[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 91 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




UPON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSAGE OF MR. ENGEL'S AMENDMENT TO 
               COMBAT CHILD SLAVERY IN THE COCOA INDUSTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 30, 2005

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update you and our colleagues 
on the efforts to combat the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa 
industry. In the United States, we spend approximately $13 billion per 
year consuming over 3 billion pounds of chocolate. Most Americans are 
completely unaware that their chocolate is tainted with slave labor.
  Four years ago, the House overwhelmingly passed an amendment I 
offered to the FY02 Agriculture Appropriations to provide funds to the 
FDA to label cocoa products as being made free of child slave labor. I 
had learned about this heinous situation from a series of articles run 
by Knight-Ridder. With ease, reporters were able to locate children 
working the fields of the Ivory Coast who had been trafficked in from 
Mali and Burkina Faso.
  In an interview, one of these boys, Aly Diabate, told how he was sold 
into slavery when he was barely 4 feet tall. He said, ``Some of the 
bags were taller than me. It took two people to put the bag on my head. 
And when you didn't hurry, you were beaten. The beatings were a part of 
my life. Anytime they loaded you with bags and you fell while carrying 
them, nobody helped you. Instead, they beat you and beat you until you 
picked it up again.''
  One of the farmers, Dote Coulibay, explained that if a boy tries to 
escape ``If I let them go, I am losing money, because I spent money for 
them.'' Coulibay tells the boys ``If you try to escape, I'll catch you 
and beat you.''
  I was so pleased and proud that my amendment passed, because I knew 
that it would lead to a great effort to end this horrible situation. I 
found a natural ally in my friend from Iowa, Senator Tom Harkin, who 
has for many years championed the rights of children around the globe.
  Working with Senator Harkin, we engaged in discussions with the 
world's cocoa industry--always holding out the prospect of even 
stronger legislative language. Those negotiations led to an agreement 
that has become known as the Harkin-Engel Protocol. It is a voluntary 
agreement, signed by the leaders of the cocoa industry, including 
Hershey Food Corporation, Nestle, Mars, and Archer Daniels Midland 
Company.
  Many called this an historic effort--an industry had agreed to take 
responsibility for the labor conditions on the farms, which they do not 
own.
  The Protocol set out a series of deadlines--aggressive ones to be 
sure--that industry needed to meet to live up to its obligations. 
Industry met deadlines to reach out to and sign working agreements with 
NGOs who have expertise in this area. Industry created a foundation, 
called the International Cocoa Initiative, which is just now beginning 
its work to support social protection programs in West Africa.
  However, the last deadline and most difficult will not be met. That 
deadline sought the development of credible, mutually acceptable, 
voluntary, industry-wide standards of public certification that cocoa 
beans and their derivative products have been grown and/or processed 
without any of the worst forms of child labor by July 1, 2005. However, 
this Friday an industry-wide child labor monitoring system will not be 
in place.
  Industry has taken some positive steps to address the worst forms of 
child labor in the cocoa industry. These include the creation of the 
International Cocoa Initiative foundation, which is now beginning to 
form partnerships with NGOs to provide social protection programs in 
West Africa. They have also begun to educate farmers about the proper 
role of child labor through the ``farmer field schools'' that are run 
to help farmers produce a better crop.
  Efforts have also been undertaken by the governments of the Ivory 
Coast and Ghana. The Ivory Coast is funding a small pilot child labor 
monitoring and protection program in Oume. Ghana has worked with the 
International Labor Organization and the West Africa Commercial 
Agriculture Program, WACAP, to Combat Hazardous and Exploitive Child 
Labor that identified more than 650 children working in the ``worst 
forms of child labor.'' WACAP covered less than 10 percent of the cocoa 
growing regions of Ghana--thus, tens of thousands of children could be 
in danger.
  Over the last four years, I and my partners in this effort have 
learned much. Most importantly, we learned that it is vital for there 
to be social protection programs in place when children are found in 
these terrible circumstances. If there is not, there is a strong 
possibility that the child will be trafficked into a different 
industry, such as domestic servitude or sexual slavery.
  Last week, Senator Harkin and I sat down with representatives of the 
cocoa industry. As a result of that meeting, I am comfortable that the 
industry is committed to moving forward even though I am disappointed 
that the original deadline was not met. Within the framework of the 
Protocol, I and my partners will work closely with industry to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor. As we move beyond the 
original deadline, industry has assured me they will redouble their 
efforts to have a child labor monitoring system put in place and social 
protection programs as well. Industry has committed at least $15 
million toward covering 50 percent of the growing areas of West Africa 
by the end of 2008.
  The sad fact is that this is an international problem involving 
millions of slaves today. The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor 
and Combat Trafficking in Persons estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 
people are trafficked across international borders each year. They also 
estimate that as many as 15,000 people are trafficked into the United 
States. Thus, all the nations of the Earth continue to suffer this 
tragedy and we must all work together to see it finally put to an end.
  Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I must report that we have made progress in 
combating the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa industry. 
However, we have much, much more to do.

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