People's Commission Network

Basis of Unity

People’s Commission Network Basis of Unity

Adopted June 14th, 2009
Overview	The People’s Commission Network is a Montreal network monitoring and opposing the “national security agenda”. The network is a space for individuals and groups who face oppression in the name of “national security” - such as indigenous people, immigrants, racialized communities, radical political organizations, labour unions - and their allies, to form alliances, share information, and coordinate strategies to defend their full rights and dignity.

General vision and principles	We strive for a world in which every human being is free to live and flourish in dignity and justice. We resist all, interlocked systems of oppression, rooted in racism, patriarchy, class and ableism.
Indigenous people	We affirm our solidarity with indigenous peoples seeking self-determination and sovereignty across Turtle Island. We oppose the racist colonization, violent dispossession and genocide on which Canada – as a nation and political entity - was founded and continues to function.
Migration	The right to remain, the right to migrate, and the right to return are all elements of self-determination which we support. We endorse the call for equal status for everyone in Canada. We distinguish the right to migrate - a necessity for millions of poor and racialized migrants – from colonial migrations that destroy existing societies and steal land and resources for the benefit of privileged groups.

Inter-connectedness of struggles	We consider struggles for justice by different communities and groups against the various mechanisms of the national security agenda – immigration ‘security’ measures, anti-terror laws, listing, no fly lists, surveillance mechanisms, criminalization, etc. - to be interconnected. Such mechanisms contribute to the economic and political marginalization of targeted communities and individuals, entrench privileges and contribute to an expansion of state control and surveillance. The success of these policies often relies on the very fragmentation and lack of solidarity among and within targeted groups which these policies have helped to create in the first place.
Understanding political and economic objectives	We also believe that the national security agenda cannot meaningfully be opposed without grasping its specific social, political and economic objectives. We believe that resistance must go beyond the apolitical framework of human rights abuses, and ask what interests and privileges are served by the abuses. This requires an analysis of state and corporate strategies, and the ways in which the domestic and international faces of these strategies work together.

Alliances	In Canada and globally, as a network, we align ourselves with solidarity organizations and movements which share our commitment to the equality and dignity of all humans.
Stance towards political parties and nationalisms	As a network, we do not support any political party, nationalist movement, or government. However, we recognize that anti-colonial and other liberatory movements often take nationalist and statist forms. We stand in solidarity with popular movements for self-determination, dignity and justice behind these expressions.
Stance towards violence and terrorism	We believe that all social movements have the right to debate tactics. We advocate forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and the rights of the oppressed. We recognize that an ideological insistence on “non-violence” can, in some circumstances, deflect attention away from the overwhelming violence – direct and structural - exercised by states and privileged groups. We also question the use of the word “terrorism”. We believe the label is used to marginalize targeted communities, create fear and silence debate, delegitimize resistance, justify further oppression and legitimize state terrorism, especially in the context of the so-called “war on terror” .

Organizational philosophy	The organizational philosophy of the network is based on decentralisation and autonomy.

Basis of Unity

People’s Commission Network Basis of Unity