Ambassador

Ambassador's Speeches

Welcoming Remarks By Ambassador Wanda Nesbitt
Tulane University Cocoa Consultative Meeting - Abidjan
June 18, 2009

Good morning.  On behalf of the U.S. Government, it is a pleasure to welcome you today to participate in this consultative meeting to discuss the progress being made to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector.

On June 12^th, people around the world celebrated the World Day Against Child Labor. This year’s World Day marked the 10^th anniversary of the adoption of the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

The United States was one of the first countries to ratify this convention.

We have also demonstrated our commitment to combating child labor by including adherence to international child labor standards as an eligibility criterion for our trading partners.

The U.S. Government is an active supporter of efforts to eliminate exploitive child labor around the world, funding projects to combat exploitive child labor in over 75 countries and helping to build the capacity of governments and local organizations in those countries to expand efforts to address this issue.  

I am happy to report that, through the efforts of my government, since 1995, over 1.3 million children around the world have been removed or prevented from exploitive labor and provided with education and training opportunities.   Much work, however, remains to be done.  In no sector is that point clearer than in agriculture.

Globally, we know that the greatest number of children work in agriculture; approximately 70 percent of child laborers worldwide—or over 132 million children.  

ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor does not identify work in agriculture as one of the universal worst forms of child labor, but we know that around the world millions children who work in agriculture are involved in tasks that, by their nature or the circumstances in which they are carried out, place their health or safety at risk.

Today, a team from Tulane University will provide you with an update on a child labor initiative they are implementing.  As many of you know, this effort involves oversight of public and private initiatives to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

It is important that we assess the current situation in the West African cocoa sector in order to determine what efforts have proven most effective and how we can best make a difference in the lives of working children. 

Sadly, recent studies indicate that many Ivorian children are engaged in hazardous labor in the cocoa sector and do not attend school. 

I was disheartened last year when Tulane University reported that only 2 percent of children living in the rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire where cocoa is grown had benefited directly from technical assistance to remove them from the worst forms of child labor.  

I would be remiss, however, if I did not acknowledge the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for the strides it has taken over the past year, including:  

- In 2008, the Government published its child labor certification survey on the nature and incidence of child labor in the cocoa sector, which covered more than 50 percent of the cocoa growing region; 

- The Government is an active participant in the International Cocoa Verification Board (ICVB); and

- The Government provides vital educational services to children withdrawn from exploitive child labor, including through Community Education Centers.

I also understand that, beginning this month, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire is implementing a new remediation project – based on the findings of its certification survey – to assist children and their families in 30 cocoa-producing villages in Côte d’Ivoire.  I applaud the Government for taking that next step to utilize the data collected as a tool to help determine the areas where working children in the cocoa sector are in greatest need of assistance.

I encourage the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to make publicly available the raw data from its nationally representative certification survey.  This action would afford the results more credit in the eyes of the public. 

Even further, making the data publicly available would allow practitioners to follow in the Government’s footsteps to use this information to better plan and implement remediation activities in support of your Government’s goal of combating exploitive child labor and ensuring children the benefits of access to basic education.

Significant progress has been made to eliminate exploitive child labor in the West African cocoa sector, but I think we can agree that more still remains to be done.

The U.S. Government remains a committed partner in this fight.  In 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor received a mandate from the U.S. Congress to extend the assessment activities of the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana through 2010.  This is an opportunity for all parties involved – governments, industry, NGOs, and academics – to showcase the progress being made in the cocoa sector, especially with respect to remediation. 

I am also happy to announce that the U.S. Department of Labor is in discussions with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to fund a regional project to address exploitive child labor in several countries in West Africa, including Côte d’Ivoire.

This project would aim to assist countries that are members of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) to combat the worst forms of child labor.  The project would likely include direct action in the cocoa sector of Côte d’Ivoire.  It would also support governments in strengthening and enforcing child labor laws, national action plans, and related policies.

While the situation in the West Africa cocoa sector provides a good illustration of the costs child labor in agriculture can impose on children, it also demonstrates that a range of strategies and a broad of array of actors can be brought together to work toward a common goal of protecting children from exploitation and abuse.

I hope that everyone here today uses this meeting as a tool to accomplish our common goal—to protect the children of Côte d’Ivoire from exploitation and abuse.  As adults, we share a collective responsibility to do all we can to protect our children and to offer them the chance to develop to their full potential through education and training opportunities.  The time has come for us to stand together and demand that no child should toil under exploitive and hazardous conditions in agriculture. 

I want to thank you for coming here today and, most importantly, for your continued leadership on this issue and your commitment to defending the rights of vulnerable children in Cote d’Ivoire.