Child Labor Coalition’s Statement on Industry’s Progress on the Worst Forms of Child Labor In Cocoa Growing

The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), the leading national advocacy coalition on domestic and global child labor issues, supports the joint statement issued by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Eliot Engel with the Chocolate/Cocoa Industry on their combined and continued commitment to fighting the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the cocoa industry.

There are an estimated 1.5 million small cocoa farms spread across four West African countries and thousands more throughout the world. The Harkin-Engel Protocol established a unique partnership between government, industry, unions, nongovernmental organizations, and consumer groups to address and end the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the growing, processing, and supply chain of cocoa.   The Protocol outlined a program for West Africa with an understanding that similar programs would also need to eventually be implemented in other cocoa producing countries.

As one of the witnesses of the 2001 Protocol and a partner in the 2002 Memorandum of Cooperation, the CLC recognizes that some progress has been made on implementing programs to fight child labor in limited regions of Ghana and Ivory Coast.  However, we are disappointed that there has been almost no progress in the design and implementation of a certification program. According to the Protocol, by July 1, 2005, the Chocolate/Cocoa Industry agreed to develop and implement industry-wide standards of public certification.  Without a credible monitoring and certification program, American consumers will have no assurance that the cocoa and chocolate they consume are made without child labor. 

We recognize the continued engagement of the Chocolate/Cocoa Industry in this process.  However, given the limited scope of current certification and the disturbing report by the independent cocoa verification group, we believe that a process for monitoring the commitments made in the Protocol must be established to ensure that real progress is made toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the Industry. Therefore, we support Senator Harkins and Representative Engel’s plan to establish an independent oversight entity to monitor the further implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

We continue to believe that the Harkin-Engel Protocol provides an important framework for addressing the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in West Africa and other cocoa producing countries.  As a coalition of unions and non-governmental organizations dedicated to ending abusive and exploitative child labor practices, we will continue to follow and be engaged in the progress of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, the International Cocoa Initiative, the Verification Working Group, and the commitment of governments in cocoa producing countries.   We will continue to work with the Chocolate/Cocoa Industry and other stakeholders to provide credible information to the American consumer.  At the moment, we find these endeavors to be the most viable option to moving closer to the elimination of the worst forms of child labor and forced labor within this Industry.

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The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), established in 1989, is a group of more than 30 organizations representing educators, health professionals, child rights groups, human rights and labor groups, women’s, and religious organizations, labor unions, and consumer groups.  The CLC’s mission is to advocate for an end to child labor worldwide and to promote the health, safety, education, and well-being of working minors both in the United States and abroad.

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