Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-13-Speech-2-585-000"
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"en.20120313.23.2-585-000"2
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"Mr President, I would like to start by thanking Mr Moreira and the Committee on International Trade for their proposal that this House consent to the conclusion of the International Cocoa Agreement.
To conclude, I would like to reaffirm my strong belief that a child’s place is at school and not in the fields or factories. Eradicating poverty is the first objective that we should try to achieve: tackling the root cause of child labour in Africa and in all developing countries.
I am therefore very grateful to the European Parliament, which has once again put this very important issue high on its agenda. The Commission, as usual, will address the issue in its work.
The Commission agrees with Parliament’s view that the new agreement is a good platform to promote international cooperation in the world cocoa sector and that it will contribute to the strengthening of the national cocoa economies. This agreement will enable the world markets to strive towards obtaining fair prices for both producers and consumers, while also leading to equitable economic returns and promoting a sustainable cocoa economy. All these elements are of paramount importance for cocoa producer countries, which also, in most cases, happen to be developing countries.
Being the world’s main importer and consumer of cocoa, the European Union has a clear role and a responsibility to promote the increased sustainability of a fair cocoa trade in these countries. With this responsibility in mind, we recognise that the question of child labour represents one of the most difficult challenges – the controversial aspect being that, in our view, the idea is abhorrent, while in some other traditions, it is an accepted practice.
However, we agree with the ILO, ICCO and the World Cocoa Foundation that the agreement is a good starting point to address the issue of child labour in this particular sector. We could even go further on this issue by saying that the problem of child labour goes well beyond the cocoa sector and, unfortunately, affects nearly all our developing partners.
As you know, the rights of the child are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It is a priority for us to protect and promote these rights, and the Commission is deeply committed to this cause. The EU remains engaged in eradicating the worst forms of child labour at global level and in ensuring that a child’s education is not sacrificed to the need to work and that children’s physical and emotional development is not adversely affected. At international level, under Article 32 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from child labour.
Nevertheless, the Commission has repeatedly expressed its profound regret that, despite the efforts of the international community – including the near universal ratification of ILO Convention 182, which requires the complete eradication of this practice – an ever increasing number of children are engaged in activities that meet the ILO definition of child labour. I would like to point out that today, a shocking 124 million children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour and that the overall trend in sub-Saharan Africa is up by nearly 30%. This should give us all food for thought. I therefore really appreciate and welcome the interest that Mr Moreira and a large number of Members of this House attach to this issue.
But the issue is complex. In developing countries, and in particular in the cocoa sector, the problem of child labour cannot be considered in isolation. An integrated approach must tackle other very relevant issues stemming from the root causes of poverty and the subsequent need for child labour and trafficking of children for this labour.
As the draft recommendation rightly acknowledges, 90% of cocoa farmers in West Africa are smallholders. These are family farms facing huge challenges. They are sometimes located 40 km down a dirt track and have extremely difficult access to infrastructure. In these circumstances, children will, of course, be working on the farm. In order to assist communities to provide the conditions where children will no longer need to be employed, the Commission is fully engaged through its development cooperation and its policies that we apply in this sector.
The EU’s engagement is outlined in the 2010 Commission staff working paper on child labour and the June 2010 Council conclusions. Policy coherence and coordination are essential components to this effort and, with this in mind, we have in place a coordinated EU approach, working with the relevant international organisations and bodies. This is coupled with helping West African countries to address the issues themselves, including through cooperation on improved infrastructure and farming methods and providing for more and better labour inspection and market organisation."@en1
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