CLEAR Supply Chains: Ending child labour in supply chains

The "Ending child labour in supply chains: Addressing the root causes of child labour in supply chains through an area-based approach" (CLEAR Supply Chains) project, co-funded by the European Commission, brings together the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the leading UN agency, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to address jointly the root causes of child labour, with a primarily focus on the coffee supply chain, and to leverage existing efforts in the minerals supply chain, particularly in cobalt.

Context

The 2020 Child Labour Global Estimates indicate an increase to 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys – in child labour. Coffee production is the fourth sector in the world with the most child labour listing by number of countries, only after gold, bricks and sugarcane. Child labour is also found in cobalt and coltran mines, especially in the artisanal and small-scale mining supply chain.  

The causes of child labour in the coffee and mining supply chains are multi-dimensional and complex, including poverty and social vulnerability, gaps in legal and regulatory framework and enforcement, inadequate social protection, barriers to free and quality education, limited training and decent work opportunities, and absence or weak realization of other fundamental principles and rights at work. In addition, drivers of child labour in globally traded crops like coffee include, amongst others, farm gate prices, food insecurity, price volatility, weak price negotiation capacity of smallholder producers, limited added value capacity and the effects of climate change on production and harvest.  

Objectives

General Objective: To contribute to eliminating child labour in the coffee and cobalt supply chains.

1. Result area 1 – Knowledge: Knowledge base on root causes and drivers of child labour in the coffee supply chain is strengthened and effectively shared among partners.  
2. Result area 2 – Solutions: Integrated and area-based sustainable solutions to eliminate child labour in the coffee supply chain adopted (in two countries for replication).
3. Result area 3 – Partnership: Global and regional partnerships to eliminate child labour in supply chains are strengthened.  
4. Result area 4 – Mining: Capacity to tackle child labour in the mining supply chains are strengthened.

Activities

• Root causes and drivers of child labour and models and approaches to effectively eliminate child labour in coffee supply chain identified and shared through strengthened coordination mechanisms at local, national and global level, including south/south and north/south dialogue and cooperation.
• Due diligence for elimination of child labour, including child labour monitoring and remediation, in the coffee and cobalt supply chain enhanced.    
• Access to education and social service provision for children in coffee-growing areas strengthened.
• Impact of climate change and environmental degradation and small-scale coffee farmers’ functional and economic dependence on child labour reduced.
• Fundamental principles and rights at work promoted and increased decent work opportunities for adults and young workers in coffee supply chain.  

Countries covered

• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Honduras
• Uganda
• Viet Nam  

Target beneficiaries

• Children and their families in relevant communities
• Workers in agriculture and mining
• Women and young workers
• Migrant and indigenous workers
• Cooperatives and farmers’ groups  
• Private sector including local businesses
• Key ministries and other governmental agencies
• Workers’ and employers’ organizations  
• Key global and regional networks and platforms, including the Alliance 8.7, the ILO Child Labour Platform, the International Coffee Organization, European Coffee Federation, and Global Coffee Platform. 

Co-implementing partners

The project is jointly implemented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as the lead UN agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Contributing to the ILO 8.7 Accelerator Lab: The project is implemented within the framework of the ILO 8.7 Accelerator Lab, an initiative established by the ILO in 2021, aimed at accelerating progress on the eradication of forced labour and child labour by optimising the effectiveness of development cooperation interventions.

Collaborating with the private sector: Through the ILO Child Labour Platform, eleven major coffee buyers globally, are actively involved in the project.

Development partner

The CLEAR Supply Chains project is funded by the European Union represented by the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission.

The content of this project page is the sole responsibility of the project and do not  necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.