The bitter sweet reality of chocolate
Lawyers sourced by A4ID assist Stop the Traffik in their campaign to end child trafficking in the chocolate industry.
Background
Ten years ago the world’s leading chocolate manufacturers pledged that eliminate child trafficking from the cocoa industry in West Africa. But according to the charity Stop the Traffik very little progress has been made.
West Africa is the world’s largest cocoa growing region, with Cote d’Ivoire alone producing around 35 per cent of the world’s crop. Many children work in this industry, often on their families’ farms but in some cases in conditions akin to slavery.
Stop the Traffik
According to Stop the Traffik an estimated 12,000 children have been trafficked to work in Core d’Ivoire’s cocoa plantations, often being brought from neighbouring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Stop the Traffik are calling for an end to the trafficking of children into the cocoa production industry and are pushing chocolate manufacturers to ensure all their products are ‘traffik free’ as soon as possible.
The solution
A4ID assisted Stop the Traffik in their aims by providing them with access to lawyers who advised them on the intellectual property risks associated with the latest campaign.
Support from the firm N I Jacobs & Associates in New York has meant they have been able to mitigate any risks associated with using the names of chocolate manufacturers in their campaign, allowing them to continue to push for new laws that bring an end to the trafficking of children in the chocolate industry.
For more information about the work of Stop the Traffik please visit www.stopthetraffik.org
