Harkin-Engel Protocol - 2008 Progress and Joint Statement

2008 Progress and Joint Statement

By the revised deadline—1 June 2008—all the objectives were still not met. Some progress had been made; for example, the cocoa industry had provided $10 million to the ICI. In 2006–07 the ICI had 17 training sessions in Côte d’Ivoire and 23 in Ghana to sensitize the governmental officials, police and media about child and adult labor practices. The focus of the Joint Statement was that of certification. The cocoa industry performed data collection had on 50% of the growing areas in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. But independent verification, partially funded by industry, on those areas was not fully completed. The deadline was extended until the end of 2010. At that time, industry was required to have a full certification and independent verification.

All parties reaffirmed their commitment to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The cocoa industry committed to work with the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to set up independent certification by the end of 2010; assist the governments to target remediation efforts based on the independent certification; and support the ICI as it expands to more local communities and provide training on safe labor practices.

In 2009, cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria was added to a list of products made by forced child labor maintained by the Department of Labor. This listing stemmed from a request by Anti-Slavery International in 2004 to investigate if Ivorian cocoa should be on this list. Executive Order 13126 requires federal contractors who supply products on the list must prove they have made a good faith effort to determine if the products were produced under forced labor. Thus contractors must prove they have made a good faith effort to determine if cocoa was produced under forced labor. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana were placed on the 2009 US State Department's Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking due in part to the trafficking of children in cocoa production.

In 2009 the Department of Labor awarded a second, $1.2 million contract to the Payson Center to continue the oversight through 2011.