Date of publication: September 15, 2010
Source: ConfectionaryNews.Com
Author: Jane Byrne
By Jane Byrne
...However, Tim Newman, campaigns director at the International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF) told ConfectioneryNews.com that its organisation is opposed to the Harkin-Engel Protocol. “Through our observation of the process over the past nine years, we believe that the various industry programmes under the Protocol have failed to make any real strides in the elimination of child labour from the cocoa supply chain.” ...
Newman argues that chocolate companies need to be held responsible for their cocoa sourcing:
“We believe that some voluntary programmes are well meaning but regulatory action such as the US Department of Labor’s list of goods produced by child or forced labour raises public awareness about the incidence of the issue in the production of goods in the countries listed and more effectively promotes efforts to eliminate such practices.”