Up Front Autumn / Winter 2 013 Waronwant.Org

up front autumn / winter 2 013 waronwant.org

BANGLADESH SAFETY CAMPAIGN Gaza: Israel’s drone laboratory

Africa ’s new colonialism WELCOME

The collapse of the Rana Plaza building BANGLADESH in Bangladesh, killing 1,127 people, shone SAFETY CAMPAIGN the global media spotlight on the fashion industry. In this issue of Up Front we bear Western brands’ failure to ensure workplace safety tribute to those who died and our campaign to hold them to account by calling for justice for the victims of this terrible tragedy. The Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh is the Thanks to your support we have already secured notable deadliest workplace incident in the history of the garment victories and now need industry. While some brands are still refusing to act and the to build on this momentum victims are facing a bleak future, huge public pressure is to ensure the safety of all garment workers. We also forcing the industry to change. bring you news of our campaign to ban killer drones and an update on Colombian On 24 April this year, 1,127 people were killed and thousands more were injured when human rights defender Alfamir the Rana Plaza building collapsed. The majority of the victims were female garment Castillo, following our call workers. The disaster exposed the appalling conditions in which our clothes are made. for her protection. We first heard the terrible news from Amirul Haque Amin, president of our partner organisation in Bangladesh – the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF). He had begun mobilising support for the rescue operation and called on us to support the workers' struggle for justice. He told us “The deaths of these workers could have been John Hilary avoided if multinational corporations, governments and factory owners took workers’ Executive Director protection seriously.”

The day before the collapse, inspectors noticed massive cracks in the walls of the building and ordered the evacuation of all the businesses inside. However, workers in the garment factories were forced to return to their sewing machines by the owners, under the threat of having their wages docked or losing their jobs altogether. One hour later, hundreds of people were crushed to death.

War on Want Western retailers Benetton, Bonmarché, Primark, Matalan and Mango all acknowledged 44-48 Shepherdess Walk recent production in the factories. The workers had been making clothes bound for London N1 7JP the UK high street. We immediately launched a petition calling on the brands to join tel 020 7324 5040 the Bangladesh Safety Accord to prevent another such disaster, and to fully compensate email [email protected] the victims. The Bangladesh Safety Accord is a comprehensive project, with transparent web waronwant.org Registered Charity No. 208724 factory audits, mandatory repairs, effective worker training and is driven by trade unions. The Accord is legally binding: the companies that sign it will be forced to make Follow us: their supplier factories safe. @waronwant facebook.com/waronwant More than 90,000 people signed our petition, demonstrations were held outside retailers’ stores up and down the country, and we secured a huge amount of media Please help spread the word and coverage – all targeted at making brands take responsibility. In Bangladesh hundreds save money by sharing this copy of thousands of garment workers took to the streets protesting against the of Up Front unnecessary deaths. Front cover image: A.M. Ahad/AP/Press Association Images 02 ©

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The pressure paid off Under huge public pressure, following our protests and In a momentous victory, over 80 of the world’s largest petition, Primark offered to pay its share of compensation brands and retailers including Primark, H&M and Tesco to the victims. Yet despite Primark’s statement, Benetton, signed the Bangladesh Safety Accord. It is the first time Bonmarché, Mango and Matalan all refused to pay clothing companies have signed a legally binding agreement, compensation. Instead they made high profile statements with trade union involvement, taking responsibility for their that they would offer some form of ‘financial assistance’ supplier factories. to the victims. This falls far short of the responsibility these retailers have to the people who make their clothes. However, not all retailers have taken their workers’ safety seriously. Some companies, including Philip Green’s Arcadia Group – owner of Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Thanks to you the industry is changing Topshop – refused to sign the Safety Accord. In an attempt to While the battle for a fashion industry which respects salvage their reputation, Gap and Walmart launched their own workers’ rights rages on, together we have secured hugely voluntary safety plan. But it contains no binding commitments positive changes in the aftermath of this terrible disaster. and does not involve trade unions. Voluntary ‘solutions’ did not These changes will save lives. This has only been possible prevent the Rana Plaza disaster. Their voluntary plan is a sham. because of people like you demanding action and this groundswell of support has led us to where we are now: a We believe no one should have to work in fear of their life. truly ground breaking moment in the fight for workers’ rights. So we are demanding that Gap, Walmart and the Arcadia Group sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord to make factories safe and ensure garment workers’ lives are not put at risk. TAkE ACTION 1. Email Benetton, Bonmarché, Mango and Matalan Bleak future demanding compensation for the victims: With no income, thousands of injured workers, some waronwant.org/bangladeshfactory of whom may never be able to work again, are struggling to 2. Sign our petition calling on Gap, Walmart make ends meet. The families of the garment workers who and the Arcadia Group to sign the Bangladesh were killed had previously relied on their relative’s meagre Safety Accord: change.org/bangladeshsafetyaccord income to survive. These people now face destitution.

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M o h a m

Gaza: Israel’s m e d

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R e u t e r drone laboratory s Drones are indiscriminate weapons of war responsible for thousands of civilian deaths. Drones are also big business.

Remotely controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground, drones during the 2008-2009 Israeli military assault on Gaza, recalls allow politicians to carry out surveillance and launch his experience of living under the constant presence of military strikes without the risk of losing ground troops. drones circling above: “Every night the Palestinians in Gaza This ‘risk-free’ approach to warfare means the annual relive their worst nightmares when they hear drones; it market for drones is expected to rise from $5.9 billion never stops and you are never sure if it is a surveillance to $11.3 billion in the next 10 years. drone or if it will launch a rocket attack. Even the sound of Gaza is frightful: the sound of Israeli drones in the sky.” Israel is the single largest exporter of drones in the world, responsible for 41% of all exports between 2001 Disregarding abundant evidence in UN resolutions and and 2011. In fact, Israeli companies boast of their reports by international human rights organisations of competitive advantage in the global arms market due Israel's unlawful use of force and weapons resulting in to their extensive ‘testing’ in ‘real life’ situations. human rights violations, the British government continues its cooperation with Israel's army and military industry. Drones play a crucial role in maintaining Israel's siege of So much so that the British army has awarded Israeli Gaza, which has condemned its 1.5 million inhabitants to a company Elbit, and its partner Thales UK, a contract worth humanitarian disaster with no end in sight. Dr Mads Gilbert, nearly £1 billion to develop a new surveillance drone called a Norwegian doctor who worked at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital the Watchkeeper.

04 Left: Demonstration at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the UK’s new centre of drone operations.

Below: The Watchkeeper

WK450 surveillance drone.

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The design and technology of the Watchkeeper is based closely on Israeli company Elbit’s Hermes 450 drone, used extensively over Gaza. The Hermes 450 is described as the ‘workhorse’ of Israel’s military in its operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This means the technology used in British drones has been field tested on Palestinian civilians.

Rather than expanding the UK’s arsenal, our government should ban indiscriminate killer drones, just as landmines Following the call from Palestinian civil society, War on and cluster munitions were banned before them. Want is demanding a two-way arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law. This would see an end to As well as its imports of Israeli technology, the UK provides all dealings with Elbit and other Israeli weapons companies, direct material support for Israel’s aggression against the and an end to all licences for UK arms exports to Israel. Palestinian people. Israeli company Elbit has factories in the UK where it makes components for weapons that are Supporters of the military embargo call include Nobel used during attacks on Palestinians. At its Lichfield factory, Peace Prize winners Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead Elbit manufactures engines for the Hermes 450 drones, and Maguire, Betty Williams and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, and the testing ground for the UK’s Watchkeeper drones is best-selling writer Naomi Klein. ParcAberporth in Wales. Elbit is directly profiting from the Occupation of Palestine. We’re also calling on the UK government to ban killer drones. Together with other anti-war organisations, we The call to divest from Elbit has become a key element in organised the first national demonstration against drone the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement warfare, which was widely covered by the press. against Israel until it complies with international law – and there have been notable successes. In September 2009, after It is crucial that we keep the pressure on the British years of campaigning by War on Want’s partner organisation government to completely end its arms trade with Israel. Stop the Wall, the Norwegian government excluded Elbit Together, we can help end our government’s complicity from its state pension fund on ethical grounds. In March in human rights atrocities committed by Israel against the 2010, Sweden’s national pension funds announced that people of Palestine. they were excluding Elbit Systems from their investment portfolios. Leading players in the financial markets in Denmark and Scandinavia followed suit, with Deutsche Take action: support us in the call Bank, Germany’s biggest bank and a major investor in the for a two-way arms embargo on Israel corporation, subsequently announcing it was ‘out of Elbit’ waronwant.org/Palestine in May 2010.

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Human rights in Colombia In October last year, a man pushed a gun into subject to intense persecution: attacks, death threats the chest of human rights defender Alfamir Castillo and even attempted kidnap. and told her she was going to die. More than 3,000 War on Want supporters called on the Alfamir’s son was murdered by the Colombian army Colombian government to protect Alfamir and her family on 8 February 2008. The case was what is known in and she says of the support: “It is so important to feel like Colombia as a ‘false positive extrajudicial execution’, we are not alone, and for the Colombian government to where the army kills civilians and then falsely claims see that it can’t just stand by – people on the other side them as fallen guerrilla fighters. of the world are watching what happens.”

Since her son’s death, Alfamir has fought to bring her Despite having recently moved from their family home son’s murderers to justice. But it has come at great to a safer place, we remain concerned for the safety personal cost to Alfamir and her family, who have been of Alfamir and her family as the court case against two army generals progresses.

Tackling tax dodging In recent months, thanks to public anger over tax avoidance by multinational companies in the UK, tax has been high on the political agenda. At the G8 in June, David Cameron said he would get the UK’s house in order by shining a light on the UK’s tax havens. A month later, Undercover exposé: at a G20 meeting in Moscow, the public were told that the ‘golden era’ of corporate tax dodging is over. sweatshops in China But, in reality, little has changed. The UK still plays a central role in many of the world’s most significant tax havens. Breathless for Blue Jeans: Furthermore, it is easier today for UK multinationals to Health hazards in China’s dodge tax than it was when the coalition government came denim factories is our shocking new to power. It’s therefore imperative we keep the pressure undercover report on Chinese up to ensure government talk turns to action. sweatshops. Our research reveals that sandblasting is still Take action now: waronwant.org/tax

2.9A55.G.?1@6; widespread in China in order to 56;.L@12;6:3.0A

expose the companies that profit from exploitation. You o s h

can make a lasting difference to people’s lives across the B e r s world by leaving a gift in your Will to War on Want. o n / C o For more than 60 years, War on Want has been at the D e forefront of the struggle for justice, working with v inspirational people like human rights activist Berenice Celeita. Working for our partner organisation in Colombia, Berenice is faced with daily threats to her life, but she says “It is better to die for something than to live for nothing.”

Leaving the world a better future It’s so easy to make provision for your friends and family, and support the causes you care about by making a Will, or adding a codicil to an existing Will. Our free legacy booklet explains more. For more information, or to tell us of a gift you’ve already made to help us plan for the future, please fill in and return the form below. You can also write to Adina Claire, War on Want, 44-48 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7JP, call us on 020 7324 5043 or email [email protected].

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