We count both small and medium-sized enterprises and some of the largest companies in the sector among our members (including traders, processors, manufacturers and retailers), in addition to civil society organisations, certifiers, and farmer and worker organisations. Key international organisations such as the OHCHR, ILO and UNICEF act as Board advisors. We also work very closely with the governments of cocoa-producing countries, especially in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon, and closely engage with cocoa consuming country governments, especially at the European Union level. We believe that finding solutions to child labour and forced labour is a shared responsibility and requires collective and coordinated action. Thanks to our multi-stakeholder structure, our neutrality and our recognised influence, both as a technical expert and as a convener, we are optimally placed to bring about change across the whole cocoa sector.
ICI has been working in cocoa-growing communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana since 2007, and during this time, thanks to the efforts of our members and partners, we have consistently increased the span and scope of our work, actively growing the number of cocoa-growing households covered by systems to prevent and address child labour. Thanks to the collective efforts of ICI’s members, over 1 million households were covered by Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) by the end of September 2023, with over 540,000 children receiving support. These systems raise awareness about child labour; actively identify children at-risk; provide support to children and families; and follow up with children to understand their changing needs and measure impact.
ICI’s latest annual report has more information on the progress we have made in cocoa-growing communities to prevent and address child labour.
