[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1273-E1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2007

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate World Day 
Against Child Labor. Today serves to remind us of the exploitation of 
child workers around the world and to encourage us to act as global 
leaders in ending these atrocities.
  I learned of the brutal working conditions of children who labored in 
the cocoa fields through a series of articles published by Knight 
Ridder several years ago. One young boy, Aly Diabate, told how he was 
sold into slavery when he was barely four 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. Any time they loaded you with bags and you fell while 
carrying them, no one helped you. Instead, they beat you and beat you 
until you picked it up again.''
  In response to stories like these, I, along with Senator Tom Harkin, 
authored the Harkin-Engel Protocol to hold chocolate companies 
accountable to American consumers and the global community. The Harkin-
Engel Protocol provides for the development and implementation of 
industry-wide global standards for the growing of cocoa beans and the 
manufacturing of chocolate products that are sold in

[[Page E1274]]

the United States. This framework provides a reliable capacity for the 
first time to publicly certify that cocoa used in chocolate or related 
products has been grown and processed without abusive child labor. The 
Harkin-Engel Protocol allows chocolate manufacturers to agree to take 
responsibility for the labor conditions of cocoa farms which they do 
not own.
  It is not and should not be the way of this Congress to stand by 
while children anywhere are sold into slavery. And it is not our way to 
provide a marketplace for products tainted with the blood of children. 
I encourage the Members of this Congress to act as global leaders and 
help end child slave labor throughout the world. Madam Speaker, my hope 
is that we will use World Day Against Child Labor to raise American 
awareness of the pressing issue of child slavery and to rise to the 
challenge of accountability in American products.

                          ____________________