Trade Justice Movement
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
coalition, founded in 2000, of more than 80 organizations campaigning for trade justice
Trade justice
Trade justice is a campaign by non-governmental organisations lobbying for changes to the rules and practices of world trade so that poor people and the environment benefit...
.
The coalition has a particular focus on UK and EU trade policies. This includes the removal of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's agricultural export and other subsidies that result in dumping, and the right of national governments to follow protectionist trade policies in the pursuit of social and environmental goals. Members of the Trade Justice Movement have had a major focus, working with allies internationally, on negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) since its first public event ahead of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, in November 2001.
The Trade Justice Movement has a present priority campaign on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), the European Union (EU) is negotiating with its former colonies in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP
ACP countries
The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States is a group of countries , created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The group's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy...
) countries.
The coalition also campaigns for effective regulation of the corporations that make up 70% of world trade. In 2006 this included one of the largest UK campaigns of that year with over 100,000 UK voters contacting their MP, resulting in changes to UK company law in the Companies Act 2006.
The Trade Justice Movement includes development and environment NGOs, trade unions, human rights campaigns, Fairtrade organizations, and faith and consumer groups. Current members include:
ActionAid ,
ACTSA ,
African Initiatives ,
Article 12 in Scotland ,
Baby Milk Action ,
Banana Link ,
BECTU ,
Breathing Space Arts ,
British Association for Fair Trade Shops ,
CAFOD Christian Aid ,
Church in Wales ,
Church of England ,
Church of Scotland, Board of World Mission ,
Columban Faith and Justice Office ,
CRED Foundation ,
Equal Exchange Trading Ltd ,
The Fairtrade Foundation ,
Find Your Feet ,
Friends of the Earth ,
Greenbelt Festival ,
Greenpeace ,
Herne Hill and Dulwich Trade Justice Campaign ,
International Muslim Association of Scientists and Engineers,
Labour Behind the Label ,
MAYC World Action ,
Methodist Relief & Development Fund ,
National Board of Catholic Women ,
National Federation of Women's Institutes ,
National Justice and Peace Network,
National Union of Students ,
National Union of Teachers (NUT) ,
One World Week ,
PCS ,
People & Planet ,
Peru Support Group
Peru Support Group
The Peru Support Group was established in 1983 to raise awareness of human rights violations committed during Peru’s internal armed conflict. It is a UK-based advocacy organisation with a fee-paying membership of approximately 500 people...
,
Progressio (formerly CIIR),
Quaker Peace and Social Witness ,
Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC) ,
Rugmark UK ,
SCIAF ,
Scottish Catholic Justice & Peace Commission ,
Scottish Episcopal Church Justice Peace & Creation Network ,
Shared Interest ,
Skillshare International (UK) ,
Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland ,
SPEAK ,
Student Christian Movement Teach A Man To Fish ,
Tearfund ,
Tools for Self Reliance ,
Tourism Concern ,
Trading Visions ,
Traidcraft ,
Trocaire ,
TUC ,
Unitarian Office of Social Responsibility ,
UNISON ,
United Nations Association of the UK ,
United Reformed Church ,
VSO ,
War on Want ,
Women's Environmental Network ,
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom ,
The Woodcraft Folk ,
World Development Movement ,
World Vision UK ,
Zomba Action Project .
The Trade Justice Movement has established a reputation for public mobilization in support of its goals. Its Mass Lobby of Parliament in November 2005 was the largest such event in the history of modern British democracy with 375 MPs lobbied in one day. This surpassed the previous record of 346 MPs lobbied in June 2002, which had also been set by the Trade Justice Movement. In 2003 the coalition staged the biggest national lobby of MPs when more than 500 parliamentarians were lobbied in their constituencies ahead of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Mexico, when talks collapsed. In April 2005 the coalition staged the biggest mass protest of the UK election campaign when over 25,000 people filled Whitehall at an all-night vigil.
The Trade Justice Movement secretariat shares the Ibex House,42-47 Minories premises in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the Fairtrade Foundation, which advocates for Fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
labeling in Britain. The coalition's current coordinator is Glen Tarman, formerly publicity manager at OneWorld.net.
In 2005 the Trade Justice Movement was one of the networks at the core of Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...
, a UK coalition of more than 500 organizations lobbying for the trade justice movement, debt relief, and increased foreign aid.