Cocoa trade child labour
Moving away from a strict compliance approach, its Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System seeks to get cocoa farmers to self-declare instances of child labour and then take actions within the community itself to prevent it. This more collaborative approach keeps the issue visible and stops it being buried, according to ICI’s Mr Weatherill. The study found child labor to be widespread in the very regions of West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast, where Hershey sources its cocoa, and that forced or involuntary child labor was common in these areas. Three main factors contribute to the prevalence of child labor in the West African cocoa industry: Poverty - Farmers don't make enough to support their business. Cocoa prices are low, yields are low, and farmers are unable to pay for adult laborers, thus leaving them with no choice but to use their children as labor. A coalition to bring an end to child slavery and the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa industry. 2.3 million children work in the cocoa fields of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. These children are vulnerable to brutal labor practices, including trafficking and slavery. In the Cocoa Protocol of 2001, the industry committed to developing and implementing certification standards for cocoa produced without the worst forms of child labour by July 2005. Hershey, which is the largest chocolate manufacturer in the world, gets most of its cocoa from West Africa. The company purchases the primary ingredient in its products from sources notorious for abusive labor practices including forced labor, human trafficking, and child slavery. Abusive child labour and child trafficking are serious breaches of international human rights standards and are prohibited under international labour law (ILO regulations 182 and 138) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (32/1). In 2001, the cocoa and chocolate industry agreed to abolish exploitative child labour by 2005 by signing
Documentary "Envoyé Spécial" (France Télévision) investigated child labour in cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire. The world's largest producer of cocoa, Côte
According to the U.S. Labor Department, a majority of the 2 million child laborers in the cocoa industry are living on their parents’ farms, doing the type of dangerous work — swinging Cocoa trade must do more about child labour. The use of child labour in companies’ operations and supply chains is of increasing concern to investors. By preventing children from getting an education, child labour holds back sustainable development and threatens investments in many parts of the world. Over the years, Cocoa Life is working to help eliminate child labor in cocoa-growing communities by addressing child labor directly as well as its root causes, including: relative poverty of farmers, lack of infrastructure, and poor access to schools and healthcare. Moving away from a strict compliance approach, its Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System seeks to get cocoa farmers to self-declare instances of child labour and then take actions within the community itself to prevent it. This more collaborative approach keeps the issue visible and stops it being buried, according to ICI’s Mr Weatherill. The study found child labor to be widespread in the very regions of West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast, where Hershey sources its cocoa, and that forced or involuntary child labor was common in these areas.
Learning the trade. 62 The level of risk of child labor in the cocoa sector in these two on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and in particular Principles .
12 Mar 2009 Swiss chocolate might not be so sweet if a key ingredient, the cocoa bean, under forced working conditions in the worldwide cocoa trade, labour groups and The motives for using forced child labour are largely economic. 12 Jun 2017 of Sustainalytics' engagement on child labor in the cocoa sector and its Business conduct engagement against child labour in the cocoa ILAB has been, and continues to be, a driving force in bringing people together to coordinate efforts, share ideas, and foster new collaborations to alleviate child labor in cocoa. We were instrumental in the formation of the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group (CLCCG) – an innovative public-private partnership with the aim of rooting out abusive labor practices in the cocoa supply chain. Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate Industry Chocolate is a product of the cacao bean, which grows primarily in the tropical climates of Western Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The cacao bean is more commonly referred to as cocoa, so that is the term that will be used throughout this article. In order to keep the cost of cocoa low, cocoa farmers seek the cheapest labor in order to make a profit. In Africa, a cocoa laborer can only make less than 2 dollars per day, which is below the poverty line. Child laborers between the ages 12 to 15 in the cocoa industry work as much as an adult laborer, According to the U.S. Labor Department, a majority of the 2 million child laborers in the cocoa industry are living on their parents’ farms, doing the type of dangerous work — swinging
Learning the trade. 62 The level of risk of child labor in the cocoa sector in these two on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and in particular Principles .
What they got was a voluntary protocol, signed by the heads of the chocolate industry, to stop the worst forms of child labor “as a matter of urgency.” One of the key goals was to certify the cocoa trade as child-labor free. “It was meant to achieve the end of child slave labor in cocoa fields,” Engel said. It didn’t. international standards prohibiting child labour, forced labour and trafficking in persons. Prohibited child labour Child labour is common in the agricultural sector and widespread in countries where cocoa is grown.6 The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that there are 378,000 working children in Côte d’Ivoire alone (ILO In another initiative earlier this year, the European Parliament passed the Resolution on Child Labour in the Cocoa Sector which calls upon governments, global industry, cocoa producers, organised labour, NGOs and consumers to live up to their responsibilities in working towards a sustainable cocoa supply chain free from child labour. It is at this point where the traceability of the cocoa ends and it can be sold on to major chocolate makers worldwide who cannot say how it was sourced. The end buyer of Kenyon's child labour beans was one of the world's biggest exporters who in turn sells it on to several well known High Street names. Fairtrade Global Exchange, an international human rights organization, agrees that fair trade cocoa is a means of ending the use of child labor in cocoa production. In 2001, the US cocoa industry set a goal to end abusive and forced child labor on cocoa farms by 2005 and outlined the basic steps the industry would have to take to achieve this goal. Tackling child labor is a shared responsibility. We are also working with governments, certifiers and the broader cocoa and chocolate industry to address it. How does your system to help stop child labor work? Nestlé has run our Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Service (CLMRS) to tackle child labor in Côte d’Ivoire since 2012. Ethical Chocolate Companies. Looking for a Fair Trade, organic label or an explination of why the souce is child labor free is the best we can do as consumers when purchasing chocolate. Certification progams can only go so far when it comes to eradicating the Worst Forms of Child Labour including slavery.
Nonetheless the number of children in hazardous work in cocoa production To accelerate progress towards eliminating child labour, a comprehensive
20 Jun 2018 Child labour and cocoa production have a long and dark history - so what fair prices for their business is the key to sustainable practices of all Reports of forced child labour on the cocoa farms of Côte d'Ivoire surfaced in 2000 and quickly became an important business issue for a number of prominent Nonetheless the number of children in hazardous work in cocoa production To accelerate progress towards eliminating child labour, a comprehensive 5 Feb 2020 child labor in West Africa. West Africa grows 70% of the world's cocoa, but corporations of the global cocoa/chocolate trade – companies like
20 Jun 2018 Child labour and cocoa production have a long and dark history - so what fair prices for their business is the key to sustainable practices of all Reports of forced child labour on the cocoa farms of Côte d'Ivoire surfaced in 2000 and quickly became an important business issue for a number of prominent Nonetheless the number of children in hazardous work in cocoa production To accelerate progress towards eliminating child labour, a comprehensive 5 Feb 2020 child labor in West Africa. West Africa grows 70% of the world's cocoa, but corporations of the global cocoa/chocolate trade – companies like