People around the world share a love of chocolate, one of the most delicious and pleasurable foods on earth. However, thousands of Africa’s children, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire, are forced to labour in the production of cocoa. They are modern-day slaves, bonded to their employers and forced against their will to work in hazardous and heartbreaking conditions. Denied access to basic education, medical care, and in many cases, the comfort and reassurance of their own families, these children have no voice and little hope for the future.
This is no revelation. It is more than eight years since the international media first exposed the use of trafficked child labour in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire. In response, the major chocolate companies signed an agreement that they would stop the worst forms of child labour in their cocoa supply chains. Unfortunately, the complexities of global supply chains have made it easy for them to evade action, even when there is consumer demand for change. Most of these companies have not instituted supply chain management programmes to ensure that they are complying with international labour standards. And so, the problem continues.
