Join Campaign Against Arms Trade for an evening of talks and discussion on how to resist surveillance on the UK border and in our communities. There will be time for food and a social too!
We are seeing an increased use of military grade surveillance by UK police forces and the Home Office. On our borders, this is used to criminalise migrants. In our communities, this is used to target marginalised communities and to crack down on our right to dissent. Through working together, we hope to find ways we can resist this and all the other forms of repressive surveillance that are being used to criminalise communities and protest movements.
They will be joined by some amazing speakers including Abolish Reporting; Netpol; United for Black Lives; and Campaign Against Arms Trade. As well as hearing from what these groups are working on, there will be time for break out group discussions to discuss how we can take action against the UK’s surveillance state and how we make this part of our wider campaigning work for arms trade, policing and border abolition. We want to hear what you have to say!
Schedule for the event:
6.00 – 6.30: Food and welcome.
6.45 – 8.00: Speakers
8:00 – 8.45 : Break out groups.
8.45 – 9.00 : Feedback from discussions.
Food and drinks will be provided for free, but donations are welcome if you can afford it.
The venue is 5 minutes walk from Tottenham Hale Underground. The venue is accessible, including an accessible toilet. Please get in touch if you have any specific requirements: [email protected]
Our Speakers:
Campaign Against Arms Trade: is a UK-based organisation working to end the international arms trade. CAAT is increasingly campaigning on borders and policing, seeing it is a central part of the military-industrial complex that we are seeking to abolish.
United for Black Lives: is a coalition of BLM Groups from across the UK to support the liberation of Black Lives. Marvina Newton who will be speaking at this event is also part of a wide range of campaigns, including Black Lives Matter and Kill the Bill, and has spent years campaigning against racist policing and the crackdown on protest movements, amongst many more.
Tottenham Copwatch: is a community led and focused group here to protect ourselves and each other from the police. Over the years, there has been many incarnations of Copwatch, but we have seen dozens of them formed across the country after the murder of Sarah Everard and the introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. More information about Tottenham Copwatch can be found via n15copwatch.org and instagram.com/tottenhamcopwatch.
Abolish Reporting: is a national campaign calling for a world built on principles of care, not surveillance. Anyone who is waiting for a final decision on their application to live in the UK can be required to regularly “sign on” at an Immigration Reporting Centre which carries the risk of being randomly taken to a detention centre and threatened with deportation. Reporting conditions amount to unfair, unjust and unnecessary harassment of migrants, and must be abolished! Abolish Reporting London are currently campaigning against Capita who hold the government contract for managing the GPS electronic monitoring system, another form of immigration surveillance.
Netpol: is a UK-based organisation that monitors public order, protest and street policing and challenges and resists policing that is excessive, discriminatory or threatens civil rights. Netpol is currently running a Defend Dissent campaign in response to increasingly draconian attempts by the government to criminalise protest, including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the Public Order Bill. Resisting surveillance is one of the key elements of this campaign.
Register for the workshop here.