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US Customs and Border Protection Agency refusing to do its job regarding child slavery. [1]

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Date: 2023-03-07  

Children allegedly trafficked and sold to work in cocoa rescued by Interpol

In the cocoa growing areas where 70% of cocoa is grown (Ghana and The Ivory Coast) there are approximately 1.5 million children working as illegal laborers (Worst Forms of Child Labor ILO Convention 182) and a large portion of those children have been trafficked and kept as slaves. This fact may be new to you, but it is not new to the industrial chocolate industry, the US Department of Labor, and the US Customs and Border Protection Agency. In 2001, 8 large chocolate companies signed the unbinding Harkin-Engel Protocol (Cargill, Nestlé, and Mars to name a few) in which they promised to remedy the situation they were aware of and profited from. Over the last 16 years working as an independent activist in this sector, I witnessed the complicit chocolate companies respond to consumer pressure with a host of initiatives. Initially, I was hopeful but that hope turned to cynicism as none of these initiatives did anything to turn the dial in the right direction. Given that none of these initiatives included paying an actual living wage for the beans, it was all brandwashing from the get-go. In fact, the number of exploited children has only risen since the signing of the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

Those that are profiting from trafficking and illegal child labor are the instrumental players when it comes to remediation. This can’t be solved without their earnest participation. Currently, they are earning a ¼ of a living wage. Perhaps getting paid a living wage would be a great start. Unless the cocoa farmers of Ghana and The Ivory Coast are making a true living wage, one cannot guarantee that paid adult laborers are replacing the children and trafficked children.

There is though something at our disposal that would be a great incentive to inspire the complicit chocolate companies into fulfilling their promises. Actually, it is the law. Under the US Tariff Act of 1910 Federal Statue 19 U.S.C. 1907 the US Customs and Border Protection Agency should have embargoed cocoa from The Ivory Coast a long time ago. The Department of Labor has cocoa from The Ivory Coast listed as a forced child labor commodity. So why the hold-up? Not enough information? Documentation from its sister agency, The Department of Labor isn’t enough? Well, almost 3 years ago, International Rights Advocates and Corporate Accountability Labs wrote a detailed petition containing the evidence needed. Then for close to 3 years, they and activists like SlaveFreeChocolate.org repeatedly inquired as to the status. It was radio silence until just recently when International Rights Advocates heard back from Troy A. Miller, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency saying, “No” basically because they said too much time has elapsed since the petition was submitted.

We face the reality that although child labor and slavery aren’t deemed OK, it's growing. Additionally, we are even finding more evidence of it in the US, so we ask ourselves, what can I do? Does the USCBP seem to be more interested in protecting multinationals than children? Yes. But remember this is our agency. We have every right and maybe an obligation to inspire them to do their job. For a petition and contact information please visit Slave Free Chocolate.

Here is a photocopy of the letter from US CBP and followed by the response from International Rights Advocates. You can also find copies of these at Slave Free Chocolate.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/7/2156762/-US-Customs-and-Border-Protection-Agency-refusing-to-do-its-job-regarding-child-slavery

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