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OFFICERS Co – Chairs Gee Bernard,

Kimani Nehusi Youth

Dean Crumbie Vacancy

Elder Martha Osamor

Tony Gill General Secretary

Glenroy watson Treasure

Martin Seaton Publicity Dr Abo,

Membership Secretary

Alex Ellington Campaign

Coordinator Minka Adofo

Trustees Jason St John

Bobby Bennett Nubian Emperor

Jaiyeola Bagbansoro Judy Richards

Gem Melbourne Auditors

Collin Bascom Vacancy Vacancy

Educational Officers Eddie Beresford

Spiritual Officers Priestess Ifayoriju

Press Officers Funmi Alder

STILL

NO DOGS, NO IRISH & NO AFRIKANS

“TESTIMONIES” from the Afrikan Community Living in the United Kingdom

Complied by the Global Afrikan Congressuk (GACuk) P.O. Box 49564 Walthamstow London E.17, 7ZX Mobile 00 44 7956 954 341 Email: SecretaryGACuk@aol.com Website: WWW.Globalafrikancongress.org

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Greetings

THE MINIMUM EXPECTATION FROM DURBAN II

Global Afrikan Congressuk (GACuk) are campaigning to ensure the following are the very minimum outcome to our demands of Durban II; Review process.

1. Language agreed upon during the 2001 United Nations World Conference

Against Racism in Durban, South Afrika which declared the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade as a “Crime Against Humanity” must be restored in the United Nations official document

2 The specific word “Reparations” and the specific phrase “Trans Atlantic Slave Trade” must be restored to the document

3 A permanent forum must be established by and for those who define themselves as “Afrikan” or “African Descendants”

We further note and recognised that the above represent standing still. We will have returned to where we started in 2001. This standing still will give the international community more time to continue doing nothing while our people continue to fall victim to global racism. Our campaign within the UK, has gained the support of some Members of Parliament (MPs) who have endorsed the Early Day Motion (EDM) below. We continue to campaign for the support of others members.

“That this House recognises the importance of the forthcoming Durban Review Conference to be held in Geneva in April 2009; recalls the declaration of the previous World Conference Against Racism held in Durban in 2001 which emphasised the importance of the provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, and compensatory and other measures at the national, regional and international levels, aimed at countering the continued impact of slavery and the slave trade; and urges the Government to support proposals for action at the Review to ensure that the recommendations of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action are put into practice.”

To date none of the few Afrikans elected to the House of Commons have carried out any role related to the Durban Declaration and program of Action.

Global Afrikan Congressuk General Secretary

Glenroy Watson P.O. Box 49564 Walthamstow London E17, 7ZX

GACuk Mobile 00 44 7956 954 341 Mobile 07956 133 450

Email SecretaryGACuk@aol.com FaxAnsaPhone 00442085310601

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It is feared that the elevation of most into government has been a process whereby they will be seen and not heard, where they have been led to believe that ‘the accepted humble calf sucks the most milk’. This has not been our experience of British politic. When they realise this their time will have passed.

Afrikan people in the UK are being driven toward forced integration with demands such as ‘Britishness’ test that many born in this country could not pass. These amount to prolonged and continued enslavement for which reparation are due. Reparation is at the heart of our organisation.

Global Afrikan Congress is an international Non Government organisation with Chapters around the world in all of the recognised global regions. In Durban I South Afrika, the Genesis of our organisation was conceived within the Afrikans and Afrikan Descendant’s Caucus (AADC) who were responsible for leading the campaign and ensuring that when the US and other States started to attack smaller nations delegations in Durban on the issue of Reparation and Colonialism we were there and in place to counter these attacks. A year later in 2002 at the United Nations Afrikans and Afrikan Descendent World Conference Against Racism in Bridgetown Barbados, our international Global Afrikan Congress was born. Whilst the world had it’s head turned after September 11, toward towards the so called “war against Terrorism” the Global Afrikan Community did not lose sight of the gains that had been made in Durban I. Whilst the events at our shaky birthday cannot be ignored, our creation and continued existence are testaments to our triumph within the face of those who would not wish to see our people progress. Out of Barbados came our Bridgetown Protocol which can be found at www.globalafrikancongress.org. Our website also reports on our second conference in Suriname South America where we agreed our constitution.

Gee Bernard GACuk Co Chair and Delegate

Co – Chairs Gee Bernard & Kimani Nehusi, Youth Dean Crumbie,

Elder Martha Osamor & Anthony Gill, Secretary Glenroy Watson, Treasure Martin Seaton Publicity Dr Abo, Press Officer Funmi Alders, Membership Alex Ellington, Campaign Coordinator Minka Adofo

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INDEX

Page 1 Cover : Still No Dogs, No Irish and No Afrikans

Page 2 -3 Position Paper and history of GAC

Page 4 Index

TESTIMONIES

Page 5 – 15 A case study Abu Akil

Page 16 – 18 View of a Pan – Afrikanist Living in England

Page 19 – 20 Supplementary School Afrikan Youth Culture

Page 21 – 22 Mental Health: A Survivor tale

Page 23 – 24 Equality. A quick draft

Page 25 – 26 Treatment of Migrant Workers

Page 27 – 37 Access to Justice in Britain

APPENDIXES

Page 38 Appendix A Motion passed by GACuk

Page 39 – 40 Campaign Material ‘Lobby of Parliament’

Page 41 Draft Letter to UK Members of Parliament

Page 42 – 43 UN Motion passed 29th January 2005

Page 44 – 45 Leaflet Campaign Against Immigration Control

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CASE STUDY - ABU AKIL, GAC UK MEMBER

31ST MARCH 2009

A COLLATION OF UK STATISTICS POINTING TO

THE CONTINUING IMPACT OF THE SLAVE TRADE

ON PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN CONTEMPORARY UK SOC IETY.

INTRODUCTION

This information was hastility pulled together for the Durban review conference in Brussels next month. I am a father with a range of competing demands, living on the edge of the social and political economy, without the comfort of support structures presumed available to writers of such texts. These findings were gathered from largely internet based material with brief reflections of my own (in italics AA 09). As an introduction my perspective is clarified in explaining the lens through which I experience and witness the perpetuation of slaveries relationships, through the ideological vehicle for slaveries development and its legacy known as Racism.

1. RACISM AN IDEOLOGY

I define an ideology as a set of ideas steeped in material practice. Application of this ideology reproduces conditions which reinforce its credence as a social fact I.e. self fulfilling prophecy.

Racism places people on a hierarchical spectrum of value determined by skin colour groupings. At the top of this ideological hierarchy is whiteness [& approximation to whiteness], at the bottom of this hierarchy is blackness [and approximation to blackness].

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For example corporate board members who argue that black men are disproportionately underrepresented in British corporate decision making due to low intellectual ability, and lack of self discipline, create the material conditions which diminish black men’s potential for being elected as valued board members. We therefore are faced with the fact of such under representation being perpetuated and at the same time being justification for its continuation.

The ideology of racism has served to marginalise people of conscious African descent from all areas of the political economy and crucial strategic development. Most critically there has been a persistent marginalization from the generation of information and analysis directly impacting on, and integral to strategic community development, and its related necessary resources. The fact of this marginalization (and synonymous fragmentation) is echoed in the variety of definitions used to denote this historically specific collective experience e.g. African Caribbean, Black. Black African, Black other, All Black or Black British and Mixed.

2. GLOBAL AFRICANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UK POPULATION

UK Population Size 7.9% from a non-White ethnic group

The majority of the UK population in 2001 were White (92 per cent). The remaining 4.6 million (or 7.9 per cent) people belonged to other ethnic groups…..Around half of the non-White population were Asians of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or other Asian origin. A further quarter were Black, that is Black Caribbean, Black African or Other Black. Fifteen per cent of the non White population were from the Mixed ethnic group. About a third of this group were from White and Black Caribbean backgrounds. In Great Britain the number of people who came from an ethnic group other than White grew by 53 per cent between 1991 and 2001, from 3.0 million in 1991 to 4.6 million in 2001. In 1991 ethnic group data were not collected on the Northern Ireland Census. [1]

“ The Report of Policy Action Team 18 on Better Information (2000),which relates to the information needs for the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal, emphasised that “some of the groups in society that are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of social exclusion are forgotten simply because not enough is known about their particular circumstances”. It added that ONS should “ensure that more administrative data is coded by ethnicity”. [1]

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“Geographic Distribution 45% of non-White people live in London....Seventy eight per cent of Black Africans and 61 per cent of Black Caribbean’s lived in London. The non-White population of the UK is concentrated in the large urban centres. Nearly half (45 per cent) lived in the London region in 2001, where they comprised 29 per cent of all residents. ...Other ethnic minority groups were more dispersed. After London, the second largest proportion was in the West Midlands (with 13 per cent of the non-White population), followed by the South East (8 per cent), the North West (8 per cent), and Yorkshire and the Humber (7 per cent)” [2]

3. EDUCATION

(AA09 – African descendents are having to spend longer in education, with the lowest rewards, due to marginalization from educational and business institutions. This in turn reinforces the impact of poverty, poor mental health, and, accidents due to overrepresentation in accident prone industries i.e. semi skilled work as labourers and drivers. We are witnessing an ongoing cycle of depravation. This contrasts sharply with the geographical approximation of these communities to the UK’s most vibrant local economies.)

“Education Chinese pupils have best GCSE results

The lowest levels of GCSE attainment were among Black Caribbean pupils. Only 23 per cent of Black Caribbean boys and 38 per cent of Black Caribbean girls achieved five or more A*-C grade GCSEs. Pupils from the Other Black, Black African and Pakistani groups had the next lowest levels of attainment….[2]

School exclusions

In 2001/02 Black pupils were more likely to be permanently excluded from schools in England than children from other ethnic groups. The highest permanent exclusion rate was among Black Caribbean pupils, at 42 per 10,000. This was three times the rate for White pupils. Chinese and Indian pupils had the lowest exclusion rates, at 2 per 10,000 and 3 per 10,000 respectively. [2]

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Highest qualification

In 2001/02, only people from the Black Caribbean, Other Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups were less likely than White British people to have degrees (or equivalent). Among men, Black Caribbeans were the least likely to have degrees (8 per cent). [2]

4. ECONOMY

(AA 09 - The exclusion of African men is obscured in most practice, and official documentation, with an emphasis on African diaspora heritage women as primary socioeconomic stakeholders. White men are reflected in images and reports as the model of ‘normality’)

“Employment Patterns

Self-employment

In 2001/02 around one fifth of Pakistani (22 per cent) and Chinese (19 per cent) people in employment in Great Britain were self-employed. This compared with around one in ten White British people and less than one in ten Black people. [2]

Industry

Certain ethnic groups are concentrated in particular industries….. Half (51 per cent) of Black Caribbean women worked in the public administration, education or health sector, which was the highest proportion for any ethnic group. [2]

Occupation

Those most likely to be employed in professional occupations were from the Indian, Chinese, White Irish, and other non-British White groups,..White British people had relatively low rates of people working in professional occupations (11 per cent overall). The only groups with lower rates of professionals were Black Caribbeans….The pattern was similar for managers and senior officials. [2]

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Among women in employment, around one in ten Black African women and White Irish women were working as nurses in 2001/02, compared with only three in 100 White British women. “[2]

(AA 09 - African diaspora heritage women work in areas of domestic and social care services, whilst men are on the margins of all employment)

“ Labour Market

Young Black African men, Pakistani men and women, Black Caribbean men and women, and men belonging to the Mixed group had unemployment rates in excess of 20 per cent. The comparable unemployment rate for young White British men was 12 per cent and 9 per cent for young White British women.” [2]

“Economic inactivity

Men and women from non-White ethnic groups were more likely than their White counterparts to be economically inactive, that is, not available for work and/or not actively seeking work. Reasons include being a student, being disabled or looking after the family and home. [2]

“ For both men and women, all ethnic minority groups (with the possible exception of Indians) were less likely to find themselves in paid employment in the last decade and there has not been any progress in this regard – there is a long way to go before ethnic equality can be realised…

…At each level of education, Black African men and women report themselves to be most severely discriminated against in the labour market, closely followed by Black Caribbean men…

At higher levels of education, Black African and Black Caribbean men and women are least satisfied with work life, social life and life overall.” [4]

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..The position of Black African and Black Caribbean men and women in the labour market needs further exploration (Heath & Li, 2007). The following questions need to be addressed: why are they not enjoying the returns to education that Whites and Indians enjoy?; how and why are they being discriminated against?; how do the barriers operate against those with different levels of education, for those born in Britain and those born overseas?; how can discriminatory behaviour be effectively tackled?; how can policy interventions break these persistent inequalities and change things for the better?” [4]

“Pay gaps

All groups of ethnic minority women and men experience pay gaps relative to White British men, except Indian and Chinese men. [3]

Pay penalties

Among ethno-religious groups, Pakistani Muslim, Indian Hindu and Black African Christian women suffer pay penalties among both the low and more highly qualified. Bangladeshi Muslim women and men and Pakistani Muslim men suffer clear pay penalties when they have low qualifications, but not when they are highly qualified. (vii) Black African Christian, Chinese and Indian Hindu men, and Black Caribbean Christian women suffer pay penalties when they are highly qualified (level 4+), but not when they have low qualifications.

Pakistani women £9.61 Pakistani men £9.98 Black African men £10.23 Bangladeshi men £10.24 Bangladeshi women £10.63 Black African women £10.63 Indian women £11.09 Black Caribbean women £11.14 [4]

…Younger and older workers experience pay gaps, but do not tend to suffer pay penalties.

Several groups of men also experience substantial pay penalties…

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The implications are that strategies to reduce the gender pay gap are a priority and even more so for certain groups of women, for example, disabled women. Raising the average level of qualifications will reduce pay gaps across groups and reduce pay penalties, though not in all cases. Tackling labour market discrimination remains a priority in reducing inequality manifested in pay penalties.” [4]

5. AGE GENDER FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD STRUCTURE

(AA 09- Break down of familial relationships and capacity for developing social structures)

“ Age/Sex Distribution Non-White groups are younger

Among the non-White group, Black Caribbeans had the largest proportion of people aged 65 and over (11 per cent) reflecting the first large-scale migration of non-White groups to Britain back in the 1950s…..

38 per cent of both the Bangladeshi and Other Black groups were aged under 16, and 35 per cent of Pakistanis also fell into this age group. This was almost double the proportion of the White British group where one in five (20 per cent) were under the age of 16….” [2]

“ Types of household ….around half of Black Caribbean (48 per cent) and Other Black (52 per cent) households with dependent children were headed by a lone parent. The percentage for the White British group was 22 per cent…

…Just one fifth (19 per cent) of Black Caribbean households contained a married couple, which was the lowest proportion of any ethnic group.

Black Caribbeans were most likely to live in households which only contained pensioners (13 per cent).” [2]

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6. HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

(AF 09 – What is reflected below are the impacts of the social and economic burden placed on black women with male relatives marginalised, combined with underdeveloped social support structures. The over representation of people of African descent in the chronic sector of mental health services is heavily documented, whilst extensive policy measures continue to fall wide of solutions. The primary causative factor being the continuity of relationships of racism steeped in slavery that pathologise African descendents holistic institutions of care, spirituality, and coping strategies)

“ Health Asians have worst self-reported health. In some groups the difference between men and women in their rates of disability was much greater than in others. In the Indian, Pakistani, Black Caribbean and Black African groups, women had higher rates than men. In the White British and White Irish groups it was men who had higher rates than women.

Drinking After the White Irish, Black Caribbeans were most likely to drink above the guidelines. Twenty seven per cent of Black Caribbean men and 17 per cent of Black Caribbean women did so…All other minority ethnic groups were much less likely than the general population to have consumed alcohol in excess of the daily guidelines.

Victims of Crime Emotional reactions to racially motivated incidents were generally more severe than for non-racially motivated incidents…. Black victims were most likely to report being ‘very much affected’,” [2]

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7. SPIRITUALITY

(AAPF 09- Spirituality is almost exclusively recognized through the lens of organized religion. The marginalization of non Christians, and exclusion of significant communities such as Rastafarians reflects the ideology of racism driving people to culturally approximate to whiteness and white culture)

“ Religion 7 in 10 identify as White Christian. Majorities of Black people and those from Mixed ethnic backgrounds also identified as Christian (71 and 52 per cent respectively). In total there were 810,000 Black Christians and 347,000 Christians from Mixed ethnic backgrounds. [2]

Fourteen per cent of people in the Other Black group chose not to answer the religion question, almost twice the average for England and Wales as a whole. Similar proportions of people in the Black Caribbean and Mixed ethnic groups also gave no answer.” [2]

“Religion Religion plays an important role in people’s socio-economic life and, seen from its own perspective, people of minority religious identities, particularly Muslim, Hindu and Sikh groups, are much more likely to face unfair treatment in the labour market. This holds true for both men and women….” [3]

8. CONCLUSION

This case study document has given a very brief insight into the disparities in socio economic life experienced by UK based African descendents. This has been done by using abstracts from public bodies that were established to identify and guide the development of UK civil society.

The UK Government has not yet been able to openly relate to African descendent s on the progress made since 2001. Indeed most are unaware that commitments had been made, and can see little in the way of improvements to their collective condition. The dominance of the credit crunch, and middle eastern international relations has further marginalised this crucial sociopolitical infrastructure issue. It is profound that the very people bearing the weight of slavery, and disproportionately impacted upon by the failing world economy are marginalised from dialogue for change (G20 is being hosted in London’s docklands build on the economy of slavery, which is home to the largest UK African Descendent population). Crucial elements of the solution are close by, if only they were to engage in meaningful working relationships on the premise of the 2001 Durban resolutions.

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It is my recommendation that the Durban Review conference in Geneva takes seriously the reality of slaveries legacy reflected in racism today. It should do this by agreeing a motion empowering the UK Global African Congress as a voice for reparations, through a resolution that strengthens the potential for respectful synergy between this body and the UK Government, in order to develop this local and global capacity, as an exemplary community development model.

The recommended model is one through which the organisation in partnership with other African reparations entities can synonymously build capacity, and, lead in action research towards addressing the seemingly intransigent barriers in the UK social fabric, that continue to diminish African descendents human rights.

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REFERENCES

[1] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ethnic_group_statistics/downloads/ethnic_group_statistics.pdf

[2] Focus on Ethnicity and Identity describes the ethnic groups that form the UK’s population. This overview reveals that the differences between individual ethnic groups are often greater than between the minority ethnic population and the majority White British people. A National Statistics publication Published 2004 HMSO.

[3] http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publicationsandresources/Documents/Equalities/Inequalities_in_Education,Employment,Earnings.pdf

Equality Group In Equalities Ineducation, Employment And Earnings: A research review and analysis of trends over time CEHR Autumn 2008

[4] http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publicationsandresources/Documents/Equalities/Pay_Gaps_by_equalities_summary.pdf

Pay gaps and pay penalties by gender and ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age. CEHR Winter 2008/09

CONTACTS

Abu Akil email: paakil@yahoo.co.uk

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P.O.Box 2937 Mitcham CR4 1WA

anzingha@hotmail.com 6th April 2009

The Views of Pan-Afrikanists living in England To the United Nations (UN) Conference Against Racism in Geneva 20-24 April 2009 “We are being funnelled over the edge of a cliff and our ‘Negro’ leaders are encouraging us to form an orderly queue!” From “Saving our Sons” by Paul Ifayomi Grant, page 120. We believe that it is time now, for the world to listen to Afrikan Descendants and we demand justice. As an Afrikan people living in the United Kingdom, we would like to advise the UN that the British government has failed miserably to address the needs and wishes of Afrikan-descendants since the last conference in 2001. They have failed us in education, they have failed us in employment, they have failed us in the media, we are forced to pay a TV licence fee to the BBC and then they only make programmes, which malign, humiliate and disgrace Afrikan-descendants, there is no consultation about this. No consideration is given to the fact that Afrikan-descendants and their children suffer many present day problems because of the scandalous and barbarous act of slavery, colonialism, imperialism and the ensuing white supremacist practices across the globe, which stripped us of our identity and caused us untold harm. Afrikan-descendants suffer daily from the devastation, which has been our historical experience. In contemporary society we constantly have to fight against great obstacles to try to restore our true identity as an Afrikan people and to inform the world of the outstanding contribution to historical developments which has been made by our people. In this we get no support from the present government, the opposition or even from the leader of the Human Rights Commission, Trevor Philips. Just a few months ago he, (Trevor Philips) was quoted in the news as saying that the police were no longer racist and this, at a time when our young Black men are being accosted by the police on a daily basis, being searched in full public view on the streets, their DNA is being taken and held without their permission, whether they have committed a crime or not.

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The UK government is not interested in providing equality and justice for people of Afrikan-descent, if they were, they would listen to the voices of grassroots Afrikan people, they would listen to the Global Afrikan Congress (GAC) and not to those in our community whose only goal in life is to collude with the destruction of their own people so that they can get an OBE, or MBE or other such opportunity. The political agenda of serious Afrikans who are sincere to create change is ignored in favour of an agenda that suits European sensibilities; this leaves most Afrikans feeling powerless, frustrated and un-represented and does not fill our children with confidence. This type of treachery happened to Marcus Garvey, to Malcolm X, to Martin Luther King, it happened to Winnie Mandela and continues to this day. Drastic measures are needed to enable the Afrikan world to become self-reliant. For the government to select Trevor Philips, a person whom most of the Black community considers to be a sell out Black, to represent their views, confirms for serious activists, that the government are not interested in hearing what Afrikan-descendants want to say. This is a disgrace because the Black world is already saturated with these neo-colonialists who fail to stand up for the rights and freedom of their own people and this outrageous situation should no longer be tolerated by those who claim to be serious about bringing into being change that is meaningful, effective and revolutionary. Afrikan-descendants are tired of empty rhetoric, whilst our people continue to suffer. We are tired of seeing our motherland Afrika the richest continent on the planet portrayed to the world as a poverty stricken, begging bowl area of the world, whilst white supremacist and their neo-colonial Afrikan lackeys milk Afrika of our resources and our people derive little or no benefit. This is a viscous racist practice, which must stop. These practices are damaging to the human spirit and create great stress and mental agitation for Afrikan-descendants. It is full time now for those who have wronged us to put this right but instead European and North American governments use every trick in the book to keep Afrika and Afrikans destabilized. We want an end to this and those who have wronged us must be held accountable for their actions. It is pointless Europeans saying that they were not there; they are the inheritors of their ancestor’s legacy, just as Afrikan-descendants are the inheritors of their ancestor’s legacy and we demand justice.

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The weekend of 4/4/09, we had the good fortune to attend a seminar about how Black people came to hate their hair and their skin colour. Part of the event showed an experiment video of young Black children being asked to choose between a white doll and a Black doll. Children as young as five were asked to choose between the good doll and the bad doll, they were asked to choose the doll with the nicest hair; in nearly all cases the children chose the white doll and stated that the Black doll was ugly, bad or other negative comments. These negative views have been handed down since slavery and very little has been done by the media to correct them. Details of these events can be seen at: www.colourtelly.co.uk; and www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk. I cite this to show the nature of the damage and devastation, which has been done to Afrikan-descendants, and yet many in the world want us to deny our pain and our suffering. Dr Marimba Ani author of the world famous book “Yurugu” tells us that the continuity of our culture has been interrupted cruelly and unnaturally by the experience of slavery. We as a people are still suffering from this crime because we have not been allowed to find our way back to the sense of cultural identity and continuity, which would transform us into a unified and whole people. We have not been able to function in the world with a collective consciousness that naturally imparts a strong sense of cultural roots. See also her work “To Be Afrikan.” In the spirit of all our great ancestors, we demand respect for our humanity and respect for the intolerable suffering that we are having to undergo to reveal our historical experience; each time we see a picture of the slave ships, of the rape, of the torture and terrorism carried our on our people we relive that experience. Nothing could ever heal such painful memories but fairness, justice and reparations and an end to our suffering can help heal our painful wounds. Nzingha Assata On behalf of the Alliance of Afrikan Women

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TESTIMONY

Gloria McHugh Leytonstone Supplementary

School

Funding for Afrikan Youth Culture Even at a time when the needs of Afrikan youths is very clear to everyone who should know better, the effort to get funding from any source within Local and National government is still being met with insurmountable barriers. When applications are turn made, and are unsuccessful, applicants are always told and encouraged to ‘apply again, you might have better luck’. What they are not told however, is that by the time the restrictions which prevent you ‘from applying more than once in the same quarter or financial year’ is over, the criteria and application forms will have been changed and even the department you apply to have moved or under different names. Some time these changes are planed year in advance, but the applicants are never informed when they are being told ‘apply again’. Seminars on how to apply for funding are made available, but are very rarely adequate for the task and are out of date by the time you need to apply. With better funding for supplementary they Schools could employ more Teachers committed to educating Afrikan Children in Afrikan cantered education and culture. With better funding for supplementary Schools we could help Afrikan youth in the UK with a better understanding of themselves with direct face to face with their culture both at home and abroad. All of this would go toward giving our youth both boys and girls a better sense of self worth and value of themselves All this is known to the UK government. The constant refusal of funding and the difficulties and obstacles put in the way of those seeking funding mean that most if not all supplemental Schools are having to charge poor Afrikan parents for further education of their Children. Most cannot afford these extra costs.

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These Children are then left on their own and at the mercy of older Children. A well funded supplementary school system would be well placed to:-

• Address the musical talent of our Children instead of the glorification we now see nowadays with guns, violence and crime being seen as an “easy life”.

• A language barrier is being created between generations in which young people are unable to commutate, not able to communicate in English or any of our own language. Many are being forced out of the formal educational system at an early age, mirroring the same problem as that experienced by their parents and generations before.

• Pupils are trying to get their Teachers dismissed; Teachers are made powerless in these types of circumstances.

• Youths are being made to feel that they do not have any hope of getting jobs in the top echelon; 70% of people of people who are educated in public school do not go on to University.

• Drug uses among young people is starting lower and lower, which means that their dependence are longer and longer and they cannot concentrate on their studies.

• Without help for young mothers of our youth, they will continue to be led astray by older children and continue the cycle of staying out late and all night

This cycle needs to be broken. Proper funded supplementary School could help to curtail the current violence within the youth in our community. RECOMMENDATION

1) More fund being made available to supplementary schools 2) Help towards developing a higher quality within our Teachers 3) Increase access to funding specifically providing the types of education

which will help with an understanding of where Afrikan Children are within the global society

4) Greater access to book clubs and Afrikan centred written words

Elder Gloria McHugh

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Mawasi Bojang’s Testimony on Racism in the UK

TESTIMONY

Mental Health in the UK I am a survivor of the UK mental health system. I have been associated with the system for 20 years. In that time I have grown from a green youth to an experienced adult. The mental health system has been declared as yet another UK institution that is institutionally racist. I am now a consultant and researcher, working within the mental health system to try and improve things. I started research into the racist practices of the mental health system 15 years ago and since then in that area very little, if anything has changed. One of my first pieces of research revealed that Black Africans especially those from the Caribbean were being taken into the mental health system far more frequently and with more coercive methods, more than any other racial group within the UK. The police were most likely to be involved in their admittance to hospital rather than a GP. (General Practitioner-Doctor) as was the case for whites. I myself have had the misfortune to be admitted with the involvement of the police. Another practice that was rife within the mental health system was the behaviour of giving Black Africans high dosages of psychiatric medication. Long term usage of which has been proven by the mental health charity Mind to be detrimental to the very nervous system that it is meant to help. There is also initial evidence that these very same drugs are fatal. It is already known that they cause heart irregularities and that people who are in the mental health system in the UK die on average ten years earlier than the rest of the population and this excludes suicide. I myself have been subjected to dangerously high dosages of psychiatric medication. Which has contributed to my inability to have children. It’s known that the medication has a contraceptive effect as well as lowering or neutralising the libido.

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In 2005 the Mental Health Act Commission commissioned a census of the mental health system in the UK and it was found that Black Afrikans were:

• 29% more likely to be restrained than any other racial group.

• They were 50% more likely to be on secure wards.

• 50% of the mental health patients in London were Black Afrikan and

we make up over 40% of the UK mental health population when we are only 2% of the UK population.

• We are 40% more likely to be in hospital for over a year and we are

44% more likely to be sectioned.

• We are 49% more likely to receive medication instead of talking

therapies and we are 44% more likely to be held against our will.

There is no statistic that I could find on the racial background of the deaths in the mental health services but ALL the deaths, excluding suicide that I have heard of have been Black Africans. These figures are despite the fact that it has been proven that we have the same mental health morbidity as our white counterparts. I have had the misfortune to be a victim of these statistics and so also have many of my friends. Every year since 2005 the census has been conducted and to-date the statistics remain the same for Black Africans. Which means one must conclude that nothing is being done to deal with the problem and eliminate racism within the UK NHS and the UK as a whole. I therefore declare and state that since 2001 and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances. The UK has not made a concerted effort to address the problem. Things have remained the same and I genuinely fear for the next generation. The government has not taken up it’s responsibility to tackle this problem and racism remains rife and pervasive throughout the land.

Mawasi Bojang’s

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A Quick Draft

TESTIMONY

Equality The questions of equalities are diverse. In Britain the USA, Afrika, the Caribbean they were and are still relevant. These issues have been pioneered from the times of slavery. The equalities movements originated during the times of the “ancient” empires of Rome, Greece, the more relatively Ottoman, British and USA, to mention a few. Resistance by the oppressed, including women, and the enslaved and colonial oppressed “subjects” are part of the story. In Britain there were also other movements arising from the question of land, workers rights, the right to vote, etc. More recently due to campaigns which identified racism there were moves to establish institutions to develop social-policies to combat discrimination at the workplace in educational institutions and the whole gamut of social end economic and political institutions. Thus the British and other governments established buffers between the state and community, watering down and high-jacking policies developed within communities and establishing organisations and recruiting so-called community leaders to mediate, thus the establishment of the Community Relations Council, the transformed into the Commission for Racial Equality and now a merger of to form the Equalities Commission; within local government we also have various derivatives dealing with “equalities” and racism matters. We have no positive results. Even the police force is riddled with Afrikan and Asian senior officers taking action or moved to areas or positions. These leaders are not in touch with the communities, hence in Britain, for example, facilities for the future generation and elderly have been decimated or run by quasi-bureaucratic personnel. A case in point is the privatisation of libraries, educational institutions especially in the inner city areas. There are some organizations worthy of mentioning, which were born out of communities and were independent of government control.

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These were the dynamic which drove governments in the USA, Britain and Europe to institutionalise the practices of discrimination. Some of these dedicated themselves specifically to the task, Notably the League of Coloured Peoples and The Movement for Colonial Freedom. In the USA we had the NAACP; The National Urban League, Student non-violent co-ordinating committee, etc. This concept of co-opting “leaders” and distancing them from the communities which built their “careers” is not new, but there will always be those who stay rooted and in due course create situations to uproot traitors and corrupt government officials and parties. In Britain, the first experiences in industry were in the transport sectors, rail and bus. Some trade unionists gave support, but it was the unity between anti-racist campaigners and Black workers which opened the gap. Real policies and institutions should, to ensure stability, be controlled as a partnership with constituencies/beneficiaries and partner organisations, otherwise chaos will come.

Buzz Johnson

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Glenroy watson Trade Unionist

Railway Workers on London Underground since June 1979 to date

TESTIMONY

The Treatment of Migrant Workers “Failure by those who know better”

I am now entering my thirtieth year working on the railways in London. I am a second generation Afrikan born in the Afrikan populate Island of Jamaica, immigrated to the UK at age 12 where both my fathers also worked on the railway, one until retirement. In the late sixties, most Afrikan and other ethnic minority people might have been led to believe that the naked racism experienced on the streets of London with signs openly barring them from shops and bed sits were things of the past. The reality was that it had simply gone into the workplace. In my case, it had simply gone underground. When I joined the railways in 1979 I encountered not merely pockets of resistance to Afrikan Workers participation and the right to earn the best possible living, but major built in, know and talked about resistance. The highest paid jobs for underground Drivers was the Victoria line and in 1979 it was almost all white. In 2001 I was part of the Trade Union delegation in Durban South Afrika. I note with great pride the Durban Declaration and Program of Action when it speaks of Migrants:-

11. We note that the process of globalization constitutes a powerful and dynamic force which should be harnessed for the benefit, development and prosperity of all countries, without exclusion. We recognize that developing countries face special difficulties in responding to this central challenge. While globalization offers great opportunities, at present its benefits are very unevenly shared, while its costs are unevenly distributed. We thus express our determination to prevent and mitigate the negative effects of globalization. These effects could aggravate, inter alia, poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, cultural homogenization and economic disparities which may occur along racial lines, within and between States, and have an adverse impact. We further express our determination to maximize the benefits of globalization through, inter alia, the strengthening and enhancement of international cooperation to increase equality of opportunities for trade, economic growth and sustainable development, global communications through the use of new technologies and increased intercultural exchange through the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity, which can contribute to the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future based upon our common humanity, and all its diversity, can globalization be made fully inclusive and equitable;

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As an Afrikan who’s Ancestors had suffered, forced migration through enslavement to nations in the South, and then economical migration back to the North, I support fully the right of Workers to migrate if they so wish from any one part of the world to another. However, the treatment of migrant Workers and so called undocumented Workers in the UK have not changed much since the days when signs in Landlady’s windows would publicly ridicule Afrikan people. Laws on Workers rights in general and those specifically aimed at migrant Workers since 2001 have served to create a climate of fear and terror among those who’s status can be challenge with impunity by all including Landlord and employers with false and unchallenged statement about fines. An increase in the “government inspired” campaign of British Jobs for British Works – see Appendix E - comes on the backs of laws to allow employers to sack long term employee who are currently going though the long drawn out process of naturalisation which can take years. These Workers have paid to state bodies during years of employment, taxation and state National Insurance, to which they have no access. These payment are however, never returned, and it is clear, at least on the London Underground that the cleaning companies such as ISS – known to its employees as ‘International Slave Service’ have been well aware of the status of these employee but have only moved against them when they have campaigned for an improvement in wages and joined the trade union. Workers have simply been called to the employer’s office, in some cases after more than 10 years of employment, and simply asked to produce their passports. When these workers have instead produce British Home Office documentation that they were entitled to work until the government have made a decision, they are simply sacked, without even that week’s salary. Many Trade unions have failed to defend these Workers sighting legal status. Employers can call on what they call ‘Third Party Pressure’ whereby they can dismiss and employee ‘on the request of sub contractor’ and have this position supported in law, where the 3rd party cannot even be made to give evidence. The human rights of migrant Workers are being abused, while the trade union and human rights structures standby and watch, while current government legislation and pending legislations are due to make their conditions worst still.

Glenroy watson

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Access to Justice in Britain

Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress and compensatory and other measures to victims and access to legal assistance so victims can pursue such measure

“I know that the greatest part of the reason I was treated so badly at work and during my grievance is because I am a ‘female’ but more so, because I am a ‘Black Jamaican’ but I can’t prove it.” [Respondent to EOC investigation]

Note - Black is used to refer to people of African, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and Pakistani origins How is it possible to uphold your rights if you have no access to the means to uphold them? Legislation and policies are often too complex for people to understand them or to understand how they affect their rights. The British Government has consistently undermined our rights by bringing in regulations that make it more difficult for people to find lawyers funded under the legal aid system, to take cases of discrimination and harassment and to find organisations funded to support them. They ignore the fact that this will have a greater impact on Black people because of the legacy of enslavement, colonialism and oppression. The Government has done little to resolve the under resourcing of bodies established to provide redress. The Government has failed to give a direction on expected funding for complainant aid, support for Black organisations redressing the effects of enslavement or support Saturday Schools for Black children. Enslavement is now on the school curriculum but taught by the same system which disproportionately excludes Black boys. No direction has been given to work with Black History Month groups with greater experience and so able to help teachers to get it right. In some cases it funds quangos which simply repeat their mistakes and create more of their own. For instance, the Commission for Racial Equality’s (CRE) total annual grant for providing complainant aid services was £424,000 in 2002 to organisations in Birmingham; Bradford; Bristol and Avon and London. The CRE budget for that year was £20 million [CRE Annual Report 2002]. The media reported that the Chairman of the CRE received a golden handshake of £120,000 in August 2002 after resigned as a result of pleading guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour. The CRE has now become part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Despite repeated community requests it has refused to establish a Race Committee. It has established a Disability Committee to ensure that issues for disabled people are properly addressed. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 established a race equality general duty which requires public bodies to have ‘due regard’ to the need to: • eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; • promote equality of opportunity and • promote good relations between people of different racial groups.

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The specific duties under the Act require all listed public bodies to publish a Race Equality Scheme that identifies all functions and policies that are relevant to race equality. The Scheme should be a timetabled and realistic plan, setting out the public body's arrangements for meeting the general and specific duties. They must also set out arrangements to: • Assess and consult on the likely impact proposed policies will have on the promotion of race

equality • Monitor policies for adverse impact • Publish the results of the impact assessments, consultation and monitoring • Make sure the public have access to information and services • Train staff on both the general and specific duties • Review the list of functions/policies at least every three years

There are still public bodies with no Race Equality Scheme, either stand alone or as part of a Single Equality Scheme. Few use the legislation to ensure to cover procurement so contracts are Equality Impact Assessments in many areas involve no consultation with Black communities, contain poor ethnic monitoring data and are not published. Although the duties apply to services contracted out little is done to ensure that the contractors comply with the duties. Neither duty applies to the private sector directly. This denies Black people the opportunity to have a say in measures which an affect their access to services and employment, let alone seek redress for the effects of racism. The British Government’s own Departments have failed to carry out Equality Impact Assessments on their own work. The Commission for Racial Equality took issue with them on this before being merged into the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The British Government has failed to ensure that the EHRC is sufficiently resourced to monitor and ensure pubic bodies are supported to fulfil their legal obligations. They have also done nothing to ensure compliance or to impose any sanctions against those who refuse to comply by, say, ring fencing or reducing Government grants respectively. Complainant aid needs to be put on a statutory footing and beyond the reach of government and its appointees. There is a need to: 1. re-establish a specific national complainant aid strategy and budget; 2. build the infrastructure of independent national movements to enhance and protect

complainants’ rights 3. ensure the establishment of the funded complainant aid network based on best practice. 4. ensure that the independent movement is represented at all levels within the network and

that it is able to support and monitor local complainant aid units and 5. establish complainant aid funding on a three year basis, subject to performance. The British Governments’ preparation for the UN Durban Review is in itself seriously flawed. They have an Action Plan which is only available online http://www.communities.gov.uk:80/publications/communities/210470 despite research consistently showing that Black communities have a lower level of access to the Internet than white communities. The report was launched with little follow up for communities to comment or input into future work. They have put little information on the UN Durban Review in the public domain for the British people to understand what the process is, what our Government is saying on our behalf and how we can influence this if we think they have missed something. They create bodies and policies to address racism but then hand them over to people with little experience of dealing with the issues or other agendas. The bodies or policies then get overridden by other agendas. For instance, Britain has nine Government regions.

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Each is meant to have a Black Network specifically to address race issues in the voluntary, community, public and private sectors. They worked alongside voluntary and community sector organisations who worked to develop their sector but often forgot that Black organisations were part of that sector. Management of these regional bodies were handed over to their regional office, organisations which rarely had a good track record on engaging with Black people let alone addressing our issues. It was not seen as an accident that they started to disband the Networks at the point at which £18 million was made available to develop the voluntary and community sector. This meant that very few of the Black Networks were able to provide the support to their communities to access the support that funding was meant to deliver. Organisations which offer advice and/or funding to private or voluntary and community sector organisations get little direction for the British Government. They have the means to support Black businesses and communities to redress the effects of racism but in many cases have little or no contact with Black people. There are few requirements for them to monitor the take up of their services by race. What evidence is available shows that they provide little resources but when they do, they over scrutinise Black recipients. [Black voluntary and community sector funding, civic engagement ad capacity building, The 1990 Trust] What funding is available is generally short term, eg 1 or 3 years, with little time to embed the work properly. Even where good Black projects exist there are constant threats from white organisations who see the £ signs and think it’s easy to do the work or attacks from bodies who see them as too powerful within their community so set out to destroy them. The Government does nothing to ensure resources are made available directly to Black organisations or to educate those who seek to get in our way. They have yet to learn that those on the receiving end of racism are often the ones best placed to advise on how to end it and on what effective remedies, recourse, redress and compensatory and other measures are needed. Case in Point

Racism in the Workplace

Figures released by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in May 2007 indicate that employment is still a major issue of concern for Black communities. They received over 5,000 complaints between December 2006 and May 2007 with 43% related to employment. The most common complaints were about workplace bullying, lack of career progression and being unable to secure interviews. Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) research published on 30th April 2007 clearly supports the CRE statistics. JRF found that Black people do not receive the same rewards as people with similar qualifications from white backgrounds. In 2004, white men were paid an average of £1.80 per hour more than Black men. It has also been revealed that in 2005/6 there was a 23.7% increase in race discrimination cases submitted to Employment Tribunals. The average award for a race discrimination case was £30,361. CRE statistics found that 17% of all complaints received over the period were media related. The number of media complaints doubled over the Big Brother period. Education was also a leading concern among Black communities. 15% of all legal complaints were linked to education with 50% concerning primary and secondary education and 25% regarding university and postgraduate education. The statistics highlighted health, ethnic monitoring and local government services as other areas of concern.

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Case in Point

Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force (EMETF)

The EMETF was formed in 2003/4 to tackle the Ethnic Minority Employment gap. That gap is still obstinately large and persistent. [EMEFT minutes, 3rd July, 2008] In its review of the second year’s work of its work, it still focussed on the type of measures where Black people are the cause of their fate rather than the effects of racism: • “Building Employability: ensuring people have the necessary education and skills to get and

keep jobs; • Connecting People to Work; helping people, especially those living in the most

disadvantaged areas, to find jobs; and • Equal Opportunities in the Workplace: ensuring that people are not disadvantaged when

finding work and gaining promotion because they come from an ethnic minority group.” [EMETF Annual Report February 2006] EMETF also overlooked the fact that research consistently shows that Black people are more likely to be well qualified: Percentage of people (aged between 25 and 64 years) qualified to degree level or above

White 19.9

Black 24.4

Asian 24.3

Black 21.9

Mixed Ethnic Origins 23.5

Chinese and Other Ethnic Origins 27.6

[Labour Force Survey, October-December 2006] Its Strategy for 2008/9 includes the achievement of considering the legal feasibility of having a Job Outcome Target for ethnic minorities in Jobcentre Plus. It then sees its new strategic challenges: � Positive action to tackle discrimination � Ensuring that government mainstream programmes are set up to be effective for ethnic

minorities � Effective local, targeted interventions They were questioned about whether the progression of Black staff on positive action schemes is tracked. It was explained that a new Civil Service scheme Leaders Unlimited is in place, but it will be 3-4 years before the evaluation takes place. [EMEFT minutes, 11th December 2008]

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Case in Point

Promote people not stereotypes - Busting the myths about Black women at work

Source - Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and U NISON South East Regional Black Members’ Group

“All the little people are Asian or Caribbean but not in the manager role. They are all Caucasian. I think that’s why a lot of people leave. Because since I’ve been here a lot of ethnic minority people have left that have been here for a while. You have to move to go up.” [Focus Group, EOC investigation]

The (EOC) identified five employment gaps in their “Moving On Up?” investigation: 1. Participation. Bangladeshi and Pakistani women have the lowest rates of participation in

the labour market of any group in Britain. 2. Unemployment. Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean women are more likely to be

unemployed than white British women. 3. Progression. Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean women continue to be under

represented in senior level jobs. 4. Pay. Pakistani and Bangladeshi women face a bigger pay gap than white women. 5. Occupational Segregation. Black women are clustered in a narrow range of workplaces,

jobs, sectors and local labour markets. The EOC is now working on their finding that Black women are "missing" from almost a third of workplaces in areas with significant Black populations, something that Black people notice every day but this is apparently news to other communities. They have issued a guide to bust myths about Black women as they found that widespread stereotypes about Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean women make it harder for us to get a job and to get promoted. Myth

“Black women are not well qualified. That’s why they’re not employed in better-paid jobs in higher positions”

Fact • Of those in employment, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Caribbean women are more likely

than white women to be graduates. • There are fewer Caribbean women with no qualifications at all than there are for women

or men of working age from any other ethnic group. Yet Caribbean women are twice as likely to be unemployed as white British women and less likely to be employed as managers or senior officials.

• In 2006 more Bangladeshi girls obtained five or more good GCSE grades, including Maths and English, than white British boys.

• Despite their qualifications, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women with a degree and seeking work are five times more likely to be unemployed than white British women with a degree.

Myth

“It’s too risky taking on an Asian woman. They could be sent away to get married and chances are they’ll leave anyway as soon as they have children”

Fact • Two thirds of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in work have dependent children,

compared to just half of white British women in work. Myth

“They don’t speak English – that’s why they don’t have jobs”

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Fact • Around three out of five Caribbean and Pakistani women and nearly half of Bangladeshi

women were born in the UK. The EOC has also issued four challenges to close gaps in participation, unemployment, progression, pay and segregation facing Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Caribbean women.

Organisations must: • Develop cultural intelligence of line managers so they can confront racism, sexism and anti-

Muslim prejudice and support a diverse team. This means addressing organisational values and employee perceptions through a programme of internal cultural change, led by a commitment from the very top.

• Improve careers advice and guidance for young people and women. • Increase support for working parents. • Recognise that the situation for Black women may be different to men and different to white

women. Case in Point

Complainant Aid

Source - National Complainant Aid Campaign, 2003

“Northern Complainant Aid, a Bradford-based organisation set up by former victims of racial discrimination, was particularly successful in tribunal cases and served as best practice model by such bodies.” [CRE Annual Report 1993]

In 1986 a group of Black workers in Bradford began providing free assistance to complainants in race discrimination cases against their employer, Bradford Council. Initially, this assistance involved representing complainants at internal grievance & disciplinary hearings; drafting RR65 Questionnaires and IT1s; referring complainants to the CRE’s Leeds Office; accompanying them to meetings with CRE Complaints Officers; assisting CRE Complaints Officers and CRE funded solicitors to gather evidence and attending Industrial Tribunal hearings to support complainants and assist CRE funded solicitors and barristers. In 1987 members of the group began to represent colleagues and other complainants at Industrial Tribunal hearings in cases where the CRE had declined representation. In 1989 The CRE convened a conference in Manchester to establish a national complainant aid organisation. The conference elected a steering committee (including a member of the Bradford group) to draw up concrete proposals. The steering committee presented proposals which recommended the establishment of a network of regional complainant aid centres, as opposed to a single national organisation based in London. In 1990 The CRE ignored the steering group’s recommendations and, instead, funded a ‘national’ organisation (based in London) called the Racial Discrimination Legal Defence Fund (RDLDF). Between 1990 and 1993 the CRE funded the RDLDF to the tune of £477,042. In 1991 Members of the Bradford group established the Northern Complainant Aid Fund (NCAF), a voluntary ‘not-for-profit’ organisation based in Bradford. The following year NCAF won a grant of £44,000 from the CRE and commenced full time service provision to victims of discrimination in Bradford and other parts of the country.

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In 1993 the RDLDF folded, having represented far fewer complainants than NCAF. The CRE Annual Report 2002 provided information about Employment Tribunal race cases in which they had represented complainants during the 12 month period covered by the report. Bearing in mind that the CRE’s legal budget (including staffing) for assisting complainants was more than five times the size of NCAF’s total budget, the comparison between their results is revealing: � The CRE won 9 employment race cases in 12 months - NCAF won the same number (9)

during the 12 months. � The CRE won £30,254 in awards in employment race cases in 12 months - NCAF won over

£69,331 in awards during the 12 months (and compensation is still to be awarded in two successful cases.)

� The CRE settled 119 employment race cases for a total of £682,688 - NCAF settled 79 cases for a total of £348,406 during the 12 months.

In other words, if we are talking ‘Best Value’, NCA F is more efficient and cost effective than the CRE. It is also worth noting that during the past 12 months NCAF has also: � won 3 sex discrimination claims and settled 3 others, securing a total of £71,650 in awards

and settlements in such claims; and � settled one Disability Discrimination claim for £5,000. The CRE’s Annual Report also reveals that the 90 CRE funded Race Equality Councils (RECs) only represented 16 complainants during the 12 month period covered by the Report. The Report states that the CRE gave RECs over £4 million in grants during the 12 month period.

WHAT WE WANT

� The removal of all regulations that prevent workers , trainees and job applicants from taking discrimination cases to Employment Trib unals.

� Free legal representation for workers, trainees and job applicants in discrimination cases.

WHY WE WANT IT

� Employers continue to discriminate against workers, job applicants and trainees.

� Discrimination law is complex and most employers hi re specialist solicitors and barristers to fight discrimination cases. But most workers, job applicants and trainees cannot afford to hire such lawyers and les s than 30% of workers can get trade union backing.

� This Government has deliberately undermined our rig hts by bringing in regulations that make it more difficult for workers , trainees and job applicants to take cases of discrimination to Employment Tribunal s, and by cutting grants to organisations that provide free representation for victims of discrimination.

Case in Point

Early Day Motions on access to effective remedies f or victims

These Early Day Motions were developed by members of the British Parliament as part of the National Complainant Aid Campaign. All were “talked out” of the House of Commons in 2004 so they could not become law.

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Early Day Motion 1728

That this House is committed to eradicating unlawful discrimination against workers, job applicants and vocational trainees and ensuring that there is access to justice and equality of arms in cases of unlawful discrimination; notes that discrimination law is complex and that access to legal representation is a significant advantage in tribunal proceedings; notes with concern that in the current financial year the CRE is devoting only 2 per cent. of its budget to representing complainants in employment discrimination cases and that the EOC and DRC are only devoting 3.1 per cent. and 5.5 per cent. of their respective budgets; further notes that the 2001 Employment Tribunal Regulations increased the amount of costs that can be awarded from £500 to £10,000 and made it easier for tribunals to award such costs; believes that the threat of such costs will inevitably deter workers, job applicants and vocational trainees from enforcing their legal right to equal treatment, particularly those who are non-unionised and low paid, thereby effectively denying them access to justice; and calls on the Government to make complainant aid a statutory right in discrimination cases and to establish an independent statutory fund for such complainant aid to be resourced by using 25 per cent of the current budgets of the existing equalities commissions (CRE, EOC and DRC). Early Day Motion 1727

That this House notes that the Dispute Resolution Regulations which came into force on 1st October require all employees to use their employer's grievance procedures before applying to an employment tribunal; notes the concerns expressed by the General Secretary of the TUC that the new measures will severely disadvantage non-union employees who cannot afford legal representation; and further notes that the well established guidance and principles approved by the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords in discrimination cases includes guidance that 'few employers will be prepared to admit such discrimination even to themselves'; notes that the courts recognise that victims of unlawful discrimination suffer injury to their feelings and that such injury can be exacerbated by having to relive the experience at hearings; is concerned that employees will be deterred from complaining about unlawful discrimination by the prospect of having to attend an additional hearing held under the auspices of the alleged discriminator and at which they will not have the benefit of legal representation; and therefore calls upon the Government to exempt those complaining of unlawful discrimination from the requirement to use their employer's grievance procedures before applying to an employment tribunal. Case in Point

Racial Harassment

Source - Supporting & empowering victims of racist harassment, July 2003

“She knew how I felt, you know, what prejudice is like…how much it pains. It was the first time I felt somebody was listening…” [Victim of racist harassment]

A study conducted by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 1999 found that victims of racial harassment felt isolated and cut-off from the traditional support channels available to victims of crime. The report found that: • There is an uneven spread of support projects around the country • Projects have been initiated for a variety of reasons - the need for a more co-ordinated

response, awareness-raising, or a political response to racially-motivated attacks. • A wide range of activities are undertaken as part of these projects. • Casework is the foundation of all the projects studied, but the degree to which casework

forms the basis of intervention varies. The positive aspects of casework - supporting the victim, rebuilding confidence, and validating the experience of victims of harassment.

• The number of cases undertaken by each member of an initiative varies greatly and variations in funding can lead to support being withdrawn from cases at short notice.

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• The racist harassment support sector could be strengthened by adequate funding streams, recognising the needs of caseworkers for structures of support, and developing community-based solutions to providing support and assistance.

The study called on government to recognise the importance of these services by agreeing a long-term funding strategy and introducing national guidelines so caseworkers can receive accredited training. It also urges projects to take a lead in building local coalitions of support for victims of racist harassment and community-led partnerships to challenge racist behaviour. Case in Point

Citizenship Survey: April - June 2008, England

The development of community cohesion is the attempt to build communities with four key characteristics:

• a common vision and a sense of belonging for all communities;

• the valuing of diversity

• similar life opportunities for all and

• strong and positive relationships are being developed between people from

different backgrounds and circumstances in the workplace, in the school and within neighbourhoods.(Communities and Local Government Department)

Community cohesion often starts from the false premise that Black people need to integrate more in British society. We are told that Black people are not part of British society as they re-create their country of origin wherever they live. The Home Office Citizenship Survey and other data consistently show a different picture. The 2004 CRE Annual Report YouGov survey showed that 94% of white people have few or no Black friends but 47% of Black people said that most or all of their close friends white. The 2005 National Citizenship Survey showed that Afrikans are more likely to have friends from different ethnic groups - 90% compared with 82% of Asian people and 47% of white people. The Race Relations 2006 report showed that 83% of Afrikan people mixed at least monthly with people from a different ethnic group in a home environment compared with 58% of Asian people and 27% of white people; at work, school or college - 73%, 64% and 47% respectively; through hobbies or sports clubs - 52%, 34% and 30%; socially outside work - 71%, 59% and 39% and at the shops - 76%, 84% and 60%. The Citizenship Survey April to June 2008 showed that people from Black backgrounds are more likely than white people to mix socially with people from different ethnic or religious backgrounds (96% compared with 81%). There was no difference between individual ethnic groups in their level of mixing. Feelings of belonging to one’s neighbourhood vary between different ethnic groups. Pakistani and Black Caribbean people are most likely to strongly agree that they belong to their neighbourhood (both 85%) compared with White people (76%), Indian people (76%), Black African people (71%) and people from the diverse Chinese/Other group (72%).

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There has been no change, since 2007-08, in feelings of belonging for individual ethnic groups.

Pakistani and Indian people are most likely to feel they belong strongly to Britain (92% and 90% respectively), compared with 83 per cent of White people. Feelings of belonging to Britain are lowest amongst Black African people (79%). However, in April to June 2008 a higher proportion of people from Black groups (20 per cent - Mixed Race (25%), Indian (22%), Pakistani (21%), Black African (20%), and Black Caribbean (18%)) thought that racial or religious harassment was a very or fairly big problem compared to white people (8 per cent). Civic consultation refers to active engagement in consultation about local services or issues through activities such as attending a consultation group or completing a questionnaire about these services. White people (21%) were more likely to engage in civic consultation than Indian (13%), Black Caribbean (12%) and Chinese/other people (12%). Two per cent of people felt they had experienced labour market discrimination by being turned down for a job because of their race, with eight per cent of people from Black backgrounds having experienced this form of discrimination compared to two per cent of White people. Black Caribbean (14%) and Black African (10%) people were most likely to feel they had experienced discrimination on the grounds of their race. One per cent of people overall felt they had experienced discrimination due to their race when seeking promotion. Seven per cent of people from Black backgrounds felt they had experienced this form of discrimination. In particular people from Black Caribbean (11%), Black African (8%), and Indian (7%) backgrounds, as well as the diverse Chinese/Other group (10%) were the most likely to feel they had experienced racial discrimination when seeking promotion.

One per cent of people felt they had experienced labour market discrimination by being turned down for a job because of their colour with six per cent of people from Black backgrounds having experienced this form of discrimination compared to one per cent of the population overall. Again, Black African (8%) and Black Caribbean (8%) people in particular were more likely to feel they had experienced this form of discrimination than other ethnic groups. Overall less than 0.5 per cent of people said they had experienced discrimination because of their colour when being turned down for a promotion. Black African people were the most likely to feel that they had experienced this form of discrimination (10%).

Judy Richards

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NORTHERN COMPLAINANT AID FUND CHECKPOINT, 45 WESTGATE, BRADFORD, WEST YORKSHIRE BD1 2TH

TEL. 01274 740340 FAX. 01274 725489

_____________________________________________________________

TEN FACTS ABOUT NORTHERN COMPLAINANT AID FUND (NCAF )

1. NCAF was founded by former complainants in Bradford in 1991 and 80% of its membership and staff were people who have brought claims of discrimination.

2. NCAF is a frontline service provider offering direct assistance to complainants through the provision of advice and information, case preparation and representation at Employment Tribunal hearings and appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

3. NCAF has represented complainants in 110 successful discrimination cases at

Employment Tribunals and secured over £1.7 million in awards and settlements in cases involving complex claims of race discrimination, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, unfair/constructive dismissal and breach of contract/wrongful dismissal.

4. NCAF has represented complainants in successful discrimination cases against a wide

range of public and private sector employers, including government departments (e.g. the Inland Revenue and the Dept of Employment), local authorities, private sector/multi-national companies (e.g. Hertz (UK) Ltd, Federal Mogul, Westminster Press, Takare plc, Next, Regis Europe, Yorkshire Cable, Riva Systems Ltd and Ricoh) and voluntary sector agencies.

5. NCAF also provides indirect assistance to complainants by training and advising trade

union officials, race equality officers and others. 6. In 1993 the Annual Report of the government’s Commission for Racial Equality (CRE)

described NCAF as the “best practice model” for complainant aid organisations. 7. In 1998 the CRE’s national audit of complainant aid work revealed that NCAF had the best

track record in the country in race discrimination cases. 8. The 2000 CRE National Tender for Complainant Aid Services revealed that NCAF had the

best record for advocacy in race discrimination cases and training effective tribunal advocates. As a result, NCAF was awarded the contract for the Midlands in addition to its existing contract for the North of England.

9. In April 2003 NCAF won a widely publicised pregnancy-related sex discrimination case in

Birmingham which prompted the Trade and Industry Secretary/Minister for Women, Patricia Hewitt, to launch a national investigation into pregnancy discrimination.

10. In July 2003 NCAF had to stop complainant aid when the CRE cut its annual grant from £240,000 to just £30,000. The Government has failed to intervene to ensure complainants have redress for racism and other forms of discrimination in employment. NCAF has since been waging an ongoing campaign for a national complainant aid service based upon rational and transparent funding criteria and verifiable evidence of achievement.

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Motion Passed by the Global Afrikan Congressuk’s

Geneva Working Committee:-

We, the members of the Global Afrikan Congress, call upon all Nation states involved in the enslavement of Afrikan People, to immediately address the issue of Reparation.

We further demand that the said States implement the UN 2001 Durban Declaration in relation to the remedies identified by the UN resolution

Recognition must be given that enslavement is the cause of poverty which has led to the global exploitation of the Afrikan people. This is manifested:-

• modern day racism • exploitation • poor health • high mortality rate • high unemployment • unequal trading • social exclusion • discrimination • Underdevelopment of infrastructures and Human Trafficking

This can be seen as modern day enslavement

Carried at GAC Monthly Meeting of the 28th February 2009

APPENDIX A

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GLOBAL AFRIKAN CONGRESSUK P.O. Box 49564 Walthamstow London E17, 7ZX

18th March 2009 Lobby of Parliamentary MPs.

1500 – 1900Hrs “What is the British Government saying to the UN on our behalf?”

• 15:00 Assemble and briefing in lobby after Commons Security • 15:30 Lobbing your local MPs • 16:45 Lobby ends make your way to meeting • 17:00 Meeting in Commons Committee Room 6 • 18:30 GACuk Overview of the position of our delegates, UK government and other NGO towards Durban II.

In April, our Government will be reporting to t he UN on what work they have been doing since 2001 to fight racism.

Do you know what they will be saying?

“The People of Afrika are waiting in anxious expectation for a concrete and constructive programme which will assist them to realise their hope and aspiration. They know their suffering; they know how heavy is their burden and we here today know too that if we fail them – woe betide us!”

APPENDIX B

Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah

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THE DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE

World Conference Against Racism

In August 2001 the United Nation held its third world conference against racism which is now known as Durban I. The International community, including the UK, were asked to come up with concrete actions to deal with the continued pernicious issues of Racism, xenophobia and other intolerance.

The previous world conferences were simply against Racism. The tap on of “xenophobia & other intolerance” was an indication of the UN being bounce, not quite ‘kicking and screaming’ away from the idea of addressing racism in its entreaty. Nation states like the UK & US knew in addressing Racism, you must address the cause of racism; Enslavement of our people.

The Afrikan community and our allies scored a very important victory over those who would not allow the conference to address the issues of colonialism and its sister, the global enslavement of Afrikan people. This victory meant both were declared CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. SUCH CRIMES HAVE NO STATUTE OF LIMITATION. This is one of the platforms needed to advance the fight for Reparation

Western governments have never forgiven us. The US and Israelis governments walked out of the conference and has been seeking revenge ever since. They have held up the whole five year review process which should have taken place during 2006.

Now they and their allies are at it again. They have tried to conceal the very existence of this process from Afrikans and other effected community.

DURBAN II

Geneva: Monday 20th - 24th April 2009 The Global Afrikan Congressuk (GACuk) has put together a delegation to be in attendance at the Durban II WCAR in Geneva during April 20 – 24th To ensure our delegation is success, we have put together a number of working group meetings in order to consult and take your views to Geneva. GAC international is also organised across the global and will ensure that all others within the Afrikan nation and the anti racist struggle are fully represented at this very important UN global international conference.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:- General Secretary Glenroy watson 07956133450 email Secretarygacuk@aol.com

Co Chair Gee Bernard 07986847681 and Kimani Nehusi 07903775491 Press Officer Funmi Alder 07958685239 Campaign Coordinator Minka Adofo 07940036305

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Name:…………………………….

Address ………………………….

Address …………………………..

Address …………………………. ……………………………………..

MP for …………………………

Dear

REPARATION FOR ENSLAVEMENT OF AFRIKAN PEOPLE UN World Conference Against Racism Review April 20 – 24th

As you can see from my address, I am a member of your constituency and intend to Lobby you on the 18th March between 1500 – 1700hrs. I am writing to you with regards to the above named Conference, where the British Government will be representing UK citizens on the matter of the work accomplished in relation to fighting racism since Durban 2001. As you will recall, all States within the global community – with the exception of Israel and the US - agreed under the Durban Declaration to enact legislation to help in fighting racism and the causes of racism. In addition failure of former British Prime Minster Tony Blair to take the opportunity of the 200 years Anniversary of the “Slave Trade abolitions act” to apologise to the Afrikan people for the crimes committed against them, there is not much to indicate any positive and effective work has been executed to the extent that communities affected by racism in the UK have been sufficiently supported to overcome the barriers created by institutional racism.

I am writing in support of the International Global Afrikan Congress (GAC) whose agenda is clear and focused on Reparation for the enslavement of Afrikan people. We are asking that the UK government hold the line and support the Afrikan people’s demands for Reparation

Yours Sincerely

……………………………… NOTE: Enclosed Global Afrikan Congressuk Motion to United Nation Review conference Extracts from the Durban Declaration United Nations 2007 Motion on Afrikan enslavement (attached separately)

APPENDIX C

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United Nations A /RES/61/19

General Assembly Distr.: General

29 January 2007

Sixty-first session Agenda item 155

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

[without reference to a Main Committee (A/61/L.28 and Add.1)]

61/19. Commemoration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade

The General Assembly, Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights1 which proclaimed

that no one shall be held in slavery or servitude and that slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,

Recalling that the transatlantic slave trade, which operated between the fifteenth and late nineteenth centuries, involved the forced transportation of millions of Africans as slaves, mostly from West Africa to the Americas, thereby enriching the imperial powers of the time,

Honouring the memory of those who died as a result of slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the middle passage and in revolt against and resistance to enslavement,

Recognizing that the slave trade and slavery are among the worst violations of human rights in the history of humanity, bearing in mind particularly their scale and duration,

Deeply concerned that it has taken the international community almost two hundred years to acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so,

Recalling that slavery and the slave trade were declared a crime against humanity by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 8 September 2001,2

Acknowledging that the slave trade and the legacy of slavery are at the heart of situations of profound social and economic inequality, hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice, which continue to affect people of African descent today, _______________ 1 Resolution 217 A (III). 2 See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I. 06-49557 A/RES/61/19

APPENDIX D

43

Recalling paragraphs 98 to 106 of the Durban Declaration,2 and emphasizing,

in particular, the importance of the “provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, and compensatory and other measures at the national, regional and international levels”, aimed at countering the continued impact of slavery and the slave trade,

Recognizing the knowledge gap that exists with regard to the consequences created by the slave trade and slavery, and on the interactions, past and present, generated among the peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, including the Caribbean,

Welcoming the work of the International Scientific Committee for the Slave Route Project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which aims to correct this knowledge gap, and looks forward to its report in due course,

Recalling resolution 28 adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at its thirty-first session, proclaiming 2004 the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition,3 and recalling also that 23 August is that Organization’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition,

Noting that 2007 will mark the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, which contributed significantly to the abolition of slavery,

1. Decides to designate 25 March 2007 as the International Day for the Commemoration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade;

2. Urges Member States that have not already done so to develop educational programmes, including through school curricula, designed to educate and inculcate in future generations an understanding of the lessons, history and consequences of slavery and the slave trade;

3. Decides to convene, on 26 March 2007, a special commemorative meeting of the General Assembly on the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to establish a programme of outreach, with the involvement of Member States and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to appropriately commemorate the two-hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade;

5. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session a special report on initiatives taken by States to implement paragraphs 101 and 102 of the Durban Declaration aimed at countering the legacy of slavery and contributing to the restoration of the dignity of the victims of slavery and the slave trade.2

59th plenary meeting 28 November 2006

_______________ 3 See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Records of the General Conference, Thirty-first Session, Paris, 15 October–3 November 2001, vol. 1 and corrigendum: Resolutions, chap. V. A/CONF.189/1

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THE POLITICS OF RACISM IS THE POLITICS OF DIVIDE AND RULE

The recession and increasingly stricter border and immigration controls in the UK mean that migrant workers, both undocumented and documented, are paying the highest price for this crisis. In the last few months increased document checks and raids by immigration officers in the workplaces and the use that employers make of migration controls have increased threats against migrant workers across different sectors. This is a deliberate policy of discrimination and a clear attack against migrant workers by the aggressive migration regime set up by the UK government similar to other governments in Europe. It constrains migrants’ access to work and the possibility to resist unfair working conditions by increasing their exploitability, through the threat of being sacked and eventually expelled. In the year 2007-08 enforcement officers carried out over 15,500 raids resulting in 10,750 arrests of migrant workers, while only few employers were charged. Immigration raids in the workplace as well as those of the homes of low paid care givers and cleaners often results in prosecution and imprisonment, summary removals, death and injuries for those escaping the raids and, adding insult to injury, withholding or confiscation of the hard-earned wages as “proceeds of crime”.

This is just another face of a legislation that restricts access to citizenship rights and social services under the rhetoric that distinguishes between “good” and “bad” migrants while leaving migrants and asylum seekers in a limbo of social exclusion and placing on them the heaviest burden of vanishing welfare. Despite this migrant workers are fighting back - cleaners in banks, offices and the tube, workers in factories, restaurants and those working the fields - often taking on sub-contractors, agencies and the big companies they are servicing and often with little or no trade union support. There have been victories won but the employers often victimise those leading and most active in the struggles using immigration controls. Subcontracted cleaning agency workers at the National Physical Laboratories were fired and deported after raising their voice against unfair working conditions. When cleaners on London underground won the Living Wage thanks to their strike, organisers and others were suspended and eventually dismissed as a consequence of checks on their National Insurance Numbers. Why are these attacks often directed against reps and unionised workers?

This is clear victimisation against migrant workers who attempt to organize on their basis of their status!

APPENDIX E

As the tensions in Lindsey and similar strikes in the country have shown, some will try to take advantage of the economic crisis to scapegoat migrants. This serves only to maintain the smokescreen that covers up the issue of migration, pretending immigration can be stopped or 'managed', to justify creating worse labour conditions, criminalisation and further control measures against all. In times of turmoil it is crucial to see the whole picture and to turn against those who are really responsible for it, rather than taking the easy route of blaming those who are most under threat. We should emphasise solidarity, not fearing tensions and understanding the complexity of the issues at stake. Everyone should take up the issue with their comrades and trade unions who may feel tempted to mobilise around the dangerous theme of 'British jobs for British workers' and talking in terms of "the exclusion of the

British Worker" (Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC). Instead we should be fighting together for Jobs for All Who Need Them. It is time to decide which side to take and especially now that the crisis is restricting access to employment and conditions at work are getting worse for all. The increased vulnerability of migrants increases the vulnerability for all workers. We must fight for Equal Pay for Equal Work and Equal Conditions for All . We call for all the workers, communities, civil society organizations and trade unionists in this country to state clearly what side we stand for. This is the side of migrant workers who are paying a double price for this cri

Ordinary people, migrant and non-migrant alike, didn't create this crisis, and we will not pay for it! AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!

FREE MOVEMENT FOR ALL!

HERE TO STAY! HERE TO FIGHT!

NO TO NATIONALISM AND RACISM IN THE LABOUR MOVEMENT ! If you want to turn these ideas into action you can get involved with the Campaign Against Immigration Controls. We meet once a fortnight on Mondays at: Transport House, 128 Theobalds Road, Holborn (5 minutes from Holborn Tube). Our next meeting is on Monday 6th April at 7pm or contact us at contact@caic.org.uk. Website www.caic.org.uk.

5 members of Unite the union have been sacked from the Willis building by the contractor Mitie for organising for better conditions. JOIN THE PROTEST! 1PM on EVERY FRIDAY 27 MARCH at THE WILLIS BUILDING, 51 LIME STREET EC3M 7DQ If you cannot go then please email Willis and Mitie on Friday demanding that the cleaners at the Willis Building are reinstated: write to clean@mitie.co.uk and castlesea@willis.com williscleaners4justice@live.co.uk

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GLOBAL AFRIKAN

CONGRESSUK