OCCUPY LONDON AGREEMENTS
OCCUPY LONDON: Consensus agreements 2011
Oct:
Nov:
-OL agrees to send message of solidarity to Egyptian activists (requested by the activists themselves).
Dec:
(Confirms that statements and declarations put out as being from OL must go through the OL General Assembly.)
-OL finance agreement (9.12.2011):
1) to put all decision-making power in the hands of the GA regarding what Occupy funds are used for
2) to hold working groups accountable for presenting receipts and records of spending
3) to reduce spending overall to match income as far as possible
4) to encourage creative sourcing of supplies and materials
–Core Ground Rules for Camp Members (15.12.2011):
We require peaceful, non-violent, sober, process/GA-respecting behaviour.
Anyone behaving in ways which violate these core ground rules can be asked to leave the camp.
The camp can dissociate from individuals who repeatedly violate; they will no longer be considered as members of the camp and will not be welcome to access camp facilities or to be involved in decision making.
OCCUPY LONDON: Consensus agreements 2012
Jan:
-OL gives the Land & Housing subsection of Economics working group the go ahead to approach other groups involved with housing issues, with a view to putting a paper to the government re addressing social housing need.
-OL agrees to open a bank account with the Co-op Bank, with the General Assembly being our governing body (ie only the GA can instruct the signatories to take money out of the account). The finance working group to administer the account but to make no decisions and cannot access the money. A brief statement of our aims/objectives is required by the bank & the following (not inclusive) statement is agreed:
“We are an entirely voluntary organisation, with no paid employees. All the money we receive is by donation. We do not sell anything. The aims and objectives of Occupy London are to illuminate current social and economic injustice. We are composed of people of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities, dis/abilities and faiths. All are welcome to join us. We want structural change towards authentic global equality.” (17.1.2012)
Feb:
May:
-OL agrees that people operating Occupy London email addresses and phone numbers (those on the website) are known to all and operate transparently and accountably.
June:
-OL agrees to support the Economics Working Group’s Housing petition.
-OL agrees to support Carnival of Dirt.
-OL agrees to support the Occupy Rio + Earth Summit statement
–OL agrees to support the Counter-Olympic event
-OL agrees to share an approach of listing and addressing common concerns, in the hope that things become less random and more effective.
OCCUPY LONDON: Consensus agreements 2013
Jan:
-OL agrees to support Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) memorial event.
Feb:
-OL agrees to support Debt Assembly in March.
March:
-People who have committed an act of violence will be banned from Occupy London structures (groupspaces, working groups, assemblies) for a period of at least 6 months with the possibility of a review after 3 months by a liaison.
(Violence = any circumstance in which people would seek police recourse in normal/outside world. Could include serious threats of violence, emotional abuse, bullying etc.)
May:
-OL agrees to show solidarity this month with: Occupy Turkey, No Dash for Gas, Bradley Manning, Anti-fascist marches, People United against Austerity, OpBigBrother against a Surveillance Society, Occupy Bilderberg and the Bilderberg Fringe Festival, Radical London Conference, GlobalSkillsXChange, The Sparks, Carnival Against Capitalism (StopG8), They Owe Us!, Food Liberation Front.
August:
-Occupy London agrees to support Balcombe Community Protection Camp.
-OL agrees to support Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) week of action.
OCCUPY LONDON: Consensus agreements 2014
March:
–Occupy London agrees to support peaceful anti-fracking campaigns and camps.
-OL supports the formation of a Democracy Action Working Group.
-OL agrees to a new website working group drafting a new website, with input from OL (but no guarantee it will be used).
-OL agrees to support and publicise Breaking The Frame event on the politics of technology.
April:
–Occupy London agrees to support non-violent campaigns and actions against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
-OL agrees to the formation of a short term OL working group to clarify current practice and work on proposals for how OL organises itself.
-OL agrees to support the Tipping Point Declaration prepared and drafted by Kirklees Campaign Against Climate Change.
-OL agrees to send a message of support to Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) members, Hands Off London Transport (HOLT), and London Underground workers.
-OL agrees to experiment with GA agenda being devised on the day (on May 1 as part of Occupy Wonga action).
OCCUPY LONDON: Consensus agreements 2015
February:
Occupy London agrees that
In line with its Statement of Autonomy, Occupy London is unable to support or endorse any established political parties. However with the forthcoming general election, it is recognised that certain political parties have policies that are more in line with Occupy’s aims than others, even though none of them seek the systemic change that Occupy sees as essential. Therefore:
In the run-up to the general election, Occupy should highlight those policies in political parties’ manifestos, and statements by individual candidates, that are in line with our aims, and those which aren’t, with the hope of giving some assistance to those supporters of Occupy who wish to exercise their democratic right to vote.
—
The following practices of the Occupy London GA were arrived at through experience and experimentation 2011-2012:
-Decisions made by Occupy London General Assemblies are made using the Consensus model
-General Assembly planning meetings happen before the General Assembly at least one hour before the Assembly, in a previously advertised location near the location of the Assembly.
-The GA planning meeting is open to all. It takes the proposals and other items for the Assembly that have been gathered, and puts them in a running order and time scale. It agrees on a facilitation team.
-General Assemblies run according to a formula which is on the OL website here.
In addition to describing the consensus decision making process, it includes the following:
1) Blockers must attempt to find resolution with proposers.
2) Blocks can be valid or invalid and there is a process for determining this.
3) GAs must be publicised widely and reasonable notice given.
4) Alcohol isn’t welcome at GAs.
5) Safer Space Policy is referred to at the start of the GA and anyone repeatedly breaking SSP will be excluded from the decision-making process.
Also generally accepted but exact process never agreed:
-Occupy London Working Groups should present themselves to a GA to gain acceptance/recognition.
Recognised by April 2014 GA that process was never agreed on the following:
-How many people must be present at a GA for it to be a valid decision-making GA
-How long must the notice be for a GA (generally accepted that it should be as long as possible, but there may be emergency situations where a GA needs to be called quickly).
