Harkin-Engel Protocol - 2005 Progress and Joint Statement

2005 Progress and Joint Statement

By July 2005—the deadline date—the cocoa industry made progress on their goal to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. Most of the requirements were achieved by the deadline. Before the protocol was signed, the cocoa industry acknowledged the problem of forced child labor to address part of Article 1. A Joint Statement was made in 2001 to address part of Article 3. The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) was established in 2002 to address part of Article 5. Through the ICI, $3 million was spent on pilot projects. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) was assigned to survey West Africans about children in cocoa production. Pilot projects were formed to monitor child labor. In 2004, the cocoa industry created and funded Verification Working Group. The funding was discontinued in 2006, but another company was contracted to perform verification in 2007.

But all the protocol requirements were not met by the deadline. The cocoa industry failed to create and implement an industry-wide certification standard to indicate that cocoa had not been produced with the worst forms of child labor. The chocolate companies, who had $13 million in US sales in 2001, were criticized for executing the protocol at the smallest cost, remaining mostly hands-off in the process without changing the process, and maintaining a business model dependent on child labor. More importantly, they did not alter the price of chocolate to enable the cocoa producers to end the practice of slavery. One of the major obstacles to executing the protocol was the Ivorian Civil War. Along with diamonds and timber, cocoa was a conflict resource that made money for the militants.

By July 2005 the extent of child involvement in cocoa production was unclear. It was also unclear if the cocoa industry's efforts were helping the problem. On 1 July 2005, all the parties agreed to an extension of the protocol through a Joint Statement. The 2005 Joint Statement gave the cocoa industry three more years to implement the protocol. The Joint Statement stated industry would form a certification system for half of the growing regions in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The Joint Statement also stated industry would support programs for the local cocoa-growing communities including teacher training programs.

The US Congress was not satisfied with the cocoa industry's response. It gave responsibility to the US Department of Labor to find a university contractor to oversee the efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. In 2006, a $4.3 million contract was awarded to the Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University through 2009. In 2006, the Payson Center reported progress had been made, but children were still working in cocoa production, including performing dangerous tasks, and regularly miss school. The cocoa industry was criticized for a lack of certification standards and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana were criticized for a lack of transparency. In 2006, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation said, "While progress has been made and we have learned valuable lessons, much more is required."

After the deadline passed, the International Labor Rights Fund filed a lawsuit in 2005 under the Alien Tort Claims Act against Nestle, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland on behalf of three Malian children. The suit alleged the children were trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire, forced into slavery, and experienced frequent beatings on a cocoa plantation. In September 2010, the US District Court for the Central District of California determined corporations cannot be held liable for violations of international law and dismissed the suit. The case was appealed to the US Court of Appeals.