VZCZCXYZ0016
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKM #0122 0341135
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031135Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1098
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0002

UNCLAS KAMPALA 000122 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID EIND ETRD UG
SUBJECT: MISSION KAMPALA'S COMMENT ON DRAFT LIST OF PRODUCTS MADE 
WITH FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: A. STATE 1730 B.BUENOS AIRES 48 C. 08 STATE 43120 D. 08 KAMPALA 
750 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Post appreciates the opportunity to comment on the 
Department of Labor's (DOL) draft list of commodities it "has reason 
to believe are produced by forced or child labor" (ref A).  We share 
Embassy Buenos Aires' concerns about methodology of putting 
countries on the list without corroborated evidence, and lack of a 
standard definition of a "significant incidence" of child labor in 
the making of a product (ref B).   We are particularly interested in 
clarification of the amount of child labor that is "in violation of 
international standards." 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Our Uganda-specific concerns include: the listing of 
products that are not exported and the inclusion of products that 
post and the International Organization for Labor's International 
Program to Eliminate Child Labor (ILO/IPEC) found negligible 
evidence of child labor in the production chain of exported products 
as outlined in ref C.  Emboffs visited commercial production 
facilities to examine first-hand the chain of production, labor 
regulations, and employee profiles in order to prepare a response to 
DOL's initial request for input.  Post's response noted that the 
fishing and tobacco industries required more oversight because 
production is less regulated and utilize the services of more 
out-growers, who in turn employ children (ref D). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Post notes that DOL's draft list includes bricks, cattle, 
charcoal, rice, and sugarcane.  None of these products are exported 
from Uganda and do not fit the criteria outlined in ref C. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) ILO/IPEC Country Director Akky De Kort, who is responsible 
for implementing ILO 182 and other international protocols to 
protect children, reports that the incidence of child labor in 
commercial tea, coffee, and vanilla production is negligible.  De 
Kort is responsible for determining the levels of child labor in 
these industries.  She points to union regulation, monitoring, and 
readily-available and inexpensive pool of adult Ugandans as 
providing disincentives for the use of child labor.  She emphasized 
that there is no financial gain for employers to use children in 
these sectors. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Post visited various estates and plantations to better 
understand the chain of production.  In each of these industries, 
commercial farms are monitored by labor inspectors and union 
representatives.  The inspectors report that these farms do not 
employ children.  A typical Ugandan commercial tea plantation 
employs over 9,000 adults and provides education, housing, and 
health services for each adult and five dependents.  Emboffs did not 
observe any child labor during site visits.  Industry experts report 
that any reports of child labor come from out-grower farms, where 
families use their children to assist in harvests.  These farms may 
contribute some product to the production chain, but a small 
percentage.  They remain outside the formal sector. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Uganda Tea Association reported that over the past 
year, it has developed a code of conduct to prevent child labor in 
the tea industry.  This code of conduct is aimed at family 
out-grower operations.  The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) and 
the labor unions have developed policy guidelines to eliminate child 
labor.  In Lira District, local by-laws have been developed to keep 
children out of hazardous work. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment:  Post is concerned that reported incidents of 
child labor are so low in Uganda's export sectors for tea, coffee, 
and vanilla, that it would be inaccurate and unfair to label these 
products as produced by child labor.  Tea and coffee are Uganda's 
largest foreign exchange earners, generating over $300 million in 
annual revenue.  The USG will find it difficult to defend placing 
these industries on an international blacklist without any evidence 
that these products are produced primarily by child labor.  We 
encourage DOL analysts to visit Uganda to get a better picture of 
child labor before tarnishing the marketability of Ugandan products 
and depriving the country of its primary sources of revenue without 
significant, corroborated evidence. 
BROWNING