EU urged to do more in the fight against child labour in cocoa sector

After years of voluntary action, it’s time for the European Union (EU) to set mandatory rules to tackle child labour on coffee and cocoa plantations throughout the world. This is the message issued by several policy-makers and stakeholders involved in the issue, in an appeal reported by the Reuters news agency. Whilst Europe, as the world’s leading importer of coffee and cacao, has made efforts towards the promotion of products meeting certain ethical standards through a number of policies, the results remain mitigated. “As major consumers of chocolate, we Europeans have a responsibility in how the supply chains work,” said Linda McAvan, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Development. “We are not on track. We’re nowhere near where we need to be,” said Antonie Fountain of the Voice Network, an association of NGOs and trade unions working on sustainability in the cocoa industry.

Source: Ecofin Agency