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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 16 august 2023
Advocates sue federal government for failing to ban imports of
cocoa harvested by children
By MARTHA MENDOZA boys from West African
Associated Press countries, especially Burki-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Child na Faso, in forced labor in
welfare advocates filed agriculture, especially co-
a federal lawsuit Tuesday coa production.”
asking a judge to force To try to force compa-
the Biden administration nies to abandon cocoa
to block imports of cocoa produced by child labor,
harvested by children in International Rights Advo-
West Africa that can end cates has sued some of the
up in America’s most pop- world’s large chocolate
ular chocolate desserts companies over the use
and candies. The lawsuit, of child labor in harvesting
brought by International cocoa beans. It lost a case
Rights Advocates, seeks to before the Supreme Court
have the federal govern- in 2021. Several others are
ment enforce a 1930s era pending.Pressured by law-
federal law that requires makers and advocates,
the government to ban In this April, 2020 image provided by International Rights Advocates, Executive Director Terrence major chocolate makers
products created by child Collingsworth and translator Melina Cardinal Bradette, talk to children, ages 12 to 15, from Burkina in 2001 agreed to stop pur-
labor from entering the U.S. Faso, who were working on a cocoa plantation in Ivory Coast in Daloa. chasing cocoa produced
The nonprofit group says Associated Press by child labor. q
it filed the suit because
Customs and Border Pro- dren in Cote d’Ivoire, also
tection and the Depart- known as the Ivory Coast,
ment of Homeland Secu- as well as neighboring
rity have ignored extensive Ghana, is not a new phe-
evidence documenting nomenon. Human rights
children cultivating cocoa leaders, academics, news
destined for well-known organizations and even
U.S. candy makers, includ- federal agencies have
ing Hershey, Mars, Nestle spent the last two decades
and Cargill. exposing the plight of chil-
The major chocolate com- dren working on cocoa
panies pledged to end plantations in the West Af-
their reliance on child la- rican nations, which pro-
bor to harvest their cocoa duce about 70% of the
by 2005. Now they say they world’s cocoa supply.
will eliminate the worst A 2019 study by the Uni-
forms of child labor in their versity of Chicago, com-
supply chains by 2025. missioned by the U.S. gov-
“They will never stop until ernment, found 790,000
they are forced to,” said children, some as young
Terry Collingsworth, Inter- as 5, were working on Ivory
national Rights Advocates’ Coast cocoa plantations.
executive director. He The situation was similar in
added that the U.S. gov- neighboring Ghana, re-
ernment has “the power to searchers found.
end this incredible abuse The U.S. government has
of African children by en- long recognized that child
forcing the law.” labor is a major problem
Spokespeople for CBP de- in the Ivory Coast. The De-
clined to comment on the partment of Labor report-
suit, which was filed in the ed in 2021 that “children
U.S. Court of International in Côte d’Ivoire are sub-
Trade. When asked more jected to the worst forms of
generally about cocoa child labor, including in the
produced by child labor, harvesting of cocoa and
the federal agency said coffee.”
it was “unable to disclose The State Department in a
additional information or recent report said that ag-
plans regarding forced la- riculture companies in the
bor enforcement activities Ivory Coast rely on child la-
due to protections of law bor to produce a range of
enforcement sensitive and products, including cocoa.
business confidential infor- The department said this
mation.” year that human traffickers
Cocoa cultivation by chil- “exploit Ivoirian boys and