Trick or Fair Treat-ment!

The information in this alert comes from the International Labor Rights Fund. For more information contact Ther Wint Aung at ther.aung@ilrf.org or 202-347-4100 or visit www.laborrights.org/
Posted October 28, 2004

This Halloween, chocolate companies will be cashing in tons of profit from sales of candies and chocolate while they continue to dodge their responsibility to end child slavery on their cocoa supplier farms. Write to Nestle, M&M/Mars, Hershey's, Cargill, and Archer Daniels Midland on Halloween and demand that they immediately take steps to address basic fundamental issues necessary to eliminate child slavery. Please visit www.laborrights.org or use the sample letter below to fax or email directly to the above companies. Cocoa farmers and children deserve a fair treat-ment!

Background:

Since 2001, media exposes and reports from the US State Department, UNICEF and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have all confirmed the pervasive practice of forced child labor on cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire. Industry's own survey in 2002 revealed as many as 109,000 children, sometimes trafficked, working in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in West Africa, and in particular in Cote d'Ivoire.

The problem continues unabated today. The latest State Department 2003 Human Rights Report on Cote d'Ivoire stated trafficking remains a problem in the country and the practice of indenturing Malian boys on farms and plantations under abusive conditions continued during the year. This report confirms results of two independent investigations in 2003 by the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) where children under the age of 15 were found working on cocoa farms and interviewed former child slaves who were held in debt bondage.

Despite the country's political instability, Cote d'Ivoire remains the largest cocoa exporter producing over 40% of the world's cocoa. In 2003, the U.S. import of cocoa beans from Cote d'Ivoire was valued at US$344.18 million. The majority of the cocoa beans produced in Cote d'Ivoire are imported into the U.S. by major multinationals such as Nestle, Cargill, and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), to be processed into chocolate products by Hershey's and M&M/Mars.

In 2002, the industry banded together to water down Representative Eliot Engel's amendment to create a "no-child slavery label" requirement on imported cocoa. The result was an unenforceable Protocol that would develop industry-wide labor standards and a voluntary system of corporate reporting, monitoring, and certification by July 2005. With less than one year remaining, it has become apparent that the multinational companies (MNCs) are nowhere closer to meeting their obligations to ensure that child slaves are not used to produce cocoa in Cote d'Ivoire. The MNCs continue to lack transparency and a real commitment to change their business practices.

The MNCs cannot be allowed to regulate themselves through unenforceable voluntary mechanisms. We need to demand the following five major multinational companies above, who are importers and retailers of cocoa and chocolate, some who have processing facilities in Cote d'Ivoire, to immediately address the fundamental issues regarding transparency and fair price that would have a sustainable improvement in the lives of farmers and the children. There is no need to wait until the July 2005 deadline to implement these changes.

COMPANIES:

Cargill Inc. USA
Warren R. Staley
Chairman of the Board and CEO
15407 McGinty Rd W
Wayzata, MN 55391-2365

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
4666 Faries Parkway
Decatur, IL 62526

Hershey's
Mr. Richard Lenny
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
100 W. Hersheypark Drive
Hershey, PA 17033

M&M/Mars Inc.
Paul Michaels
President
6885 Elm Street
McLean, VA 22101

Nestle USA
Mr. Joe Weller
Chairman and CEO
800 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203  

SAMPLE LETTER

Mr. Joe Weller
Chairman and CEO
Nestle USA
800 North Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203

Dear Mr. Weller,

I am writing with grave concerns regarding the continued practice of child labor in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire. I am aware of the Industry Protocol signed by various industry players in 2001. However, with less than one year remaining to your July 2005 deadline, I am concerned that no substantial progress has been made on the ground to ensure that child slavery is eradicated on cocoa farms.

I demand that you immediately take steps to:

• Conduct a reassessment of the current situation of child labor in Cote d'Ivoire to show whether or not the problem has been alleviated.
• Reveal your company's actual contributions to the "multi-million dollar" projects on which you claim to be working with governments, NGOs and international organizations.
• Source Fair Trade Certified cocoa by July 2005. Fair Trade Certified is an already existing international system that pays a minimum fair price to farmers and insure that no child or forced labor was used.
• Assist in bringing small farmers into the market by facilitating the development of cooperatives as democratically run cooperatives allow thousands of small cocoa farmers to organize and gain better bargaining power.
• Provide public, verifiable evidence that all farmers supplying to your company provide evidence that they have verified their workers are legal, voluntary, and of age. Make public information about the location of each farm. In addition, you must train your buyers and quality control specialists on local and international labor standards and engaged in worker empowerment programs.
• Industry must reveal the estimated financial cost of monitoring and certification process as promised under the Protocol, the party responsible for bearing the financial cost, and the process of remediation when child labor violations are found.

Thank you for your attention on this urgent matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding specific actions you will take to address the concerns and issues mentioned above.

Sincerely,

[your name]