CHOCOLATE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS WEST AFRICAN LABOR ISSUES
FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2001 – Leading chocolate manufacturers, through the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (CMA), today launched an initiative to address the workers' rights issues recently identified by the government of the Ivory Coast. As part of its initiative, the CMA plans to collaborate with international aid organizations, such as the United States Agency for International Development, local governments and human rights organizations to support the Ivorian government's efforts to end child trafficking.
On June 18, 2001, the Ivorian government issued an announcement that it had uncovered clandestine child trafficking originating in neighboring countries. The Ivorian government made this announcement as a result of an investigation prompted by a British television report raising the issue of child trafficking in West Africa.
"As an industry, we strongly condemn abusive labor practices, and our goal is to be part of the worldwide effort to solve this problem. If one child is affected, that is one child too many," said Larry Graham, President of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association.
The members of the CMA include Hershey Foods Corporation, M&M/MARS and Nestlé USA, among others.
In addition, the CMA will significantly fund an action plan in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two leading growers of cocoa. The action plan will include a comprehensive government study of working conditions in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, as well as various pilot projects that will build upon the study's findings.
Actions taken will be done in collaboration and consultation with European governments and industry trade associations, such as the British Cake, Confectionery and Cocoa Association, the International Cocoa Organization and the European Cocoa Alliance, among others.
To be conducted under the auspices of the USAID, the planned study will be completed as soon as possible. The study will include 2,000 farms in the Ivory Coast and 1,000 farms in Ghana, which will constitute a statistically-representative sample of cocoa farms in these countries. A trained team including human rights, labor and research experts, as well as US and local government officials will have input in the study.
At this time, pilot programs under consideration include defining appropriate labor standards for family farms, working closely with local governments and non-government organizations to address child labor abuses and monitoring the cocoa export pipeline for abusive practices.
"Given the importance of cocoa farming to the well-being of the people in the Ivory Coast and throughout the region, we believe it's critical to continue to support the vast majority of family farms there by doing everything possible to improve labor conditions," said Larry Graham.
The pilot programs will build upon existing CMA programs like the Sustainable Cocoa Program which provides technical support to cocoa producers in five West African countries. Since 1998, the Sustainable Tree Crops Program has focused on helping farmers use better tree crop practices and generate much-needed income. The program's goal is to raise the standard of living of small farmers and their families who depend on cocoa for their livelihood.
The Chocolate Manufacturers Association has served as the premiere trade group for manufacturers and distributors of cocoa and chocolate products since 1923. The association was founded to fund and administer research, promote chocolate to the general public and serve as an advocate of the industry before Congress and government agencies. CMA's mission is to serve as the voice of the American chocolate industry and through research, education and public information, works to ensure a continued supply of cocoa and consumption of high value and quality chocolate products for the American people.
