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| tags: | #Zimbabwe, #tobacco industry, #child labor, #Human Rights Watch (HRW), #exploitation, #children's rights, #child abuse, #human rights, #human righs violation |
|---|---|
| located: | Zimbabwe |
| by: | Deniz Zehra Tavli |
Some of the world’s largest multinational tobacco companies purchase tobacco grown in Zimbabwe, either directly or at auction, including British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco Group, and Imperial Brands.
Under human rights norms, companies buying tobacco from Zimbabwe have a responsibility to ensure that their business operations do not contribute to child labor and other human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch contacted the companies that collectively bought 86 percent of Zimbabwe’s tobacco in 2016. Most of the multinational companies involved have policies prohibiting their suppliers from using child labor and engaging in other human rights abuses, but Human Rights Watch’s findings suggest serious gaps in carrying out and monitoring these policies in Zimbabwe.
Tobacco companies should explicitly prohibit direct contact by children with tobacco in any form, conduct regular and rigorous human rights monitoring in the supply chain, and report transparently on their findings, Human Rights Watch said.
If you want to support the work of Human Rights Watch covering this topic, feel encouraged to support them by making a donation. Child labour is a serious abuse of children's rights and has to end!
Credits: Human Rights Watch
Photo: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/ AP Photo, 2017
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