MADRID, Spain, Sept. 17, 2009 — A groundbreaking report by the US Department of Labor lists countries and products worldwide where the worst forms of labor abuses have been documented. Sugarcane production in the Dominican Republic was specifically mentioned for child labor and forced labor practices, among other abuses, corroborating the repeated denunciations made by Fr. Christopher Hartley of human rights and labor violations on Dominican sugar plantations.
Fr. Hartley has written to company executives at major European sugar refiners, Tate & Lyle, St. Louis Sucre and Tereos, urging them to examine their stance on human rights in light of recent purchases of Dominican sugar under the new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) nations. Fr. Hartley also contacted the European Commission regarding the ramifications of an agreement allowing procurement of a product grown and harvested by human beings who lack basic rights.
"This is the first time ever that sugar harvested in the Dominican Republic is available in the EU marketplace," says Fr. Hartley. "And for the first time ever, that same Dominican sugar – knowingly produced in violation of international human rights principles, Fairtrade standards, and the mandate and spirit of the EPA – will be stirred into the morning coffee of millions of European consumers."
Fr. Hartley raises hard-hitting questions as to oversight of Dominican producers and EU purchasers, noting that Fairtrade certified companies are now able to introduce "un-Fairtrade" sugar into their product line without sanction. Questions also loom for the EC regarding scrutiny of EPA purchasers as to adherence to self-advertised claims of social responsibility, the human rights practices of their new suppliers, and individual corporate accountability, as well as the accountability of the EU/EC, especially in determining "eligibility" of EPA suppliers, and conformity to the intent and spirit of the EPA itself.
"… Haitian children plant and cut sugarcane. Many Haitian adults and children live in sugarcane worker villages referred to as 'bateyes,' which lack adequate housing conditions, access to medical services, and other basic needs, and are rife with exploitive child labor. Dominican-born children from parents of Haitian descent are regularly denied citizenship or legal identity documents which preclude access to education beyond the fourth grade, formal sectors jobs, and other basic rights." – US DOL: "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor," p. 64,
Citing it as a human rights imperative, as well as good business, Fr. Hartley urged the companies and their boards to make future purchases of Dominican sugar contingent upon rectification of human rights abuses and slave-like labor conditions on the principal plantations in the Dominican Republic: the state-owned CEA, and those privately owned and operated by the Fanjul, Campollo and Vicini families.
To date, none of the three companies has agreed to accept Fr. Hartley's challenge that they "take the lead" and boycott Dominican sugar for as long as human rights and labor violations remain in effect. In a 9/15/09 response on behalf of the EC, a Commission official acknowledged the seriousness of the situation but added that the EPA "does not deal specifically with migration issues or the verification of fair trade labelling."
To download a copy of Fr. Hartley's report "New Forms of Human Rights Abuses on Vicini Company Sugar Cane Plantations, Current Harvest (2008-2009) Dominican Republic," August 31, 2009, go to http://www.pressreleaseheadlines.com/2009-Hartley.pdf.
Press Contact:
Fr. Christopher Hartley
Fundacion Mision de la Misericordia
Phone: 1 (917) 887-6908
Email: Email
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