power
We’re busy scoping out potential new campaign areas to help us challenge corporate power in the UK and abroad. We’ll be building on some of our existing campaigns, especially trade and food. In the lead up to Christmas we exposed the use of antibiotics in turkeys to show how the drive for corporate profits is putting our health at risk. Big food businesses and pharmaceutical companies are pushing excessive use of antibiotics in livestock production to ramp up their profit margins, but that is also causing bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics and is leaving us without effective drugs to prevent and treat illnesses. First we will target supermarkets across the UK to ask them to
clear their supply chains from excessive use of antibiotics and following on from that we’ll fight for effective legislation to curb farm use of antibiotics. We have a new briefing on antibiotic resistance and corporations, email morten.thaysen@globaljustice.org.uk if you would like a copy. In the new year we’ll look into other possibilities to challenge corporate power such as exposing the flawed pharmaceutical industry and corporate involvement in Brexit negotiations. We’ll keep you updated on our scoping and will use your inputs to choose the direction of the campaigns once we have a better overview of the possibilities.
Aid and Brexit The CDC bill
In November the government tabled a new bill which seeks to increase the amount of the aid budget that can be spent on the CDC Group, spelling out a worrying shift towards the privatisation of UK aid. The CDC Group is a government-owned company that uses aid money to invest in private enterprises in Africa and South Asia. The CDC bill, debated in Westminster before Christmas, aims to channel billions more of the aid budget into the company. We have been lobbying MPs to ensure they oppose this bill when they get the chance.
An alternative vision for aid
Given our long history of holding the UK government to account on its aid spending, we are in the process of working on a report that will begin to lay out the alternatives for what aid could and should be spent on in order for it to make a meaningful impact on global justice. 8 January 2017
We expect to be launching this in February and hope that it will provide a useful addition to our work on aid that enables us to provide constructive solutions. As more and more stories emerge of wasteful aid projects and the misuse of aid money, and these lead to loud calls from the likes of the Daily Mail for an end to aid spending, it is more important than ever that we lay out a clear alternative vision for aid.
Dreaming of Empire?
Enclosed is a new briefing laying out the picture that is gradually emerging of the international policies the current government may pursue in a post-Brexit world. These include an extreme version of free trade, an attempt to increasingly privatise development aid to the benefit of big corporations, and the use of military power to secure economic interests. To order more copies, email activism@globaljustice.org.uk.
Migration Resisting harmful government policies
Private security companies
Throughout 2016 the UK government implemented a highly draconian set of new polices that made the lives of refugees and other migrants even harder. We have been looking in to these policies and understanding their effects on migrants across the world. You can read a summary of some of the worst parts of the government’s approach to migrants in our article (‘Seven things the government did in 2016 to devastate the lives of refugees and migrants’) at globaljustice.org/blog One area we are looking at in particular detail is the EU-Turkey deal. This is the deal that EU member states signed with Turkey earlier in 2016 to deter people from travelling to Greece in order to reach safety inside Europe. The deal essentially allows any migrants who arrive in Greece, via Turkey, to be returned to Turkey from where they will have their claims processed. This means that the EU is ignoring its duties under international refugee law to provide protection to those who seek it. But what makes it even more important to oppose this deal is that rather than deter migrants, it has actually only forced them to take a far more dangerous route across the Mediterranean to reach Italy instead. This has resulted in 2016 becoming the deadliest year ever for migrants in the Mediterranean. As of mid-December 4,733 people died in the Mediterranean this year. This increase is a result of government policy. For now, we encourage groups to take our e-action asking Boris Johnson to put an end to this lethal deal, and promote the action to others. You can find the action at globaljustice.org.uk/migration. Depending on what happens with the deal we may produce offline campaigning materials in the new year as well.
European Custody and Detention Summit protest
Following on from the successful demonstration at the European Custody and Detention Summit in November, we want to continue to expose those private companies who are benefiting from militarised and securitised border controls. With an estimated value of 15 billion euros, Europe’s private border security industry is growing with new opportunities to make money from the misery of refugees and migrants. We will support action against upcoming trade fairs where these private security companies come to make their deals. From 7-9 March is the Security and Policing Fair in Hampshire. This is a Home Office event for the global security industry. We will have more information this in the new year but keep the dates free if you can.
Precarious Trajectories film screenings A reminder that the film Precarious Trajectories is available for groups to show. The film makers are allowing us to show it for free with no licence fee. To book a screening email ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk. January 2017 9
Groups and activism news Hope Not Hate workshops
Group activities
Global Justice Cambridge organised a stall at a local winter fair to distribute CETA action cards. They are carol singing to raise funds for GJN and are organising a one of the Hope Not Hate workshops in the new year. Global Justice Derby hosted a well attended public meeting of around 50 people in November. Nick Dearden led a discussion on how we can campaign for global justice in the new political conditions post-Brexit and Trump.
Hope Not Hate training in Cardiff
Many groups are in the process of confirming dates for Hope Not Hate workshops on migration, and it looks likely that there will be around 15 such events across the country in the next few months. This is a really positive development. The first session has already happened in Cardiff. Steve Huxton, Global Justice Cardiff co-ordinator, had the following feedback on the workshop: “It was a really positive and engaging session, which enabled us to engage with a wide audience, many of whom were previously unaware of Global Justice Now. We found there was a really high level of interest from people, and it was great to start to build links with individuals and groups that aren’t our usual audience. “I thoroughly recommend the sessions for Global Justice Now groups as a great way to engage with people on a very relevant topic.” If your group would like to book a workshop email ed.lewis@globaljustice.org.uk
10 January 2017
Global Justice South East London organised a sold-out screening of This Changes Everything at Sands Film in Rotherhithe, followed by a discussion led by group member Roger Manser and Sam Lund-Harket from the activism team. They have also organised group discussions on CETA, TTIP and TISA. Global Justice Gloucestershire organised a Monsanto on trial event with a discussion led by Heidi Chow and using the images from the speaker tour. The local paper published a report on the event – though it was heavily edited, with the WHO’s view that glyphosate probably cause cancer being cut. Following their successful demonstration about trade justice at the SNP conference, Global Justice Glasgow publicly challenged Alyn Smith MEP to oppose CETA at a public meeting.
New activism briefings As mentioned in the last Think Global, we’ve produced a whole new series of updated activism briefings. A first selection of them is included with this Think Global for groups, and we’ll include more in the next issue. They’re available to order for anyone, or can be downloaded from globaljustice. org.uk/activist-resources
Youth network
The youth network continues to develop well. Groups in Falmouth, Leeds and Manchester have organised film screenings and discussions on topics ranging from migration to climate change and corporate power.
Youth network anti-CETA protest
In Falmouth, over 30 attended a discussion led by youth network co-ordinator Melissa Cespedes del Sur and a Turkish migrant rights activist. In London the youth network group organised a theatrical stunt against CETA and the Canadian mining firm Gabriel Resources, who are taking out an ISDS case against the Romanian government. In York, young activists hoping to start a group organised a film screening and discussion about the links between gentrification, migrant rights and corporate power.
Sign up sheets and data protection For groups we’ve included in this Think Global some copies of the latest signup sheet. These sheets are designed for groups to be able to use to collect details for your own mailing lists while simultaneously allowing the information to be used by Global Justice Now centrally. This new version of the sign-up sheet is the third version we’ve produced in the last two years. The second version was produced to ensure we were definitely meeting all the provisions in new data collection and fundraising regulations. However, we found it was very difficult to get people to tick the boxes that meant we could use their information at all. Hence this third version. Please use these sign-up sheets from now on, and feel free to order more but please make sure people tick the box allowing us to contact them. It’s really useful for us to get sign-up information, but it’s also essential that you don’t email the sheets back to us, either scanned in or typed up, unless it’s in a password protected zip file, with the password sent in a separate email. Otherwise we might be in contravention of data protection laws. Posting the sheets back to us is actually preferable instead as it means we can demonstrate that people really have signed up to get information from us!
January 2017 11
Current materials Food sovereignty
• BRIEFING: Post-Brexit alternatives to the Common Agricultural Policy • ACTION CARD: Two ways to grow food • BRIEFING: Growing evidence against the New Alliance • BOOKLET: On Solid Ground (agroecology) • REPORT: From The Roots Up (agroecology) • BRIEFING: Problems with corporate controlled seeds
PARTNER UPDATE
Justice for South African mineworkers
Energy justice
• LEAFLET: Repowering the future: Municipal energy in practice • BRIEFING: Towards a just energy system
Trade
• LEAFLET/POSTER: if you lIked TTIP you’ll love CETA • ACTION CARD: Stop he toxic trade deal (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 • TOTE BAG: TTIP ain’t my Bag
Migration
• 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
• SIGN-UP SHEET: Double-sided, Global Justice Now branded • STICKERS and BADGES • LEAFLET: ‘There is No Alternative’ membership leaflet • POSTER: Trumped up world • BRIEFINGS: Guides to various aspects of activism
In August 2012, police murdered 34 striking mine workers at the Marikana platinum mine in South Africa. The mine is owned by British company Lonmin. The company holds its AGM on Thursday 26 January 2017, and the Anglican Bishop of Pretoria, Jo Seoka, will attend it. Bishop Jo has been involved with the families of mine workers in seeking justice and reconciliation. Mine workers are demanding that the company fulfil its promises to provide decent housing. London Mining Network and the Londonbased Marikana Miners Solidarity Campaign are helping organise a protest outside the company AGM in the morning of 26 January and a public meeting with Bishop Jo in the evening. Bishop Jo is seeking meetings with investment bodies within the Church of England while he is in London. There may also be a letter-writing campaign for church members and local groups to write to Church of England bishops urging that the Church disinvest from Lonmin. For more details, contact Richard Solly at London Mining Network: 07903 851695 or contact@londonminingnetwork.org