By Marvin G. Perez
February 13, 2021 —
New York: Eight former cocoa plantation child labourers are suing seven chocolate giants for alleged complicity in trafficking and forced labour.
International Rights Advocates, a human rights group, said it has filed a federal class action lawsuit in Washington, DC, on behalf of the eight Malian citizens who say they were forced to work and received no pay.
IRA said the plaintiffs were trafficked as children and forced to harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast, the fruit’s biggest producer and exporter. The case is based on a law that allows victims to sue companies that participate in a venture that benefits from trafficking and forced labour.
Nestlé is among seven companies named in the lawsuit.
CREDIT:BLOOMBERG
Nestle, Hershey, Mars and Cargill are among the companies named in the suit.
“They benefit by continuing to profit from selling cheap cocoa harvested by child slaves,” IRA said in a statement.
“We don’t comment on any possible pending litigation,” Jessica Adelman, a Mars spokeswoman said.
Mars Wrigley said this week in a report that it had expanded coverage of child labour monitoring.
Mars and other companies say they constantly work to stamp out child labour.
Nestle, Hershey, Mars and Cargill are among the companies named in the suit.
“They benefit by continuing to profit from selling cheap cocoa harvested by child slaves,” IRA said in a statement.
“We don’t comment on any possible pending litigation,” Jessica Adelman, a Mars spokeswoman said.
Mars Wrigley said this week in a report that it had expanded coverage of child labour monitoring.
Mars and other companies say they constantly work to stamp out child labour.
CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES
A Cargill spokesperson said in a statement: “We are aware of the filing and while we cannot comment on specifics of this case right now, I want to reinforce we have no tolerance for child labour in cocoa production”. “Our resolve to address this has never been stronger and we are accelerating our efforts to address the root causes of child labour.”
A Nestle spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company had explicit policies against child labour and was working to end it. The lawsuit “does not advance the shared goal of ending child labour in the cocoa industry.”
Multinational companies have faced dozens of suits accusing them of playing a role in human rights violations, environmental wrongdoing and labour abuses. IRA has also filed a case on behalf of six former child slaves against Nestle and Cargill. The case was argued in the US Supreme Court on December 1 and is still pending.
A Cargill spokesperson said in a statement: “We are aware of the filing and while we cannot comment on specifics of this case right now, I want to reinforce we have no tolerance for child labour in cocoa production”. “Our resolve to address this has never been stronger and we are accelerating our efforts to address the root causes of child labour.”
A Nestle spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company had explicit policies against child labour and was working to end it. The lawsuit “does not advance the shared goal of ending child labour in the cocoa industry.”
Multinational companies have faced dozens of suits accusing them of playing a role in human rights violations, environmental wrongdoing and labour abuses. IRA has also filed a case on behalf of six former child slaves against Nestle and Cargill. The case was argued in the US Supreme Court on December 1 and is still pending.
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