Lynn Holland, a professor of International Political Economy at the University of Denver, called for labor laws to be relaxed to decrease human trafficking worldwide at a Living and Learning Community teach-in in Cherrington Hall last Tuesday.

“Anything we can do to strengthen labor internationally can help decrease human trafficking,” said Holland. “There are countries that need labor, that need help.”

Approximately 40 students attended the event, which discussed the trafficking of individuals, specifically in Africa, to work on chocolate plantations. The event was the second teach-in hosted by the Living and Learning Communities and the first one conducted by the Social Justice LLC.

There are five Living and Learning Communities at DU, with residential groups of about 25 freshmen who focus on a certain theme, such as creativity and entrepreneurship or social justice. The Social Justice LLC allows students to study social, political and economic injustices and become active in fighting them, according to their website.

Claude d’Estree, director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at Korbel, said human trafficking is a huge problem.

“There are more slaves now than in any other time in history,” said d’Estree.  

The meeting started off with a 20-minute screening of the documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” which followed an undercover journalist as he visited Mali and Cote d’Ivoire, tracking the path of human trafficking.

According to the documentary, children are often whisked away at bus station by men on motorcycles and taken to chocolate plantations.

“It can take several days to get to many of these plantations,” said d’Estree. “The ability to monitor all these plantations is quite frankly impossible.”

Even if children are rescued, chances are they will seek out traffickers again, said d’Estree.

“In agricultural societies, the reason you have children is because you’re producing workers,” said d’Estree. “If the family can’t provide for itself, it sends the children out.”

Steps have been taken to reduce the child labor supply chain in the chocolate industry.

In 2001, the Chocolate Manufacturer’s Association, part of the National Confectioner’s association, whose mission is to foster industry growth by promoting manufacturer and consumer interests, signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

The protocol outlawed child labor in the chocolate industry beginning in 2008. They also formed the International Cocoa Initiative, which works with villagers and the NGO to help them decide their futures. It is unclear if these measures have been successful.

Emily Lafferrandre, development coordinator for the human trafficking clinic at Korbel, was quick to dismiss the Harkin-Engel Protocol.

“The Harkin-Engel Protocol has no teeth,” said Lafferrandre. “We have no form of verification that chocolate is produced in a responsible manner.”

Michael Graf, co-director of the Not for Sale campaign, Denver chapter, agreed accountability has been a problem. The Not for Sale campaign’s mission is to abolish slavery worldwide.

“It would be great if you went to the store and there was a label that says ‘zero slaves touched your chocolate while it was being made,’ but that’s not there,” said Graf.

During the panel discussion, Graf asked students to take out their cellphones and look up the app “Free2Work,” which rates companies based on how much slave labor is involved in their production. Nestlé, which has head offices stationed in Cote d’Ivoire, received a D rating.

“Nothing’s going to be perfect, but this [app] can be a start,” said Graf, whose company works with Free2Work. “It gives consumers a way to fill in the knowledge gap.”

Annaken Mendoza-Toews, the program manager of the Colorado Organization for Victim’s Assistance (COVA), works alongside victims of human trafficking in the Denver area.

“We provide case management and act as an advocate for that person,” said Mendoza-Toews. “We help them navigate social services.”

Despite their assistance, international victims face additional troubles when they arrive in the United States.

“International victims are not applicable for many visas,” said Mendoza-Toews. “Many of those visas tie them to one specific employer. In order to escape their situation, they need to lose their immigration status.”