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Corporate Social Responsibility
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5.01.2008 - 02:00pm ET
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International Cocoa Verification Board Selects Verifiers of Certification of Labor Conditions in West African Cocoa Production
NGO, Industry, and Government Representatives Gather for Robust Dialogue on Cocoa Verification
(CSRwire) May 1, 2008 - The International Cocoa Verification Board (ICVB)
provisionally selected the two organizations which will be charged with
verifying the certification of labor conditions in cocoa production in
Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, a critical element towards implementation of the
Harkin-Engel Protocol.
The selected organizations will conduct an independent verification of the
data and methodology utilized in the surveys conducted by the Governments
of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. After the verification, the organizations
will present their findings in an uncensored report to the public and make
recommendations based on findings to strengthen future remediation efforts.
In order to select the verifiers, the ICVB scored each application based
on its demonstrated grasp of child-centered methodologies, understanding
of the cultural conditions in both Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, and capacity
to carry out both field research and data analysis, among other
qualifications. The Request for Proposals is available in full at the
ICVB's beta-site, www.cocoaverification.net. The
shortlisted candidates were then invited to present their qualifications at
the April ICVB meeting.
During the meeting, the full ICVB questioned the applicants for detailed
information regarding each organization's knowledge specific to cocoa
production and their data gathering methods (particularly regarding
children). The selected organizations exhibited comprehensive
understanding of the challenges surrounding verification and expertise in
data analysis. Each potential verifier was required to have local
partners to ensure that they could efficiently and appropriately engage
with cocoa-producing communities on the ground.
The Board was guided in this process by the results of Verité's March
31st NGO-Industry Consultative Meeting "Why Verify? Making Cocoa
Verification Count." The NGO, industry, and government representatives
who participated in this meeting engaged in robust dialogue about how best
to ensure a transparent and effective verification process. These
suggestions were presented to the ICVB prior to their meeting.
The names of the selected verifiers will be released pending the final
approval of their contract with the ICVB.
Other ICVB accomplishments during the meeting included the selection of
the Board Chairs, Treasurer, and Secretary and Committee Chairs and
Alternates, as well as creating a work plan for each committee to
accomplish in the months following the meeting.
About the ICVB
The International Cocoa Verification Board (ICVB) was convened in
December, 2007. This multi-stakeholder body includes nine representatives
from NGOs, academia, trade unions and industry. The nine Board members
are: Anthony Fofie, Ghana Cocoa Board; Amouan Assouan Acquah, Special
Counselor to the Prime Minister (Côte d’Ivoire); Stephen Ayidiya,
University of Ghana-Legon; Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe, General Agricultural
Workers Union (Ghana); Alice Koiho Kipre, Afrique Secours et Assistance
(Côte d'Ivoire); Diane Mull, International Initiative on Exploitive Child
Labor (USA); John Trew, CARE International (USA); Jeff Morgan, Mars, Inc.
(USA); and Isabelle Adam, European Cocoa Association (Belgium). www.cocoaverification.net.
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