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Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review


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United States Embassy (Abidjan)

10 January 2008
Posted to the web 10 January 2008

This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

1. The press in Cote d'Ivoire today reported on the two-day visit of U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, and Senators Thomas Harkin and Bernard Sanders to Cote d'Ivoire related to child labor in cocoa production. President Laurent Gbagbo's official visit to the eastern region of the country is also a front-page item in the papers.

2. L'inter (a privately-owned daily) carried a picture of a group of children apparently in a cocoa farm with the headline - "The campaign against the child labor is a priority for the Ivorian authorities." Reporting on the 2-day visit of the U.S. Congressmen, the paper hinted that the American lawmakers want to set up a mechanism aimed at stamping out the child labor phenomenon in Cote d'Ivoire. It quoted the head of the Congressional delegation, Representative Engel, as saying, "We come as friends and not to judge anybody but to work together with the government here to find ways to fight child labor in the cocoa fields."

3. Engel, who was speaking in Abidjan after a meeting with Ivorian Prime Minister, also said that "for seven or eight years now we have implemented a protocol to eliminate this. We now have a deadline of July 1, 2008 for the implementation of an effective child labor monitoring system. The system is supposed to eliminate child labor in 50% of Cote d'Ivoire's regions for growing cocoa beans," reported L'inter.

4. Nuit et Jour (a privately-owned daily): The paper carried a headline reading: "American lawmakers are pressing Ivorian authorities to meet July 1 deadline in implementing a system against child labor." The paper quoted Representative Engel as saying: "We are going to insist on the deadline... and we hope that shortly thereafter 100% of the industry here will be certified, that it is free of any child slave labor."

5. In a report in , Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party), the paper said, "A delegation of American lawmakers and the Ivorian government agreed on a strategy that would help eliminate the use of child labor in the cocoa plantations." "We want them to go to school," the paper quoted the head of the Congress delegation as saying.

6. In a related development, Notre Voie quoted the Ivorian Labor Minister, Hubert Oulaye, as saying, "Children do not constitute the essential labor force in the cocoa plantations." We cannot call this "child slavery," but rather "dangerous works for children," the Ivorian minister explained to the paper. "He also explained that studies are underway on how to save children from carrying heavy loads, using machetes and pesticides in the cocoa fields." The paper asserts that in case the US Congress delegation and the Ivorian authorities agreed on "the progress made" after the deadline, this would result in "the total lifting of the US-imposed embargo the Ivorian cacao since 2001."

7. In a front page story, Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) reported that during President Gbagbo on-going official visit to the eastern regions of Cote d'Ivoire, he denounced "racketeering by the Ivorian defense and security forces." "Despite the fact that the resident permit was abolished, certain government officials - the police - continue to check it, making things difficult for travelers," the Ivorian leader was quoted as saying. The paper said, Gbagbo called on the heads of police service and the gendarmerie to put in place mechanisms that would prevent security officers from what he called "a breach to the law."

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8. Fraternite Matin also reported the president's comments on the current peace process. According to the paper Gbagbo told the gathering - "My priorities are peace and elections." Gbagbo also encouraged the people "to persevere." He said, "You supported me during 10 years, I was nothing. I used to come here and you made me become a President of the Republic. I'm sure you won't spoil your 10-year effort."


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