Child labour: New report on child labor in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana claims Hershey, Cocoa Industry, failing to address child labor and trafficking

New Tulane University Report Indicates That Egregious Labor Rights Violations Persist In the Cocoa Sector; In Response, Groups Call On Hershey To Adopt Fair Trade Certification for Its Chocolate.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 -- The Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University released its fourth annual report on Oversight of Public and Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Cocoa Sector in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. The report underscores the lack of progress that is being made by voluntary programs adopted by the cocoa industry to address the problems of child and forced labor in West Africa. In response, national nonprofits Global Exchange, Green America, International Labor Rights Forum, and Oasis USA called on Hershey, the largest US chocolate company, to take action to end child and forced labor in its supply chain and to adopt Fair Trade Certified cocoa.

The report identifies the ongoing exploitation of labor rights in the cocoa sector including the worst forms of child labor, forced labor and trafficking. New research related to the trafficking of young workers from Burkina Faso and Mali found that:

• Cote d'Ivoire is the predominant destination for trafficked and migrant cocoa workers;
• The overwhelming majority of respondents moved to cocoa farms without their natural parents or guardians;
• Virtually all respondents experienced the worst forms of child labor including: verbal, physical and sexual harassment and restrictions of their freedom of movement;
• Virtually all respondents performed hazardous work including land clearing and burning, carrying heavy loads, spraying pesticides, and using machetes, among other dangerous activities.
  

In response to the Tulane Report, Global Exchange, Green America, International Labor Rights Forum, and Oasis USA stated: "It is clear from this report that the cocoa industry is not doing enough to address these problems. The world's largest chocolate manufacturers must do more to monitor their supply chains to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking. The Payson Center's report recommends that companies institute traceability systems for their cocoa supply chains starting at or near the farm level and work with product certification schemes, which no longer represent a niche market. All of the certification programs operating in the West African cocoa sector should be reviewed to ensure that they appropriately identify and address child labor issues. The report identifies major industry actors that have made commitments in this area, including Mars, Kraft, Nestle and Cargill.

"Hershey stands out as the only major chocolate company missing from the list. The recent report "Time to Raise the Bar: the Real CSR Report for the Hershey Company" (issued by Global Exchange, Green America, International Labor Rights Forum, and Oasis USA) found that the Hershey corporation was the laggard in the cocoa industry regarding monitoring its supply chain. The report also found that Hershey lacked transparency and traceability when it came to its cocoa sourcing, as well as meaningful programs to address labor violations in the cocoa-growing communities of West Africa, from where it sources. As the dominant chocolate company in the US, the report calls on Hershey to "Raise the Bar" and adopt Fair Trade Certification for its best selling bar by 2012, and all of its top selling chocolate products by 2022."

The Payson Center's Report can be downloaded here:

http://childlabor-payson.org

"Time to Raise the Bar: The Real CSR Report for the Hershey Company" is available at the following websites:

Green America: http://www.greenamerica.org/pdf/HersheyReport.pdf

International Labor Rights Forum: http://laborrights.org/stop-child-forced-labor/cocoa-campaign/resources/12395

Oasis USA: http://www.oasisusa.org/index.php/projects/the_chocolate_campaign/

Source: Green America, Washington, DC

Ecuador: Concern at civil unrest

UN - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced deep concern at today’s developments in Ecuador, where the President has been hurt during protests and some members of the police and military forces have reportedly been insubordinate.

Mr. Ban “expresses his strong support for the country’s democratic institutions and elected government,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General is also concerned about the physical condition and personal welfare of President Rafael Correa.”

Media reports say Mr. Correa was taken to hospital after being hit by tear gas during a demonstration in the capital, Quito. The protests relate to Government measures that will cut some benefits for public servants such as police officers.

“The Secretary-General calls on all actors to intensify efforts to resolve the current crisis peacefully, within the rule of law,” today’s statement added. “He welcomes the endeavours of the Organization of American States and other regional actors to contribute to an early, constructive resolution.”

Terrorism: US - Man indicted for attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab

A Chicago man who was arrested last month for allegedly planning to travel to Somalia and engage in fighting with a foreign terrorist organization, was indicted on the same charges by a federal grand jury, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI, announced today.

Shaker Masri, 27, who lived in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, was indicted on one count of attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and one count of attempting to provide material support by use of a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States. He will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.

Masri was arrested on Aug. 3 by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism task Force (JTTF), just hours before he was scheduled to leave Chicago en route to Somalia. Since then, he was ordered detained in federal custody without bond.

According to a criminal complaint filed at the time his arrest, Masri, a U.S. citizen, began espousing increasingly violent views to an individual he befriended in early 2009, and later began to openly express a desire to participate in a “jihad” and to fight against what he characterized as “infidels.” During the weeks before his arrest, Masri began to actively plan a trip to Somalia, where he hoped to join the specially designated terrorist group al Shabaab and commit a suicide attack targeting “infidels,” the complaint alleged.

Both counts carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only allegations and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trail at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

United States Attorney's Office
Northern District of Illinois