You shouldn’t have to worry that the chocolate you eat might contain cocoa cultivated or harvested by a child. Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, together, produce nearly 60% of the world’s cocoa each year, but the latest estimates found that 1.56 million children are engaged in child labor on cocoa farms in these two countries. ILAB’s work has been essential to confronting the challenge of child labor in West African cocoa. By fostering partnerships and securing commitments, we are helping to promote a global cocoa supply chain free of exploitative labor.

A Model For Engagement

ILAB has been, and continues to be, a driving force in bringing people together to coordinate efforts, share ideas, and foster new collaborations to alleviate child labor in cocoa. 

We were instrumental in the formation of the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group (CLCCG) – an innovative public-private partnership with the aim of rooting out abusive labor practices in the cocoa supply chain. The CLCCG brings together the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana as well as representatives of the International Chocolate and Cocoa Industry to ensure that projects are complementary and sufficient resources are directed towards addressing priority needs.

Eliminating Child Labor from Cocoa Infographic

Since its establishment in 2010, the CLCCG has brought more stakeholders to the table – helping to spark dialogue and collaboration between governments, chocolate companies, civil society, and international organizations. The partnerships that have stemmed from the CLCCG have been seen as a model of coordination, collaboration, and information-sharing by governments and companies at home and abroad.

High-Level Commitment

The CLCCG was formed when the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the U.S. Department of Labor, and representatives of the international chocolate and cocoa industry committed to joining together in the fight against child labor in the production of cocoa. Senator Tom Harkin, Representative Eliot Engel, and the International Labor Organization witnessed the CLCCG partners’ signing of the Declaration of Joint Action to Support Implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Accompanying the Declaration is the Framework of Action to Support Implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, which lays out the activities needed to achieve the goals of the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

The CLCCG has proven essential in accelerating action, sharing knowledge, driving innovation, and leveraging resources in the fight against child labor in West African cocoa. As we look towards the future, we call on all stakeholders in the fight against child labor to learn from these efforts in cocoa. Through partnerships and alliances among all types of stakeholders – from foreign governments to civil society to corporations – we have a chance to make a real and sustained impact in addressing child labor around the world.

Dangers of child labor in cocoa infographic

Technical Assistance to Address Labor Exploitation in Cocoa-Producing Areas
Project Name Location Grantee Amount Start End
CACAO (Cooperatives Addressing Child Labor Accountability Outcomes) Côte d’Ivoire Save the Children $4,000,000 12/10/2020 06/09/2025
MATE MASIE (Making Advances to Eliminate Child Labor in More Areas with Sustainable Integrated
Efforts)		 Ghana Winrock International $4,000,000 12/07/2020 12/06/2024
Assessing Progress in Reducing Child Labor in Cocoa-Growing Areas of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (NORC) $2,999,595 12/01/2015 11/30/2019
Eliminating Child Labor in Cocoa (ECLIC) Sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire International Cocoa Initiative $4,500,000 11/16/2015 11/15/2019
Mobilizing Community Action and Promoting Opportunities for Youth in Ghana's Cocoa-Growing Communities (MOCA) Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana Winrock $4,500,000 11/06/2015 11/05/2019
Country Level Engagement and Assistance to Reduce Child Labor (CLEAR) Paraguay, Suriname, Philippines,
Armenia, Serbia, Global, Lebanon,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda

 

International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC)		 $7,950,000 11/30/2013 01/31/2019
Survey Research on Child Labor in West African Cocoa Growing Areas Sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire Tulane University $1,924,560 09/30/2012 02/15/2017
Towards Child Labor Free Cocoa Growing Communities Sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) $10,000,000 12/31/2010 03/31/2015
Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor in West Africa and Strengthening Sub-regional Cooperation Through ECOWAS II Sub-Saharan Africa, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) $5,000,000 12/31/2010 04/30/2014
Uninterrupted Oversight of Public and Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Cocoa Sector Sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire Tulane University $1,200,000 09/30/2009 09/30/2011
Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor in West Africa by Strengthening Sub-Regional Cooperation Through ECOWAS Sub-Saharan Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) $7,950,000 09/30/2009 04/30/2014
Oversight of Public & Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Cocoa Sector in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana Tulane University $4,311,513 09/29/2006 09/29/2010
West Africa Cocoa/Commercial Agriculture Program to Combat Hazardous and Exploitive Child Labor (WACAP) Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC) $5,000,000 09/29/2002 09/29/2006