“The fact that millions continue to be trapped in exploitative and dehumanizing conditions is a terrible stain on modern society” - Nisha Varia, Human Rights Watch.¹

As Valentine’s Day approaches and stores line their shelves with cards and candies to celebrate the holiday, you may be considering buying a box of chocolates for your loved one. But what you may not consider are the stories of young children like Abdul working in chocolate’s multibillion-dollar industry.²

Abdul is a 10 year old boy from Ivory Coast who started working on a cocoa farm when he was 7 but he has never actually tasted chocolate.³ In recent years, a handful of organisations and journalists have exposed the widespread use of child and forced labour in the cocoa industry.

You can help change this. Take action now to stop forced labour worldwide.

Calling for the ratification of the C29 Protocol, created in 2014 to update Convention 29, which was drafted in 1930, means your country will be equipped to address modern slavery today with up to date protection measures. It’s not the catchiest of names but this law means real change for those who have been trafficked or are living in slavery and are forced to work in various sectors, including agriculture, domestic work and the sex industry.⁴

There is something you can do to make a real change in the lives of millions of people working on cocoa farms and suffering from other forms of forced labour. Sign our petition now. 

Happy Valentine’s Day, 

Maru, Alex, Joanna and the rest of the Walk Free Team

P.S. Want to buy slavery-free chocolate? Look for assurances on packaging detailing the conditions under which it was produced. 

Express your love with Slave Free choclate this Valentine's Day http://j.mp/1LowwkU