THINK GLOBAL
Act locally with Global Justice Now
October 2018 
Contents 02 Welcome 03 Activism team update 04 Trade justice 06 Migrant solidarity 08 Pharmaceuticals 09 Aid watch 10 Groups and activism news 12 Current materials
With movement building, let’s think global and act local Guy Taylor Activism team Global Justice Now has long been a ‘turn to’ organisation for solidarity internationally, especially with struggles and organisations in the global south. We’ve helped to spread the word, to involve others and persuade decision makers to work towards a better deal for our sisters and brothers in poorer countries. We’re also an important feature of political activism here in the UK. Our recent work on trade, migration and opposing the visit of Donald Trump has shown that we can both lead campaigns and inject vital ideas and perspectives in movements that involve far wider forces. When we put these two features together, it leaves us with a question: how do we retain relationships forged in one campaign ready to involve our friends in the next initiative? This is why we have devised the Internationalist Network. It’s for organisations, mostly at local level, to sign up to. It could be the branch of a trade union; a Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru or Green party group at ward or constituency level; a residents or tenants association; or student union.
Inserts Corporate power • Briefing: Ending corporate impunity
Trade
• US-UK trade deal consultation action sample text
General
• Group-specific campaign and publicity materials (groups only) • Model motion for Internationalist Network 2 October 2018
It will make a difference. Later in this issue of Think Global, you’ll see reference to a forthcoming report on overseas aid and privatisation of education. If we had branches of teaching union NEU involved in our network already, we’d be able to multiply the impact of the report (and we’re planning some of that anyway, see page 9). Or when we launch the next phase of the trade campaign on ISDS / corporate courts, gaining almost instant support of local party and union structures can make a tangible difference to our influence and the strength of our campaigning. I know from my own experience of the trade and migration campaigns that Global Justice Now has a long tradition of working with others on a national level. Now we want to do the same on a local level. With political developments happening at a rapid pace, these connections can have a real impact on the effectiveness of our campaigning.
Activism team update The activism team is the part of the staff body which works most closely with groups and activists. With Laura, our northern organiser, leaving at the start of October, and a few other changes recently, the activism team now looks like this:
James O’Nions Head of activism FULL TIME James manages the team, edits Think Global, leads work on national events and team strategy, and can design you a nice roller banner if you want one! James has worked for Global Justice Now for 12 years and is also responsible for relationships with many of our allies around the world.
Guy Taylor Activism and campaigns manager FULL TIME Guy is now your primary point of contact for group support, picking up that role from Ed. If you need help or advice, call him on 020 7820 4900 or email guy.taylor@globaljustice. org.uk. He also continues to work on developing the activist dimension of our campaigns. Guy started at Global Justice Now as a trade campaigner, but has lots of experience of supporting activism previous to that, most notably in the anti-globalisation movement.
Effie Jordan Activism and campaigns officer 2 DAYS/WEEK Effie supports local groups and activists, looks out for outreach opportunities and runs our
Action checklist
new Internationalist Network. She’s also our longest standing member of staff, with over two decades at the organisation!
Sam Lund-Harket Activism and events officer 3 DAYS/WEEK Sam has been working on group and event support for several years, but with changes in the team is shifting to focus more on the youth network. Before joining the team he worked on our climate and energy campaign, and continues to facilitate Global Justice Now’s involvement in the climate justice movement.
Rosanna Wiseman Youth network co-ordinator FULL TIME Rosanna has just joined the team in a nine-month trainee role. She co-ordinates the youth network, working with Sam, and also helps out with the work of the rest of the team. Rosanna has lots of activist experience, especially on migrant solidarity issues.
In Scotland Because we have a separate office in Scotland, lots of group support and activism development work in Scotland is done from there. Your first point of contact is Jane Herbstritt, Scottish campaigns officer, who like the rest of the team in Scotland combines policy, communications and activism work.
Pharmaceuticals Send in your completed petitions if not done so yet
Migration Lobby your MP about the MPs not Border Guards campaign
Trade Circulate the House of Lords petition
Put on a screening of Human Flow
Respond to the Department for International Trade consultation on the US-UK trade deal, and on the TPP
Join the national activists’ meeting on migration Aid Consider making links with local teaching unions October 2018 3
Trade justice
Part of our ‘chicken bloc’ at the London Stop Trump demonstration in July
Trade Bill campaigning
Ahead of the second reading of the Trade Bill in the House of Lords, we handed our the petition which asked the Lords to introduce amendments to the Bill based on the Commons amendment tabled by Caroline Lucas MP. Several of our trade democracy allies have been running a similarly-worded petition, and altogether the we gathered 67,000 signatures. Thanks to everyone who circulated this petition – it’s been our most successful online action since TTIP. Next it’s the House of Lords committee stage, which is the point at which trade democracy amendments might actually be introduced. We’re therefore decided to leave the petition open, and send in an update with additional signatures just before the committee stage happens – probably late October or November. For local groups who haven’t had an organised push around this petition yet – posting on social media, getting all group members to share it widely, sending it out to your mailing list if you have one etc – then please do it during October. You can find the petition at globaljustice.org.uk/lords 4 October 2018
Chickens at Holyrood
Thanks to the activists who came to join the tug of war: chickens vs Fox and his cronies, outside the Scottish parliament. We got plenty of media, including a section in BBC Reporting Scotland which helped promote our call for trade democracy and a voice for Scotland on trade. The UK trade minister, George Hollingbery MP, was grilled by the Scottish parliament finance and constitution committee as part of the UK trade bill inquiry. The trade minister also took up our invite to meet with Global Justice Now and STUC staff. At least he will go back to London fully aware of our campaign, and the breadth of support behind it. In the meantime we also have a Scotlandspecific petition to the House of Lords demanding that devolved nations are able to scrutinise trade deals. Sign it at globaljustice.org.uk/scotland-lords
Post-Brexit trade deals United States deal We’ve just launched an online action to allow supporters to respond to the
consultation the government has put out on the US-UK trade deal in a fairly easy way. The consultation closes on 26 October, and groups are encouraged to respond as a group as well as taking the online action. The Department for International Trade (DIT) website has details of the consultation, which you can reach via this link: gju.st/us-uk. At the bottom of the page you’re encouraged to respond via the ‘online survey’ they’ve set up, but we’ve confirmed that you can also respond by email at us.consultation@ trade.gov.uk or by post to Department for International Trade, King Charles Street,London SW1A 2AH. You could consider getting together with allies locally to give a greater sense of civil society opposition. We’ve included a copy of our suggested response as an insert with this Think Global. We’ll also put this online at globaljustice.org.uk/think-global so you can copy, paste and rewrite as you like.
...and the Trans Pacific Partnership
It’s clear that when some Tories make noises about a ‘no deal Brexit’ not being so bad, they mean it will allow them to go ahead with this kind of extreme free trade deal with the US. You can find more detail of Nick’s analysis on this at globaljustice.org.uk/news
Coming soon: ISDS campaign When campaigning against TTIP, one of the aspects that most horrified people was Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), or what we dubbed ‘corporate courts’ – the parallel legal system designed to allow multinational companies to sue countries.
Since the TTIP campaign, the global backlash has been growing against ISDS. Most ISDS clauses exist in Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between two countries. South Africa and Ecuador have both now exited BITs which include ISDS. Others may follow suit if the political tide looks like it’s turning, so now is the moment for a big push to get rid of ISDS for good.
The government also has consultations on trade deals with New Zealand, Australia and joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That’s a lot of consultations, so out of those three we’re prioritising the TPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as it has been called since Trump pulled the USA out.
Our European allies are also preparing a similar campaign aimed at the European Commission and we are talking to allies in the global south who are working against ISDS. We expect to launch the campaign materials for this campaign in the next print Think Global in February.
If you have the time, we have an online action with recommended text (which we’ll promote as a follow-up to taking the US-UK action) and you can find the consultation online at gju.st/cptpp and email responses to cptpp.consultation@trade.gov.uk.
In September the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favour of Chevron-Texaco in an ISDS case which is a travesty of justice. The oil company has previously been ordered to pay reparations in Ecuador for the dumping of toxic wastewater in the Amazon over three decades from the mid-1960s.
Neoliberal extremists publish model deal In September rightwing think tanks published a ‘model trade deal’ between the US and UK. They included the US-based Cato Institute and the Initiative for Free Trade, which is closely associated with trade secretary Liam Fox. We slammed the deal in the press as “a recipe for bad food, NHS privatisation and financial deregulation”.
Chevron-Texaco vs Ecuador
Chevron-Texaco took the ISDS case in order to get out of paying up. Although the court has yet to rule on the size of ‘compensation’ Ecuador would have to pay, the company has requested that it be at least equal to money it owes to Ecuadoreans under the court judgement there. October 2018 5
Migrant solidarity
Our Beyond Windrush event
MPs not border guards
In September a number of organisations that work directly with migrants have written to John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, supporting our MPs not Border Guards campaign. The organisations, including Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Doctors of the World and Bail for Immigration Detainees, state that they “will no longer be able to advise our service users and clients that their MP is an appropriate individual from whom to seek assistance”, unless they have signed the pledge we are running. This shows the depth of concern around this issue and the need to keep pushing for MPs to sign the pledge. Campaign postcards are still available to help do this. It’s also useful to contact your MP directly. If you haven’t already done this, now is a great time to do so. If you need support with how to convince your MP, email Ed (policy team) ed.lewis@ globaljustice.org.uk or Guy (activism team) guy.taylor@globaljustice.org.uk for assistance.
Local campaigning The MPs not Border Guards campaign is part of our wider work, as part of a coalition, to try and end the government’s ‘hostile 6 October 2018
environment’ for migrants. There has already been some successes in this work, for instance as it relates to the NHS, but still plenty to be done. Global Justice Cambridge is one local group which is working with others locally, including our ally Migrants Organise, to set up a local coalition to campaign against the hostile environment. If you’re interested in doing this in your area, get in touch with Ed.
Global free movement
In November we are bringing out a new report making the case for global free movement. This will significantly develop the work we have already been doing on this front, providing more detail for this visionary idea and addressing a number of challenges. We will bring out a shorter briefing to accompany it, and other materials including a template talk that groups can give and template promotional material. This makes a great opportunity to organise local events on the topic. Our experience is that although it seems like a radical idea, people are also interested to hear exactly what the case for global free movement
is – especially younger people. Tamara Hopewell-Barreda is coordinating our events on this issue, so if you want to organise an event and need support or want to book a speaker, contact her on tamara.hopewell@ globaljustice.org.uk.
Difficult conversations - train the trainers event We mentioned in the September Think Global Extra that we will be running a ‘train the trainers’ event based on the successful workshop series we ran in 2016-17, ‘How to have difficult conversations about migration’. We are confirming details for this event and will contact everyone on the Think Global list as soon as they are available.
Human Flow screenings available At the end of 2017, the artist and documentary film maker Ai Weiwei released a documentary about the global refugee crisis to critical acclaim. One review said it was “epic in scope yet clear-eyed and intimate”. Google ‘human flow’ to find a trailer. We’ve negotiated a bulk buy of rights to organise community screenings of the film. We’re also preparing some pointers to putting on a short discussion after the screening which links the film to our campaign work, and we have a template leaflet which we can slot your details into to help with publicity.
National activists’ meeting on migration When: Saturday 17 November, 11am-4pm
Where: Global Justice Now office, 66 Offley Road, London SW9 0LS With special guest speaker Zrinka Bralo, chief executive of Migrants Organise; plus Guy Taylor and Ed Lewis from Global Justice Now. Global Justice Now has been working on migration for nearly three years now. In this time, activists have engaged with this topic in a variety of ways - some have made it a major priority, others haven’t addressed it at all. And there have been a range of views expressed on what we are working on, and how we do it. For these reasons, we are organising a national activists’ meeting on migration. The agenda will include education about issues relating to free movement, the hostile environment and the causes of migration; learning about different ways to campaign on migration locally; and open discussion on ways forward with our campaign. We also welcome input from groups and activists as to what the agenda should look like. To book your place, or for other enquiries, email guy.taylor@globaljustice.org.uk (or call 020 7820 4900). A more detailed agenda will be circulated nearer the time.
Please be aware though that the film is over two hours long, so maybe be more suitable for a weekend screening than a weekday evening If you want to put on a screening, contact the activism team activism@globaljustice. org.uk or 020 7820 4900. October 2018 7
Access to medicine Summer stalls
A big thank you to all groups who held stalls over the summer on the pharmaceutical campaign and collecting names for our petition to the Department of Business. All of our ‘The Price isn’t Right’ games were ordered and we had to start asking groups to pass them on. Please send in your completed petitions if you have not done so yet. If you have any specific feedback on the game and how useful it was, please email activism@globaljustice.org.uk as we would love to hear from you and learn how we can improve on the campaigning materials that we send out to groups.
Alternatives to big pharma
We are coming to the end of our six month research project with the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, StopAIDS and Just Treatment to produce a joint report that includes policy proposals to transform the current profit-driven health innovation model. Our current system is producing highly priced medicine, geared mainly to treating the conditions that affect people in
the most lucrative markets (the global north). And while big pharma is the most profitable industry in the world, basic research is being largely funded by the public sector. Our new report will explore how the public can take greater control over how medicines are researched, developed and distributed. Building on Pills and Profits, it will present a number of policy proposals which would put the public interest, and democratic constraints, back into the drug industry. The report will be launched in mid-October and we will be sending local groups a copy of the report as well as copies of a briefing that can be used either as part of public education or with MPs. We’ll also include a brief guide on what can be done to promote these ideas widely, but you may want to think about putting on a public meeting with one of our campaigners speaking about the report’s findings, either towards the end of this year or at the beginning of 2019. If you’re interested in doing this, please email the activism team on activism@globaljustice.org.uk or call 020 7820 4900. Global Justice Bexhill and Hastings
8 October 2018
Aid watch Challenging the government’s funding of private schools In September we wrote to the Department for International Development (DfID) to challenge their use of aid money to fund Bridge International Academies, which runs over 500 private schools in India, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Uganda. Our letter draws together extensive evidence of Bridge’s failings, based on findings from our partner groups in these countries Despite touting their ‘low cost’ credentials, Bridge schools are in fact unaffordable to many; they rely on often unqualified teachers who deliver entirely scripted lessons in a mechanical way; and they subject teachers to excessive workloads and pay them poorly. As a consequence of these and other failings, the government in Uganda and Kenya are trying to shut Bridge schools down Our letter is supported by a range of civil society groups and the National Education
Union (NEU, the merger of the NUT and ATL) in the UK. It demands that the UK government immediately cease funding Bridge schools. We await their response and will provide updates via our website. Read more about this issue on Nick Dearden’s article for New Internationalist, which you can find at gju.st/aidsep18
Are you a teacher?
In the next few months, we will be releasing a report on the use of UK aid money to fund private education - a problem which goes well beyond the specific case of Bridge - and presenting the alternative - free, universal, public education delivered by the state. The report presents an opportunity to reach out to teaching unions at a local level and interest them in our work. We are already working with the NEU at a national level, but NEU branches, and indeed NASUWT branches, may be interested in hearing about this issue.
Internationalist Network Model motion We’ve included with this Think Global a copy of the model motion to affiliate to Global Justice Now for use in trade union branches and any other local organisations. Only some of these types of organisations require a formal motion, but it can be useful so people are clear what they’re agreeing to. Affiliation, which includes an annual fee, is very valuable to Global Justice Now, but the Internationalist Network doesn’t require a monetary commitment like this. All we need is a point of contact in the banch or group concerned and a willingness to circulate any materials sent.
We’re shortly going to be sending out our first mailing to those who have already signed up to the Internationalist Network, including copies of Ninety-Nine magazine.
Speaker network In order to take all the opportunities we can to speak to other groups about our campaigns, we’d love to hear from group members and other local activists who might be prepared to speak on behalf of Global Justice Now on specific topics in their region. Email guy.taylor@globaljustice.org.uk if this could be you. We’ll be happy to provide support, including standard talks. October 2018 9
Activism and events news Global Justice Edinburgh has been revived by a new set of activists after a hiatus of around 18 months. They went straight from their first organising meeting to a protest at the Royal Bank of Scotland around the 10th anniversary of the financial crisis. A small group of Global Justice Now supporters got together in Skipton for the first time to see what they could do together in the town, and are looking into awarenessraising around the trade campaign. Global Justice Bristol joined the Bristol protest against Trump’s visit (above) and have also been involved in anti-fracking actions, including a banner drop at the Environment Agency building with Bristol Rising Tide.
Global Justice Worthing had a hot but productive day at Worthing Carnival, with lots of public support for the pharma campaign, including from NHS staff, and 150 signatures collected on the petition.
Global Justice Nottingham had a successful stall at the Nottingham Green Festival, with a lot of people engaging with the pharma campaign and signing the petition.
Activists also ran a Global Justice Now stall at Dundee Pride, complete with rainbowcoloured Global Justice Now stickers!
Global Justice Richmond and Kingston held a stall at Kingston Carnival. They collected signatures on the pharma campaign petition to the business secretary. Jeannette from the group said: “It was an easy topic to talk to people about and everyone connected with the NHS was very keen to sign! We also distributed literature about that campaign as well as about free movement.” Global Justice Gloucestershire watched a series of videos on the destructive nature of palm oil plantations and resolved to support organisations trying to do something about it. The group is happy to share details of the videos with others. Global Justice Shropshire held a public meeting about climate change and corporate power with James O’Nions speaking. it was well attended, despite clashing with an England World Cup match, and led to increased interest in the group’s activities. 10 October 2018
Rotherham for Global Justice collected around 90 signatures on the pharma campaign petition at Rotherham Show despite it raining all day. Group co-ordinator Gill said: “It was very easy to speak to people about it with the game and posters.” Global Justice Bexhill and Hastings ran a stall at Hastings Interfaith Forum’s garden event, playing The Price Isn’t Right game to great effect and also handing out migration materials.
Migrant solidarity activities in Bexhill.
Stop Trump protests
Something in the region of 200,000 people joined the London demo against Donald Trump’s visit in July, with a further 50,000 plus marching in Edinburgh and smaller protests in other towns and cities. The London demo was the largest weekday protest in decades, or maybe longer, and together with the ‘Baby Trump’ blimp was very prominent in news coverage of Trump’s visit. The march attracted a diverse crowd, with lots of creative, homemade signs and a friendly atmosphere despite the size.
Global Justice Glasgow took part in Trump demonstrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with group member Darren speaking to local television news from the protests (above). They were on two discussion panels at the Take One Action film festival, and also took their Paddington Bear costume to the Scarecrow festival in Bothwell and Govanhill International Festival. Global Justice Leicester held a stall and talked about our current campaigns at a CND Peace and Justice evening. Global Justice Cambridge ran a stall at a local community festival, and are preparing for their hostile environment coalition event.
Youth network
Freshers’ Fairs at universities provide a great opportunity to meet potential new members for our youth groups, and we kicked off the season with a fantastic 250 interested people signing up at Sussex University in Brighton. As Think Global goes to press, stalls had also happened or were planned in Glasgow, Leeds, York, London (SOAS), Bristol and more. We also had a youth network delegation at The World Transformed political festival which runs alongside Labour party conference with a youth-orientated public meeting to follow this up.
Global Justice Now played a key role on mobilising the demos through our involvement in the Stop Trump coalition, and director Nick Dearden was among the speakers at the London rally. Members of groups from around the country joined our ‘chicken bloc’ and we handed out hundreds of leaflets about the dangers of a US-UK trade deal. Other Global Justice Now activists joined the migrant solidarity bloc, which used our office for a banner-making session the night before. In September Trump suddenly announced a visit to Ireland, but pulled out not much more than a week later after a range of groups threatened to protest. The challenge now is to turn a willingness to turn out against Trump’s visit into a more sustained opposition to ‘Trumpism’, the kind of racist authoritarianism which is growing like a cancer around the globe.
Goodbye Laura After three years as our Manchester-based northern organiser, Laura Williams is leaving to run an energy democracy project with Carbon Co-op. She’s been a complete star supporting our groups and the youth network in the north, and while we can’t currently replace her, we do hope to have more regional support for groups in the future. October 2018 11
Current materials Our main campaigns
Other work
Pharmaceuticals and corporate power
Climate and energy justice
• • • • • •
**NEW BRIEFING: Ending corporate impunity MP BRIEFING: Pill and profits REPORT: Pills and profits LEAFLET: Sick of corporate greed ACTION CARD: Sick? CAMPAIGN FACTSHEET: Overview of the campaign • POSTERS: Shocking facts (x4, laminated)
Trade • • • •
BRIEFING: E-pocolypse Now (e-commerce) MP BRIEFING: Trade Bill BRIEFING: Giving away control DISCUSSION PAPER: Ten alternatives to a corporate trade agenda • BRIEFING: Trading with Trump
Migration
• POSTCARD: MPs not border guards • BRIEFING: How to talk to your MP about MPs not Border Guards • BRIEFING: Hostile environment • ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET: Free movement • BRIEFING: Migrant crisis or poverty crisis?
Aid
• REPORT: The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund • REPORT: Re-imagining UK aid • BRIEFING: Re-imagining UK aid executive summary • REPORT: Honest Accounts 2017 - How the world profits from Africa’s wealth • REPORT: The privatisation of UK aid • REPORT: Gated development
• LEAFLET: Change the system, not the climate • LEAFLET: Repowering the future: Municipal energy in practice • BRIEFING: Towards a just energy system
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
Exploring alternatives booklets
• BOOKLET: Another Economy is Possible economic democracy • BOOKLET: Seeds of Change - food sovereignty • BOOKLET: Rays of Hope - energy justice
General materials
• ACTIVIST READER: Making Another World Possible • BRIEFING: The Dangers of Trump • ‘HOW TO’ GUIDES: Guides to various aspects of activism • SIGN-UP SHEET: Double-sided, Global Justice Now branded • STICKERS and BADGES
Scotland specific materials
• BRIEFING: Scottish migration briefing • BRIEFING: Update for trade campaigners • BRIEFING: Principles 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