Motion for a resolution | Doc. 15053 | 29 January 2020

Exploiting children in rural sectors of coffee and cocoa

Signatories: Mr Ulrich OEHME, Germany, EC/DA ; Lord Richard BALFE, United Kingdom, NR ; Ms Maryna BARDINA, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Marc BERNHARD, Germany, EC/DA ; Ms Larysa BILOZIR, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Ms Christiana EROTOKRITOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Oleksii GONCHARENKO, Ukraine, EC/DA ; Mr Martin GRAF, Austria, EC/DA ; Mr Martin HEBNER, Germany, EC/DA ; Mr Yuriy KAMELCHUK, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Axel KASSEGGER, Austria, EC/DA ; Mr Norbert KLEINWAECHTER, Germany, EC/DA ; Mr Alvise MANIERO, Italy, NR ; Baroness Doreen MASSEY, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Kazimierz MATUSZNY, Poland, EC/DA ; Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Simon MOUTQUIN, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Yuliia OVCHYNNYKOVA, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Gonzalo ROBLES, Spain, EPP/CD ; Lord Simon RUSSELL, United Kingdom, EC/DA ; Mr Aleksandar ŠEŠELJ, Serbia, NR ; Ms Tadeja ŠUŠTAR, Slovenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Nicos TORNARITIS, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Ms Martine WONNER, France, ALDE

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

30 years after the adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and 70 years after the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the European Union is the largest financial beneficiary of child labour in rural communities supplying its coffee, cocoa and many other agricultural products. The European Union is the largest importer of coffee and cocoa.

The Council of Europe member States fail to protect the children’s rights in their own supply chain from exploitative, illegal and cruel business models that have increased misery, hunger, infant malnutrition, child labour and forced migration worldwide.

The Parliamentary Assembly is committed to globally protecting people from violations of their rights and basic freedom. “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of every state authority”. The Assembly must therefore take legal action to protect the rights of millions of defenceless children being exploited and/or being deprived of their most basic human rights.

On the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the Assembly should draft a report to demand national governments, all State institutions and all European institutions to take legal action in order to protect children’s rights in the supply chain of their countries.