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For Immediate Release
March, 06 2009, 01:17pm EDT
Contact:
Tim Newman, tim.newman@ilrf.org,
202-347-4100 x113 or 617-823-9464
Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, Adrienne@globalexchange.org,
415-255-7296 x315
US Advocates Congratulate Cadbury on Fair Trade Chocolate Announcement
Major US chocolate companies encouraged to follow Cadbury’s lead
SAN FRANCISCO
Global Exchange and the International Labor Rights Forum, two
organizations leading campaign efforts in the US to improve living and working
standards for cocoa farmers around the world, welcome Cadbury's plans to
achieve Fair Trade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk by the end of summer
2009. Cadbury Dairy Milk is an iconic candy in the UK,
like the Hershey's bar or Mars' M&Ms in the US. Cadbury's announcement
made on March 4, 2009[1]
means that the top selling chocolate bar in England will be Fair Trade
certified and the deal will triple cocoa sales for Fair Trade certified farmer
cooperatives in Ghana.
For
years, Global Exchange and the International Labor Rights Forum
have been calling on major chocolate companies to purchase Fair Trade
certified
cocoa. Child and trafficked labor have been widespread on cocoa farms
in West Africa and Fair Trade certification bans the worst
forms of child labor and forced labor. Additionally, Fair Trade helps
farmers
to improve their incomes, invest in community projects like clinics and
schools
and promotes democratic organization of farmers.
Bama
Athreya,
Executive Director of the International Labor Rights Forum said,
"We congratulate Cadbury on this important announcement. We hope that
Cadbury's increasing commitment to Fair Trade will contribute to better
living and working conditions for cocoa farmers throughout West
Africa. Most importantly, Cadbury can serve as a model to major
US-based chocolate companies. Their leadership demonstrates that committing to
Fair Trade certified cocoa for the mass market is indeed possible."
Adrienne Fitch-Frankel, Fair Trade
Campaign Director at Global Exchange said,
"Cadbury's Fair Trade announcement is an important victory for
cocoa farmers, chocolate lovers, and grassroots Fair Trade advocates in the UK and
around the world. We hope that Cadbury will extend its commitment to Fair
Trade to all of its cocoa products sold in the UK and worldwide. After the
remarkable leadership of 100% Fair Trade certified chocolate companies like
Equal Exchange, Divine, and Alter Eco, Cadbury has proven that embracing Fair
Trade is also both feasible and profitable for the major international
chocolate brands. Cadbury's is the first domino in the domino effect of
major chocolate companies going Fair Trade. The tens of thousands of
grassroots Fair Trade activists we work with, from young children to
grandparents, are eagerly awaiting the day that we will savor our first Fair
Trade certified Hershey's bar, package of M&Ms, or World's
Finest Chocolate bar."
As fair trade and labor advocates around the world celebrate
Cadbury's news, both organizations continue to call on major US chocolate
companies like Nestle, Mars, Hershey's, and World's Finest
Chocolate to follow Cadbury's lead and make a stronger commitment to
ending labor rights abuses in their cocoa supply chains and making it possible
for cocoa farmers to build a brighter future for their families through Fair
Trade.
###
Global Exchange is an international human rights organization
dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the
world. For more information, please visit www.GlobalExchange.org.
International Labor
Rights Forum is an
advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for
workers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.LaborRights.org.
Both organizations are authors and
signatories to the Commitment
to Ethical Cocoa Sourcing, signed by over 60 chocolate companies, nonprofit
organizations, and faith-based groups.
Global Exchange takes a holistic approach to creating change. With 20 years working for international human rights, we realize that in order to advance social, environmental and economic justice we must transform the global economy from profit centered to people centered, from currency to community.
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Nov 20, 2024
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday refused to pass joint resolutions of disapproval proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders that would prevent the sale of certain offensive American weaponry to Israel, which has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza since last fall.
S.J. Res. 111, S.J. Res. 113, and S.J. Res. 115 would have respectively blocked the sale of 120mm tank rounds, 120mm high-explosive mortar rounds, Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), the guidance kits attached to "dumb bombs."
The first vote was
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Ahead of the votes, Sanders took to the Senate floor to highlight that his resolutions were backed by over 100 groups, including pro-Israel J Street; leading labor organizations such as the Service Employees International Union, United Auto Workers, and United Electrical Workers; humanitarian groups like Amnesty International; and various faith organizations.
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To illustrate the devastating impact of Israel's assault on Gaza—which has led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice—Sanders quoted from an October New York Timesopinion essay authored by American doctors who volunteered in Gaza. For example, Dr. Ndal Farah from Ohio said: "Malnutrition was widespread. It was common to see patients reminiscent of Nazi concentration camps with skeletal features."
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Merkley, Van Hollen, and Welch joined Sanders in speaking in favor of the resolutions on Wednesday. Members of both parties also spoke out against them: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Risch (R-Idaho), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
Cardin quoted talking points from the White House that were reported on earlier Wednesday by HuffPost. The outlet detailed how officials in outgoing President Joe Biden's administration suggested that "lawmakers who vote against the arms are empowering American and Israeli foes from Iran to the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, which the U.S. treats as terror organizations."
Just hours before the Senate debate, the Biden administration vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza—the fourth time it has blocked such a measure at the world body since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
After the Senate votes, groups that supported Sanders' resolutions expressed disappointment.
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The controversial bill was blocked last week when 144 Democrats and one Republican voted against the bill after it was fast-tracked under a procedure that requires two-thirds majority support for passage. Republicans then brought it back through the House Rules Committee, teeing it up for a simple majority floor vote.
The 52 Democrats who voted in favor of the bill include Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).
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"H.R. 9495 is a threat to our basic right to free speech, dissent, and advocacy. Democrats who claim to defend democracy must be called out for their SUPPORT of this bill. This bill will silence non-profits who speak up for human rights of Palestinians, reproductive rights, against deportations or ANY government policies," wrote Muslims for Progressive Values.
Some of Democrats who voted in favor have since said they will no longer support the bill.
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Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) told reporters that "there was not an agreement by the committee to release the report," while Rep. Susan Wild (D-Penn.) clarified that "a vote was taken."
Julie Tsirkin, congressional correspondent for NBC News, said Wild "suggested all Democrats voted yes, all Republicans voted no."
Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America, called on the committee to "release the full report immediately" and warned that "failing to make it public would be a betrayal of the public trust and a dangerous precedent for our democracy."
Committee investigators have been examining allegations that Gaetz paid to have sex with a 17-year-old at parties while he was serving in Congress.
The investigators obtained records showing that Gaetz paid more than $10,000 to two women who testified before the committee. The records showed 27 PayPal and Venmo transfers from Gaetz between July 2017 and January 2019, some of which were allegedly payments for sex.
The allegations were also part of an FBI investigation into whether Gaetz was involved in sex trafficking of a minor. That probe was dropped without charges.
"The American people deserve transparency from their elected officials, especially when it comes to evaluating the nominee to become our nation’s chief law enforcement officer," said Harvey. "The Senate can't fulfill its constitutional duty to advise and consent on the president's nominees without access to the report and all evidence of the numerous allegations of Gaetz's sexual misconduct."
Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress hours after Trump announced his nomination. The resignation meant Gaetz was no longer under the congressional committee's jurisdiction, and several lawmakers suggested the former Florida congressman aimed to avoid the release of the report. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has pushed for the report to remain confidential considering Gaetz's resignation.
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As it stands, podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen said, "the House Ethics Committee Republicans are now complicit in trying to bury a potentially 'highly damaging' report into Matt Gaetz."
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