THE BITTER TRUTH
27.05.2010 - African farmers, especially in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, produce up to 60% of the world's cocoa. The cocoa industry in West Africa provides a livelihood to more than 10million people - yet at high social costs mainly related to human trafficking and child slave labour.
Child labour is still a practice that is extensively used in many farming and industrial sectors. An estimated 218 million children are involved in work around the world - more than 1 million employed in the cocoa farming in West Africa. Between 200.000 and 800.000 children under the age of 18 are trafficked each year in West Africa.
Fairtrade took on the responsibility of tackling child labour by developing its standards according to ILO Conventions, including the Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Qualified auditors inspect Fairtrade producer organisations on a regular basis to monitor for child labour. In the past year, a small number of suspected cases of the worst form of child labour were found during Fairtrade audits in Ghana. The farms were suspended and reports were released to the relevant child protection authorities, which followed up to ensure the well-being of the impacted children. The farms suspended are going through a process of corrective measures and will be reintegrated in the Fairtrade system once the welfare of children will be re-established.
Fairtrade works with producer organisations to address issues on a progressive basis. The goal is to assist in solving the problem instead of jumping to punitive measures that can push the farmers and their communities into deeper poverty. What Fairtrade guarantees is that if we find breaches of our standards we will act immediately to protect children and to support the farming communities in preventing the use of children in farming operations.
Fact Sheet: Fairtrade fights Child Labour (Pdf, 373Kb)
