Would you knowingly support slavery?

“An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked, forced into debt bondage or other forms of slavery…the vast majority of child labourers – 70 per cent or more – work in agriculture” UNICEF

Cote d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cocoa producer, and accounts for over 46% of the world’s supply. The US Department of State estimates that more than 10,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry are victims of human trafficking or enslavement; UNICEF estimates another 200,000 children are trafficked in West and Central Africa each year. These children work under “the worst forms of child labor” which UNICEF defines as enslavement, forcible recruitment, prostitution, trafficking, forced illegal activities and exposure to hazardous work.

Why should you care?
 
Unless your chocolate is certified as Fair Trade, it is almost certain that it came from the hands of trafficked and enslaved children.

Most of us love chocolate, but would you knowingly support slavery? Because that is exactly what you do when you eat slave-farmed cocoa. As Salia Kante, director of the Save the Children Fund in Mali, put it, “People who are drinking cocoa and eating chocolate are drinking and eating the blood of children.”

“Child slavery is not a historical phenomenon – it is a stark reality for millions of children in both poor and rich countries. These children are treated like commodities; they can be lent or sold to other owners without warning, and live under crushing conditions of humiliation and abuse. Governments everywhere…are not doing enough to respond to the plight of children in this inhumane situation. World leaders and international donors must act as a matter of urgency to address child slavery and put in place the laws and resources needed to eradicate these terrible practices.” Jasmine Whitbread, CEO of Save the Children UK
 
But can we do something about it? YES!!!
 
First of all, we can only buy Fair Trade Certified chocolate. Look for the logo.

Fair Trade is an international system of doing business based on dialogue, transparency and respect. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions for producers and workers in developing countries. Behind the principles and goals of Fair Trade is a rigorous international system of monitoring, auditing and certification.

The international Fair Trade system is structured to produce the following outcomes for farmers and workers in developing countries:

“Changing the status quo isn’t easy – action is necessary. They will not be stopped by a day’s worth of good intentions. They can be defeated, yes, but it will take constant and careful effort. That is the true price of ending poverty and slavery, and it must be a price we are willing to pay” Kyle Scheihagen from opednews.com

We at SlaverySucks.org are encouraging chocolate makers and the Canadian government to do more to address the enslavement of children in the cocoa growing and harvesting processes in Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer. Despite genuine efforts to address the problem in the past, results have been disappointing. We plan to change that.

Ending the commercial exploitation of children must be one of humankind’s top priorities. It is a cause that demands immediate action. Will you step forward and help us stop this?