A promise of listening: Migrant Justice and the London Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal

Leah Bassel

A promise of listening: Migrant Justice and the London Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal

Leah Bassel

Centre for Equality, Justice and Social Change

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article explores the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) hearing, ‘The Hostile Environment on Trial’, which took place in London, United Kingdom in 2018. When calling a gathering a ‘peoples’ tribunal’, certain kinds of listening and attention become possible, that are shaped by specific histories and contexts. I consider the kind of listening that took place during the London PPT and what changed as a result. I argue that the legal framing that comes with calling a gathering a ‘tribunal’ both compels and excludes, and the politics of listening for migrant justice within such a space is laden with imperial pitfalls and power relations that must continuously be worked through. Instead of a legal remedy, what results is a social relation, an ‘Us’ created through the mutual effort (Lugones 1990) of organising and participating in the Tribunal that can open different understandings of migrant justice and its connection to wider struggles.

Original language	English
Journal	Race & Class
Publication status	Published - 2022

Cite this

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title = "A promise of listening: Migrant Justice and the London Permanent Peoples{\textquoteright} Tribunal",

abstract = "This article explores the Permanent Peoples{\textquoteright} Tribunal (PPT) hearing, {\textquoteleft}The Hostile Environment on Trial{\textquoteright}, which took place in London, United Kingdom in 2018. When calling a gathering a {\textquoteleft}peoples{\textquoteright} tribunal{\textquoteright}, certain kinds of listening and attention become possible, that are shaped by specific histories and contexts. I consider the kind of listening that took place during the London PPT and what changed as a result. I argue that the legal framing that comes with calling a gathering a {\textquoteleft}tribunal{\textquoteright} both compels and excludes, and the politics of listening for migrant justice within such a space is laden with imperial pitfalls and power relations that must continuously be worked through. Instead of a legal remedy, what results is a social relation, an {\textquoteleft}Us{\textquoteright} created through the mutual effort (Lugones 1990) of organising and participating in the Tribunal that can open different understandings of migrant justice and its connection to wider struggles.",

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AB - This article explores the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) hearing, ‘The Hostile Environment on Trial’, which took place in London, United Kingdom in 2018. When calling a gathering a ‘peoples’ tribunal’, certain kinds of listening and attention become possible, that are shaped by specific histories and contexts. I consider the kind of listening that took place during the London PPT and what changed as a result. I argue that the legal framing that comes with calling a gathering a ‘tribunal’ both compels and excludes, and the politics of listening for migrant justice within such a space is laden with imperial pitfalls and power relations that must continuously be worked through. Instead of a legal remedy, what results is a social relation, an ‘Us’ created through the mutual effort (Lugones 1990) of organising and participating in the Tribunal that can open different understandings of migrant justice and its connection to wider struggles.

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