Comparative Assessment of Monitoring and Remediation Systems on Child Labour as implemented by Fairtrade Small-scale Producer Organizations
Published: 10 Dec 2021
This study compares two types of systems: Fairtrade International’s signature Youth-Inclusive Community-Based Monitoring and Remediation (YICBMR) system and Internal Control Systems (ICS) in four countries: Belize, Dominican Republic, Ghana and India. Both systems were compared on the six criteria established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Relevance, Coherence, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability.
The researchers interviewed and conducted focus group discussions with a total of 184 producers and 122 community members, including men, women, youth and children and 38 external stakeholders including government actors, traders and NGO staff in each of the four countries. They also conducted key informant interviews with in total 57 staff of Fairtrade International and the Fairtrade producer networks in each region.
The report summarizes the participants' perspectives of and experiences with the two systems for each of the six criteria. While ICS was found to be effective at monitoring child labour on farms, YICBMR was seen as better at remediation, addressing wider risks, embedding child rights, building communities’ ownership of child welfare, and strengthening local and national child protection systems. Overall this results in YICBMR scoring best on most OECD criteria. The study raises questions with regard to financial sustainability and related efficiency in maintaining the YICBMR system, and highlights the need for everyone in the supply chain to play a role in supporting such systems.
The report makes recommendations for producer organizations regarding implementation of monitoring and remediation systems, and for Fairtrade related to advocating for additional investment, especially in remediation of child labour cases; to expand decent youth employment opportunities; and to continue including young people in defining problems and solutions.