Nestlé Limited, a food and beverage company, says child labour has no place in its supply chain, as it continues to assess and address human rights impacts across its business activities.
Kais Marzouki, the Nestlé Market Head for Central and West Africa, said this in a statement issued by Titilayo Ajibose, the Public Relations Manager, on Monday in Lagos in celebration of Human Rights Day.
The Human Rights Day established in 1948 is celebrated annually across the world on December 10 to ensure that rights of every human across the globe are protected.
According to the International Labour Organisation, over 150 million children worldwide are employed in child labour.
Marzouki said the company was focused on respecting and promoting human rights and combating child labour.
He said: “Our efforts have seen child labour reduced by 51 per cent over a three-year period in our supply chain.
“Our ambition is to continue to help improve the lives of 30 million people living in communities directly connected to our business activities.
“Creating Shared Value for all is how we contribute to society while ensuring the long-term success of the company.”
Marzouki said that Nestlé, in collaboration with key partners and organisations, continues to demonstrate leadership by identifying and tackling human rights issues.
He said that human rights issues were central to Nestlé’s purpose of “enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future”.
According to him, over the past years, Nestlé has been at the forefront of corporate actions to eliminate child labour and forced labour in Central and West Africa.
He said that in 2012, Nestlé became the first company in the food industry to become an affiliate partner of the Fair Labour Association and drew up the Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System.
Marzouki said that Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System was established in response to a report that mapped its cocoa supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire.
He said that CLMRS identified cases of child labour (or children at risk) within Nestlé’s supply chain and provided targeted solutions to prevent similar situations from going forward.
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company with over 2000 brands and presence in 191 countries around the world.