Nii Martey M. Botchway
Accra, March 18, GNA – SEND Ghana, a leading civil society organisation, has convened a national stakeholder dialogue on the findings of an assessment on human rights, living income, environmental due diligence, and gender (HLEG) performance of multinational cocoa companies operating in Ghana.
The one-day dialogue, held in Accra, brought together stakeholders from government, civil society, the private sector and farmer-based organisations
According to SEND Ghana, the assessment revealed significant gaps in the HLEG performance of multinational cocoa companies, including human rights violations, low living incomes for farmers, environmental degradation, and gender disparities.
Addressing participants in the meeting, Mr. Joseph Otchere Osei, Project Officer at SEND Ghana, said the findings of the assessment were alarming, and it was clear that urgent action was needed to address the gaps.
“We believe that this national dialogue is a critical step towards achieving meaningful reforms in the cocoa industry,” he said.
Mr. Osei who is also Project Lead, Fair for All project, called for greater transparency and accountability in the cocoa industry. He also advocated for stronger regulations to protect the rights of farmers and communities.
“We need to see real commitment from multinational cocoa companies to address these gaps and ensure that farmers and communities are treated with dignity and respect,” he said.
The dialogue, which forms part of SEND Ghana’s ongoing efforts to promote human rights, living income, environmental due diligence, and gender equality in Ghana’s cocoa industry, featured a presentation of the assessment findings.
There was also a panel discussion that comprised of representatives from licensed cocoa buying companies, civil society, cocoa farmer cooperatives, and COCOBOD.
Participants called on the government and multinational cocoa companies to take immediate action to address the gaps identified in the assessment, and to work towards achieving meaningful reforms in the cocoa industry.
GNA