"EU urged to draft law on child labor, deforestation in coffee and cocoa", 11 July 2018

As a top importer of cocoa and coffee, the bloc must take firmer action to tackle child labor and forest degradation in these supply chains, speakers told a European Parliament hearing on the issue.

In 2012, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Commission to explore legislative measures to tackle child labor in cocoa. However, the Commission ultimately did not move to draft a law addressing the issue...

Globally, there are some 152 million working children aged between 5 and 17, according to the International Labour Organization. About 71 percent work in agriculture, from herding livestock to harvesting coffee, cocoa and tea...

To effectively address the issue, the EU must set mandatory standards, possibly including due diligence legislation forcing companies to look for child labor and deforestation within their supply chains, MEPs and NGOs said.

This would even out the playing field for companies since it would mandate the whole sector to improve its practices...