The Lingering Taste of Bitter Cocoa

The new documentary film by Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano, The Dark Side of Chocolate, reveals how nine years after major chocolate companies committed to eliminating abusive child labor, forced labor and trafficking in their cocoa supply chains, these egregious abuses continue in West Africa.
It is a tragedy and an outrage that, as the […]

The new documentary film by Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano, The Dark Side of Chocolate, reveals how nine years after major chocolate companies committed to eliminating abusive child labor, forced labor and trafficking in their cocoa supply chains, these egregious abuses continue in West Africa.

It is a tragedy and an outrage that, as the response by the chocolate industry to the film states, “For nearly ten years now, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire, Industry, Non-governmental Organisations and a host of other international organizations including the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and ILO, have committed vast resources in an unprecedented effort to eliminate the worst forms of child labour from the production of cocoa” and yet, the filmmakers were able to clearly demonstrate the continued exploitation of children. In fact,a recent study conducted by Tulane University under a contract by the US Department of Labor found that only 2.4% of thousands of children interviewed in Cote d’Ivoire reported to have benefited from one of these programs.

The industry representatives also state, “After 7 years of field surveys in the Cote d’Ivoire, independent third party organizations have verified the data and concluded that the incidence of forced child labour is extremely small.” The industry is referring to the “certification” studies conducted by the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana and verified by the International Cocoa Verification Board (ICVB), an international organization including industry representatives, NGOs and government representatives. However, the reports by the verifiers as well as the ICVB meeting minutes consistently reiterate that the certification and verification reports did not adequately measure trafficking and forced labor and that as a result, conclusions could not be reached about the extent of these abuses. Recent analysis by children’s rights expert Anita Sheth expands on how the research used by industry fails to appropriately measure trafficking. Indeed, The Dark Side of Chocolate clearly demonstrates the continuation of these abuses. Additionally, last summer, an INTERPOL raid identified scores of children who were victims of trafficking and forced labor on Ivorian cocoa farms.

Moreover, as ILRF’s recent report, “Broken Hearts: A Review of Industry Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor in the Cocoa Industry” (summarized on Media Voices for Children here) explains, the chocolate industry is now apparently dismantling the ICVB, an entity which already is not independent or third party as it includes industry representatives, in favor of a new body with even less independent oversight.

The industry’s response to the film neatly encapsulates some of the fundamental flaws in its approach for the last decade. They write in the second sentence of their statement, “Furthermore, it is our hope that anyone associated with Bastard TV Production, who may have witnessed such conduct took it upon themselves to immediately contact the proper authorities.” While the filmmakers were able to clearly identify egregious and illegal exploitation of children among the chocolate companies’ cocoa suppliers, the industry quickly passes off the role of monitoring, enforcement and remediation to other actors instead of addressing its own responsibility to ensure the integrity of its own cocoa supply. The industry hides behind deeply flawed studies while never denying the conditions identified in the film. Instead of tracing and monitoring their cocoa supply chains, the companies are relying on the findings of fearless investigative journalists to identify abuses in supply chains – and even when abuses are identified the companies express no interest in identifying if the abuses in the film were linked to their specific chocolate products.

The Dark Side of Chocolate should be the wake-up call to governments in chocolate-consuming countries like the U.S. that allowing corporations to voluntarily self-regulate does not work. After nine years, the U.S. government needs to assert its responsibility for stronger oversight over chocolate companies and enforce regulations banning imports of goods made by forced and child labor if necessary. Recent efforts by the U.S. government to provide information for consumers and the public generally about forced and child labor in global production should be supported and expanded. Additionally, companies must focus on tracing their cocoa supply chains and instituting labor rights standards on the ground. Consumers need to step up efforts to create the necessary political pressure to make these recommendations happen.

It is time to acknowledge that severe exploitation of children continues on cocoa farms, as the film depicts and the industry never denies in its response, and refocus our efforts to transform the chocolate industry in a way that empowers farmers and workers.

Recommended additional reading:
• “Broken Hearts: A Review of Industry Efforts to Eliminate Child Labor in the Cocoa Industry” (2010)
• “The Cocoa Protocol: Success or Failure?” (2008)
• Letter of concern regarding industry “certification”

_________________________
Tim Newman is Campaigns Director at the International Labor Rights Forum, where his campaign work focuses on forced and child labor issues globally. He is also a blogger for Change.org’s End Human Trafficking blog.

Published by

Original source : http://mediavoicesforchildren.org/?p=4763…