(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 18 - The Supreme Court of the United States has established that the food giants Nestlé USA and Cargill cannot be sued for child slavery in the African farms from which they buy their cocoa. The BBC reports it.
Six African men said they were brought from Mali when they were kids and forced to work on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast.
The court ruled that it could not pass judgment on an abuse that took place outside the United States. She did not comment on the possibility of using the Alien Tort Act, an 18th-century law under which US companies are responsible for labor abuses committed in their supply chains abroad.
About 70% of the world's cocoa is produced in West Africa and much of this is exported to the United States.
An estimated 1.56 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, according to a report released by the United States Department of Labor last year.
In their lawsuit, the group of men claimed they were forced to work on cocoa farms for 12-14 hours a day. They also said they were kept under guard while they slept, to prevent them from escaping, and being paid little beyond basic food. (HANDLE).