40 • Child Labour • C&CI March 2012
MEPs call for action against child labour
n a statement issued after the resolution was adopted, the parliament’s International Trade Committee said that, as the world’s largest consumer of choco- late, the EU "must take responsibility for the sustainability of the cocoa sector." MEPs recommended that parliament give its consent to the new International Cocoa Agreement (ICCA), but also adopt- ed a resolution calling for action against the use of child labour in the sector. "During the consent procedure for the International Cocoa Agreement, several stakeholders highlighted the issue of child labour in cocoa fields. Since we believed that this was a serious issue that could not be overlooked, we decided to raise the issue by means of a resolution," said the rapporteur for the issue, Vital Moreira, a Portuguese member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.
I The resolution, to be voted on by the
Parliament’s plenary in March, acknowl- edges the pressure on producers to keep labour costs down, but called on cocoa traders, EU policy makers and consumers to share responsibility in addressing child labour. MEPs said what they called a "holis- tic framework" is needed to ensure fair and sustainable trade.
More traceability
MEPs called on the Commission to consid- er proposing legislation for what they called "effective tracking of cocoa goods produced through child labour." They also recommended engaging with International Cocoa Agreement partners to play their part in ensuring traceability along the sup- ply chain.
Once the parliament’s plenary gives the green light, the EU will formally approve the 2010 International Cocoa Agreement, a deal between the world’s leading produc- ing and consuming countries. The MEPs noted that the new agreement will reinforce co-operation among members, increase transparency and extend co-operation with the private sector and civil society.
In January 2012 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved a resolution which could lead to legislation being introduced to address child labour in the cocoa sector
Vital Moreira, the rapporteur for the resolution, says the European Commission could be asked to legislate
"West Africa produces 70 per cent of the world's cocoa and employs 7.5 million peo- ple in the sector," said the statement, not- ing that producing cocoa was "highly labour-intensive."
The International Labour Organisation estimates that over 215 million children worldwide are child labourers, and 152 mil- lion are under the age of 15. Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour, but studies suggest that some children may have been trafficked to work in cocoa farms in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. MEPs say that the recent conflict in Côte d’Ivoire has worsened the situation of chil- dren.
CAOBISCO acknowl-
edges "serious issue" At the time of writing the ICCO had not issued any statement of its own about the resolution or about the threat of legislation, but CAOBISCO, the association represent- ing the chocolate, biscuit and confec- tionery industries of Europe, said it "acknowledges the initiative of the European Parliament," which, it said, "rais-
es awareness of this very serious issue." "The global chocolate and cocoa indus- try believes no child should ever be harmed in the growing and harvesting of cocoa," said CAOBISCO. "For more than a decade now, the European and international choco- late and cocoa industry has made exten- sive efforts, along with the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, through the development of their National Action Plans, non–governmental organisations and a host of other international organisations including the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to bring about positive and sustain- able change to the way cocoa is grown and harvested in West Africa."
"In 10 years, the industry has made great strides to identify where child labour occurs in the cocoa sector and industry programmes have already made a differ- ence to over a million vulnerable children in West Africa," CAOBISCO claimed. These initiatives include building schools, training teachers, improving farmer education, as well as implementing good agricultural practices.
Work not complete
"We are all aware of the challenge and recognise that progress to eliminate haz- ardous child labour conditions has not been sufficient," CAOBISCO said. "Too many children living in family run cocoa households are helping out on the farm in ways that are damaging to their own health and well-being. Our work is not complete until child labour is a thing of the past, which is why we continue working in part- nership with others to accelerate our efforts."
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