Fifth conference on Elimination of child labour explores key challenges

Major cocoa supply chain industry challenges in West Africa are set to come under a renewed spotlight with the fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, starting in Durban later this week, reports Neill Barston.

The event, between 15-20 May has invited stakeholders across government, cvil society and the confectionery trade in targeted identifying international best practices, as well as urgent measures to address the key issue of welfare within key agricultural communities serving the chocolate and snacks sectors.

As Confectionery Production has previously covered, according to recent sector analysis, a total of 1.5 million minors remain exposed to child labour within Ivory Coast and Ghana. There has been notable concern that the situation is continuing to intensify owing to the impact of the pandemic on rural communities struggling earning below poverty line wages.

The conference in South Africa, organised by the International Labour Organisation and Alliance 8.7, will also examine the wider issue of forced labour within supply chains.

As the teams behind the event added, within the past decade, significant efforts have been made to tackle child labour in the cocoa sector in West Africa.

In order to explore how different actors can build on these efforts and accelerate progress, ICI, in collaboration with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, will be organising a side event at the conference called “Public and private sector collaboration: Integrated approaches to prevent and address child labour” on 18  May 16h45 CEST.

This event will be held in a hybrid format with physical participation possible at the International Conference Centre in Durban, South Africa and online participation through a webinar link.

With a focus on the cocoa sector, this event will explore the sector’s roll-out of effective Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) systems and services that prevent and address child labour, and the opportunities for more alignment, coherence and integration to accelerate sector-wide efforts.

Speakers include Ms Sarah Dekkiche, Director of Policy and Partnerships, ICI,  Dr Martin Nguettia, Director of the Direction de la Lutte Contre le Travail des Enfants, Ministry of Employment, Government of Côte d’Ivoire, Andrews Tagoe, Deputy General Secretary, Ghana Agricultural Workers Union, Jean-Marie Delon, Director of Sustainability, West Africa, Cargill, and Mr Charlie Watson, Human Rights Director, Japanese Tobacco International.

During the session, there will be a number of core topic areas including explore the benefits that existing systems and services have for rightsholders, including children, their families and the communities in which they live.

It will also review examples of collaboration, the alignment of efforts and integration of systems, including through landscape approaches; and Identify opportunities for improvement to maximize impact over time.

 

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