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In response to today's announcement (Wednesday 4 March 2009)
by Cadbury that their Dairy Milk chocolate bar will be Fairtrade
certified in the UK and Ireland by the Summer of 2009, Aidan McQuade,
Director of Anti-Slavery International, said:
"The commitment by Cadbury to make their top-selling chocolate
bar Fairtrade certified is good news for the battle to end child
labour in the cocoa industry in Ghana, which produces around 20%
of the world's cocoa supply.
"Forced and child labour still blight the West African
cocoa industry, particularly in Cote D'Ivoire, which is the world's
biggest producer of cocoa, accounting for around 40% of the global
output.
"Cadbury's achievement of Fairtrade certification for its
Dairy Milk bar and its commitment to build thriving cocoa communities
through the Cadbury's Cocoa Partnership stands in stark contrast
to the comparatively puny efforts of much of the rest of the chocolate
industry.
"Even considering recently announced investments by the
other major chocolate companies including, Hershey, Mars and Nestle,
these have not come close to demonstrating anything like the same
seriousness of intent in ensuring that forced and child labour is
being eradicated from their supply chain.
"Cadbury seems the exception in a $75 billion industry,
which otherwise appears content in the knowledge that many of the
children of the villages that produce their cocoa spend their days
labouring in the fields to secure industry profits rather than studying
at school to secure their own futures.
"This is the moment of truth. It is time for the rest of
the chocolate industry to put its money where its mouth is and ensure
adequate investment to allow them to live up to the demands set
by their own voluntary protocols.
"If they fail to do this I would hope that politicians
of courage and conscience such as US Senator Tom Harkin and US Representative
Eliot Engel return their attention to the activities of the chocolate
companies and ensure they are compelled to finally eradicate forced
and child labour if they won't do so voluntarily."
For further press information contact or to arrange an interview
with Aidan McQuade:: Paul Donohoe, Anti-Slavery International
Press Officer, on 44 (0)20 7501 8934/07779 624 385 p.donohoe@antislavery.org
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