US report on West African child labor facing review following objections

A Department of Labor (DOL) report showing child labor has risen in the West African cocoa trade will undergo an independent review by Ivory Coast and Ghana, which objected to the American agency’s methodology.

The DOL announced the review Friday. The report was expected to be published later this month, though it’s unclear if the independent review will delay its publication. 

The Ivorian and Ghanaian governments objected to comparisons that were made between data collected for the current report and data from a previous report in 2015, which turned out to be flawed. 

The report is the third in a series agreed upon between cocoa industry leaders and U.S. lawmakers in 2001. 

The surveys used for the report were conducted by NORC, a research organization at the University Chicago, in 2018 and 2019.

“Our expectation is that NORC will take into proper consideration the findings of the Experts Group, and as necessary and where possible, make any appropriate adjustments to the report,” the DOL said in a statement to The Hill.

— Updated 4:13 p.m.