Cocoa Dinner 2001

Address of the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources of Côte D'Ivoire at the Cocoa Association of London (CAL) dinner.

London, 4 May 2001

"Representative of the Government of the United Kingdom,

Chairman of the Cocoa Association of London (CAL),

Ambassadors,

Executive Director of the International Cocoa Organization,

Chief Executive of the Cocoa Association of London,

Representatives of national, regional and world associations of cocoa and chocolate,

Honourable members of the Cocoa Association of London,

Honoured guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of His Excellency Mr. Laurent GBAGBO, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, I should like to thank you most sincerely for the honour done to us, and through us to all cocoa-producing countries, by inviting us to the outstanding bi-annual dinner of your distinguished Association and by allowing us to speak in this prestigious forum.

I am even more pleased as your kind invitation happily allows me to re-establish the truth and to correct the grave allegations published in the press which have seriously damaged the prestige and image of the cocoa economy in my country, in West and Central Africa and generally throughout the world.

Honoured guests,

I should like straightaway to emphasize that cocoa growing is a key sector for a large number of our States.

In my country, Côte d'Ivoire, this sector supports 45% of the Ivorian population, directly and indirectly; its annual average production of 1,200,000 tonnes represents 43% of world cocoa supplies.

It is an activity which each year should generate several million dollars throughout the chain. The 214 million dollars or so which come to the State are invested as a priority in the building up of social infrastructures such as schools, health centres and wells in rural areas. Cocoa thus constitutes the most solid basis in the struggle against poverty and in human advancement.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Cocoa production in Côte d'Ivoire is carried out entirely in smallholdings between two and three hectares and which rarely reach ten hectares.

Contrary to what one could believe by reading the Press, there are no plantations in the anglo-saxon meaning of the word, in my country, no estate covering hundreds of hectares which, in times past, have necessitated troops of slaves to maintain them.

The cocoa growers use a work force from their own families, sometimes assisted by permanent or seasonal contract workers.

These workers frequently come from neighbouring countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso and end up becoming integrated into the local population. Over the years some of them have acquired their own land. They have little by little brought in their parents, cousins or even brought in children from outside their family to develop their farms.

This situation has given birth to the recent incident of using illegal child workers which, in our opinion, is a reprehensible and criminal act and one which is totally contrary to Ivorian ethics and laws.

Thank heavens, the proportion of this type of criminal farmers remains very low still (between 2 and 3% on the 10% of farms which are owned by immigrant cocoa growers). One must also observe that a minuscule part of the native population is starting, nevertheless, to get involved.

This situation has been accentuated by the principle of free circulation of goods and people in the framework of the Economic Community of West African States (ECWAS), which makes it difficult to detect the illegal movement of people.

Côte d'Ivoire is the victim here, not the culprit as we are led to believe. The perpetrators of child abduction are themselves from Mali or Burkina Faso in the main.

It is sadly there that our investigations lead us to place the problem of the illegal employment of child labour.

Côte d'Ivoire, a law-abiding State

Distinguished guests,

Côte d'Ivoire has always been concerned about human rights, particularly the rights of children, and has passed the appropriate legislation. For example, the provisions of our Constitution calls for the special protection of children and article 23.8 of the Ivorian labour regulations fixes the minimum age for a child being allowed to work at fifteen.

What is more, it has signed and ratified international conventions on the subject, amongst which can be cited the convention relative to the right of the child adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989 and which my country ratified on 4 February 1991.

Amongst other conventions signed, in particular the most recent currently being ratified is the convention no. 182 of the International Labour Organization on the worst forms of child labour, dating from 18 June 1999.

Furthermore, on 1 September 2000 my country signed a cooperation Agreement with the Republic of Mali on illicit child abduction.

Côte d'Ivoire neither tolerates nor supports violations against any of these judicial or statutory provisions as stated recently by the Head of State, His Excellency President Laurent GBAGBO.

Actions undertaken by the Ivorian authorities

As soon as the Ivorian authorities were made aware of this situation, vigorous police checks were carried out to enforce both domestic legislation and international conventions ratified by our country.

Offenders against national and international standards on the employment of children were arrested, therefore, and given prison sentences.

Furthermore, 200 children caught up in this clandestine traffic were discovered and taken to safety before being returned to Mali, their country of origin.

This is why the whole of Côte d'Ivoire was shocked by the negative defamation campaign conducted against it by certain sections of the press and consequently against the whole of the world cocoa industry which all of us here represent.

It is some of these children, who had been handed over to the Mali Consulate or repatriated to their country, who were subsequently interviewed for Channel Four and BBC documentaries and suggesting that nothing was being done by the authorities to correct the situation.

In no way do I wish to minimize the scourge of child trafficking in West Africa. I should, however, like the distinction to be clearly made between the criminal acts of a few dubious farmers, against whom we are fighting, and the perfectly acceptable practices of the great majority of cocoa farmers who employ mainly a family-based workforce in a responsible and ethical fashion.

Excellencies,

Honourable members of the CAL,

Ladies and gentlemen,

To conclude my remarks, I should like to reiterate the thanks of the Ivorian Government and to launch a resounding appeal to you all, so that together we mobilize our energies to fight this unjust press campaign which is currently destroying the image of cocoa and chocolate and, consequently, applying a brake to the harmonious development of the whole of the cocoa economy.

The Ivorian Government will intensify its struggle against child traffickers so as to eradicate this scourge.

But, at an international level we must also combine our efforts in committing to prices which provide sufficient income to the basic producer, so as to avoid perpetuating poverty in exporting countries and thus creating conditions which lend themselves to the development of slavery in whichever form it presents itself.

To fight poverty, the Ivorian government has decided to promote the development of well-structured co-operative organisations, in liaison with the Common Funds for commodities and ICCO. We are counting on your support to succeed in this endeavour.

The sixth International Cocoa Agreement, which will shortly be open for signature at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, is giving rise to a great deal of hope in all the exporting countries. Indeed, this Agreement reserves a prime position for the promotion of the private sector and the development of sustainable cocoa production and has for its aim the struggle against poverty, the improvement in socio-economic conditions for farmers, guaranteed supplies for the industry and, therefore, the harmonious development of the world cocoa economy, in the interests not only of producers but also of consumers.

Active cooperation by all concerned towards a speedy resolution of the problems facing us today will be certain proof of the enhanced cohesion and solidarity among the different operators in the chain which is advocated in the new Agreement.

I should like to end my remarks on this note of hope. I wish you all an excellent evening. Thank you for your kind attention."