This article is the second of the June Impactfull series, focusing on humanitarian and environmental issues in the chocolate and cocoa industry. Create an Impactfull account to read, learn and create impact.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the chocolate industry is who grows cocoa.
Child labor is an endemic problem in the cocoa industry. According to a recent study conducted by NORC and the US Department of Labor, about 1.56 million children in Ivory Coast and Ghana are engaged in child labor.
To be clear, child labor isn’t illegal, and around the world children help their parents on family farms. But in West Africa, children working on farms work long hours in hazardous conditions. They are often not in school, and are sometimes trafficked or enslaved.
A common definition of child labor includes children who are 5-17 years old and “exceeded the maximum allowable working hours for their age group and/or are exposed to hazardous work activities.” Hazardous work on cocoa farms includes activities like using a machete to cut down cocoa pods, exposure to agro-chemicals used on cocoa trees, and carrying heavy bags of cocoa beans.
Of the 1.56 million children engaged in child labor in cocoa production in Ivory Coast and Ghana, 1.48 million were engaged in hazardous child labor. Most were working on smallholder farms with their families.
Child labor has long been a problem in the cocoa industry. In 2000, the documentary Slavery: A Global Investigation introduced the world to alleged child slaves on cocoa plantations in West Africa. Although reports of child labor in cocoa production had been swirling for years, the sensational nature of the documentary brought swift outrage.
At the highest echelons of global power, Congressman Eliot Engel of New York heard about the allegations of child slavery in cocoa production. Partnering with Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, Engel proposed a labelling system that would require chocolate companies to ensure that their candy is not produced by child slaves– so that only slave free chocolate could be sold in the US. Facing a public relations nightmare and the reality that such a high bar of transparency would be disastrous to their business, the world’s cocoa giants fought back. Like a teenager caught in their lies, chocolate companies made empty promises to be better. Enlisting lobbyists and a few corporate-friendly congressmen, they argued Engel, Harkin and activists down from the black-and-white chocolate labelling scheme to a voluntary agreement signed in 2001.
The resulting Harkin-Engel Protocol was a six-point program to eliminate child slave labor in cocoa supply chains by July 1, 2005. Crucially, the agreement was not legally binding. And it didn’t refer to child slavery– chocolate companies committed to eliminating “the worst forms of child labor” from their supply chains. This verbal gymnastics distances companies from the human rights abuses in their supply chains.
While the Protocol was an ambitious example of self-regulation by American industry, it was ultimately ineffective. The 2005 deadline was not met. Chocolate companies moved the deadline back to 2008, then to 2010, with no success. A 2010 report conducted by Tulane University and funded by the US Department of Labor showed increases in child labor.
While legislation from consumer countries has failed to create necessary change in cocoa supply chains, civil litigation in US courts may be more effective. In December, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the consolidated cases Nestlé Inc., USA v. Doe and Cargill Inc. v. Doe. In these cases, six Malian nationals allege that they were trafficked and used as slaves on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast. There, they were forced to work and were beaten if they didn’t work. The former child slaves accuse Nestlé and Cargill of aiding and abetting these human rights abuses by buying cocoa from these plantations and otherwise supporting them.
This isn’t a criminal trial. Rather, lawyers representing the former child slaves are using the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a 231-year-old law, to allege that international cocoa giants have committed wrongdoing. Since the 1980s, the ATS has been used to bring redress for victims of human rights abuses committed in other countries. For example, courts have allowed ATS lawsuits for human rights violations such as torture and war crimes committed by Americans abroad.
A decision in the case is expected this month.
Child labor continues to be a problem in cocoa production. While the line between legitimate child employment on family farms and exploitative work paramount to human rights abuses can be difficult to draw, cocoa companies, governments, and consumers alike should be aware of the illegal use of child labor in chocolate supply chains. In countries like Ivory Coast, where hundreds of thousands of adolescents are out of school, a shift needs to happen.
Next week, we’ll explore the prevalence of farmer poverty and a lack of living income in chocolate supply chains. This week’s podcast episode is an interview with Ayn Riggs of Slave Free Chocolate. Check back on Wednesday to listen!
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