Date: 2025-05-01 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00003673
Agriculture ... Cocoa
The International Cocoa Initiative
The International Cocoa Initiative was organized by the corporate organizations in the chocolate industry to address the problem of child labor in the industry ... some will argue this is merely a PR effort of little substance
Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
The Problem of Child Labor The problems of child labour and forced labour are complex, with multiple causes often dictated by the very specific local context in which they arise. Recognising this, ICI does not seek a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather works to assess and address the multiple “drivers” of risk and exploitation in each given situation. This inevitably prompts us to undertake mutually supportive actions across a range of sectors, and often takes us beyond an exclusive focus on cocoa production, since, if not properly tackled in its entirety; the exploitation of children can just be displaced from cocoa farms to another livelihood sector. What is Child Labor Not all work done by children is classified as child labour. Children’s involvement in tasks that do not affect their health and personal development, or interfere with their schooling, is not prohibited. The ILO defines child labour as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development”. Child Labour refers to work that: Is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and Interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long hours and heavy work. Download the Child Labour, WFCL and the International Response fact sheet. Worst Forms of Child Labour Worst Forms of Child Labour, as described in the ILO convention 182, refer to:
- All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
- The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
- The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
- Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
The International Response ILO conventions ILO convention No. 182 helped to focus the international spotlight on the need for urgent action to eliminate as a priority, the worst forms of child labour (slavery or practices similar, such as trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, illicit activities, children engaged in armed conflict, work which is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children) without losing the long term goal of the effective elimination of all child labour. Convention 138 fixed a minimum age for work. ICI’s mandate and work is based on the ILO conventions 182 and 29 (since 1930, ILO convention 29 has addressed the need to actively prohibit forced labour). We uphold the international conventions that outlaw these practices. UN Treaties Convention on the rights of the Child: adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by UN General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 entry into force 2 September 1990. Palermo Protocol: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000. Download the Fact Sheet - Child Labour, WFCL and the International Response. Child Labor in Cocoa Children in cocoa growing areas face the realities of rural poverty (scarcity of land, food insecurity, lack of education infrastructure, access to potable water, poor health services, etc.). The regular practice of children working on cocoa farms is often a natural way of life for cocoa farmers who, for a variety of reasons, want to train their children and at the same time use them in order to reduce labour costs on the family’s farm. We understand child labour as both a symptom and a self-perpetuating cause of poverty. Households in cocoa growing areas face the realities of rural poverty, and parents may put their children to work, and keep them out of school, to reduce labour costs on the family farms. But this can, in turn, deprive their children of the chance to develop and advance themselves, and so entrenches the household’s impoverishment for subsequent generations. Our experience shows that most of the children who work on cocoa farms do so within their family structure. However, this does not mean they are not exposed to hazards, and, beyond these situations, illegal and exploitative practices do also exist. Specifically, when children, even with their consent, are taken from their families to be exploited in cocoa farming this constitutes human trafficking. We believe that these complex problems can be effectively tackled through the collective, coordinated and consistent efforts of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in the cocoa supply-chain. Download the Fact Sheet - Cocoa - From trees to treats. Download the Fact Sheet - Child Labour in Cocoa Growing. Scale of the Issue It is estimated by the ILO that 132 million children aged 5-14 work in agriculture around the world (more than 70% of child labour worldwide). Nine out of ten working children in rural areas are engaged in agricultural activities. In Africa only, between 56 and 72 million children work in agriculture. Agriculture, together with mining and construction, is one of the most dangerous sectors, where children often work in hazardous conditions: spraying pesticides, applying fertilizers, sowing and harvesting crops. In Côte d’Ivoire, based on the latest national report on child labour in cocoa growing (2007-2008 National Survey Report), 89% of the children surveyed reported undertaking some work in cocoa production. Results show that, 53.2% of children living in cocoa farms carry heavy loads, 8.4% spray fertilizers, 5.5% cut trees, 4.6% spray pesticides (but more than 35% are indirectly involved in this activity). Less than 2% of children who work in cocoa production are not members of the household. In Ghana, children’s involvement in hazardous cocoa activities showed that 46.7% of the children had participated in at least one hazardous cocoa activity during the 2008 cocoa farming season (Executive summary Cocoa Labor Survey in Ghana).Children typically spend 4 to 8 hours each time they go to the farm. The children indicated that they all worked during the last cocoa season for their parents. Children involved in work are generally the children of the cocoa farmers. The involvement of these children in cocoa production activities is widespread across communities although not all this activity should be considered child labour. What We Do www.cocoainitiative.org/en/what-we-do Based on 8 years of experience and presence in the field (Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana), ICI has identified the main underlying causes of child and forced labour as a result of combination of poverty, ignorance, and lack of social protection policies and system, as well as schooling facilities and in some cases outright exploitation. ICI strongly believes that tackling the issue of child and forced labour as well as trafficking requires acting on various fronts. Indeed, actions are not only needed at community level, but also at national, regional and international level to ensure effective results and impact.
Our Results www.cocoainitiative.org/en/-our-results As of December 2011, ICI has active programmes in 293 cocoa growing communities, 133 in Côte d’Ivoire and 160 in Ghana.
- ICI implementing partners have organized 10,562 meetings and sensitized 282’659 persons on child labour in cocoa.
- ICI supports the actual implementation of 236 Community Action Plans (CAPs), and the development of 54 new ones.
- 18 micro projects have been approved and sponsored in 2011 and are being implemented, mainly related to education provision (total of 61 microprojects supported to date). In addition, in collaboration with Nestle UK; ICI has been in position to provide 2,783 tables and benches to pupils in Côte d’Ivoire. This project has directly benefited more than 5,500 primary school pupils in cocoa growing districts.
- As of December 2011, 204 communities benefit from new or rehabilitated classrooms and schools (497 classrooms), benefiting directly more than 24’850 primary school pupils. In addition, 361 trained teachers in total have been provided to 119 communities, ensuring better access to quality education for more 18’050 pupils.
- In Ghana,900 initiatives have been initiated to reduce vulnerability of children toward child labour, being local authorities supporting communities regarding their CAP implementation, with a focus on education (provision of construction material for new schools, qualified teachers posted, and provision of school kits), or communities implementing themselves local initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of their children vis-à-vis child labour (bye-laws, school rehabilitation, recruitment of teachers, etc.). In Côte d’Ivoire, 448 initiatives are being implemented.
- As of end of 2011, The ICI’s master trainers have trained more than 1,640 key people from civil society, the public and private sectors, at 71 training events since 2004. This training not only contributes to changing the perception of child labour, but also provides practical skills to help combat the problem on the ground.