The Harkin/Engel Protocol
About it:
The Harkin/Engel Protocol came around in September 2001. It is An agreement signed by global chocolate and cocoa industry representatives. It was developed in partnership with United States Senator Harkin and Representative Engel, working towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour and forced adult labour in the growing of cocoa beans and their derivative products from West Africa. They are the first group to ever attempt to report on labour conditions across an entire agricultural sector in the developing world. An example of one of the key actions is the development of a “public certification" system for cocoa farming. It is a voluntary process which would give a public accounting of labour practices in the process of cocoa farming. Well known industries that signed the Harkin/Engel protocol include: Ferrero The Hershey Company Kraft foods Mars incorporated Nestle Progress to Date: Reports on labour conditions in both Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Ghana were published by July 2008 and verification of the data was completed by January 2010. Building on these activities, the Framework of Action supports the Harkin-Engel Protocol, intending to accelerate efforts to reduce the worst forms of child labour. Over the past decade the Harkin/Engel Protocol has spent over $75 million on things related to the reduction of the worst forms of child labour in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. This includes $18 million for the International Cocoa Initiative, the foundation set up under the Protocol. It has also committed another $7 million to continue the goals of the Framework of Action. |