Nestle and Cargill have recently petitioned the United States Supreme Court to re-interpret the 1789 Alien Tort Statute, also known as the Alien Tort Claims Act. This is an effort to absolve themselves of responsibility for the use of child  labor.

From the 2018/2019 report commissioned by the US Department of Labor:

Between 2008/09 and 2018/19 the proportion of children engaged in hazardous child labor in cocoa production increased by 11 percentage points in aggregate across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Approximately 1.99 million children (41% of children in agricultural households) were exposed to at least one component of hazardous child labor in cocoa production under the common definition.

Hazardous Child Labor has several definitions, however, it is illegal in both counties and it generally includes: 

1. Land clearing
2. Carrying heavy loads
3. Using agro-chemicals
4. Using sharp tools
5. Long working hours
6. Night work

Fifteen years after six Malian people brought a case against Nestlé and Cargill, alleging they were abused while working on Ivory Coast cocoa farms used by the companies, Nestlé and Cargill are arguing that the Alien Tort Statute can only be used to indict individuals, not corporations.

I am calling for a consumer Boycott of these companies to show them that  abusive child labor is unacceptable, and that they should not enjoy the privilege of simply reinterpreting inconvenient laws. They must be held accountable, and they must eliminate abusive child labor in their production chain, now, not in 10 years time.