The Alliance 8.7 Supply Chains Action Group held its second Strategic Workshop from 14 to 15 May 2019 in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivoire.

The second strategic workshop of the Alliance 8.7 Supply Chains Action Group was organized in Abidjan on 14 and 15 May 2019 under the patronage of the First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire with funding from the governments of the Netherlands (through the ACCEL Africa project) and France.

Article | 03 December 2020
The meeting took place two years after the first meeting of the Action Group held in June 2017 in Berlin with the support of the German government.

Since then, the task force has been joined by 135 organizations and has started the implementation of its 2018-2019 work plan, which focuses on four priority areas of work: a) research, b) advocacy and partnerships, c) capacity building and tools, d) key supply chains and countries.

In Abidjan, members of the action group met to:

1. 1. Review progress in the implementation of the 2018-19 work plan and identify common priorities for 2020-21. This included a roundtable discussion with Alliance 8.7 pioneer countries on their contributions to accelerate progress and the launch of new partnerships in African supply chains.

2. Share knowledge and develop proposals on how to accelerate progress towards eradicating forced labor, human trafficking and child labor in supply chains, with a focus on cotton, fisheries and mining.

The meeting brought together more than 140 participants, including governments, employers' and workers' organizations from 19 countries, and more than 40 partner organizations of Alliance 8.7 (UN agencies, financial institutions, civil society, business networks and academia).

It is important to note here the broad participation of developing country partners, including those that have become pioneer countries and have committed to accelerate their efforts to achieve Target 8.7.

The global workshop was also an opportunity for the ILO to launch the ACCEL Africa project in the presence of the Dutch Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire.

The meeting provided an opportunity to share best practices and foster a common vision on the most urgent needs to be addressed to accelerate progress towards the achievement of SDG Goal 8.7. On this basis, the Action Group adopted a new work plan for 2020-2021.

The 6 countries covered by the ACCEL Africa project were represented by tripartite delegations.

The ACCEL Africa (Accelerating Actions for the Elimination of Child Labor in Supply Chains in Africa) project, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, has the overall objective of accelerating the elimination of child labor in Africa through targeted actions in selected supply chains in Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda.

Alliance 8.7 is an inclusive global partnership committed to achieving target 8.7 of the 2030 sustainable development goals.