Nestle has been accused of
active involvement with the massive business of child labour in the Ivory Coast
The world's largest food producer is to be sued over
allegations that it used child slaves to harvest cocoa in the Ivory Coast in
Africa.
Nestle SA has lost its bid to throw out a court case
which has accused it of using child labourers for its chocolate products.
The plaintiffs, originally from Mali, say that the
companies aided and abetted human rights violations through the purchasing of
cocoa from the Ivory Coast. The companies were allegedly aware of the problem
of child slavery in the region yet provided financial and technical assistance
to local farmers to get the cheapest product.
Abby McGill, campaign director from the International
Labour Rights Forum, which originally filed the lawsuit, told The
Independent: “We have fought for a long time to bring accountability to
supply chains and to bring redress for the victims.”
Citing a US Department of Labor-sponsored report from
July 2015, there are 2.12 million child labourers in the Cote d’Ivoire and
Ghana employed in cocoa production, a vast increase from around 1 million the
previous year.
Data cited by McGill from 2013 show that the average
cocoa farmer has six children and survives on a real income of 40 cents per
dependent per day.
So far US companies have fought off similar lawsuits
quite easily as judges ruled the cases brought against them did not directly
touch upon the US. This is a result of a ruling in 2013 that made it harder for
plaintiffs to sue corporations in US courts for abuses alleged to have happened
overseas.
In Nestle’s case (...) the appeals court said the
plaintiffs could update their lawsuit to make sure they meet the higher hurdle
of the 2013 ruling. The US Chamber of Commerce has urged the court to hear the
case.
Patti Rundall, policy director at campaign group at
International Baby Food Action Network, has challenged Nestle’s practices for
over 30 years, including the company’s much disputed practice of distributing
bottled milk instead of promoting breast milk in developing countries.
She welcomed the news that the case has not been
dismissed, but said there is a long road ahead.
“Every time you eat their chocolate you are
benefitting from child slavery,” she said. “There is very little cocoa
production that isn’t sourced in a bad way and it will take a long time to
change that due to the nature of large corporations.“
LINK VIDEO:
LINK VIDEO:
- What do you think about what Nestlé is doing?
- Did you know Nestlé is using child slaves?
- Has your conception about Nestlé changed after
knowing about these facts?
- Do you think Europe should do something to change
these conditions? How?
- Should someone go to jail for these abuses?
- Do you consider them crimes? Why?
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