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On May 9th, according to CCTV, Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, during which a report was heard on the construction of the national comprehensive transportation system. The meeting emphasized the need for coordinated advancement of transportation infrastructure construction, adhering to integrated planning and systematic integration, effectively utilizing existing resources and optimizing new supply. It stressed the importance of improving management and service levels, creating a more convenient travel environment to facilitate the smooth flow of people and goods, and promoting cost reduction, quality improvement, and efficiency enhancement in freight transportation. The meeting also called for deepening reform and innovation, building a unified and open transportation market, actively promoting the application of new technologies, developing new transportation business models safely and orderly, and cultivating more new growth points.On May 9th, according to CCTV, Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, which discussed and promoted work related to resolving local government debt risks. The meeting pointed out that since the implementation of the comprehensive debt reduction plan, significant progress has been made in resolving debt risks. It is necessary to continue focusing on key areas and weak links, improve policies supporting debt reduction, enhance local governments ability to repay debts independently, and ensure the timely completion of debt reduction tasks. It is also necessary to establish and improve a long-term mechanism to resolutely prevent the creation of new hidden debt.On May 9th, according to CCTV, Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, emphasizing the need to strengthen the planning and construction of water networks, new power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipe networks, and logistics networks. He stressed that efforts to ensure peoples livelihoods should focus on stabilizing employment and providing a safety net, while also improving education, healthcare, childcare, and rural development. He called for greater efforts and more concrete measures to strengthen basic research, placing it high on the agenda, identifying key areas and priorities based on both urgent national needs and long-term objectives, increasing investment through multiple measures, and fostering a favorable research environment.On May 9th, according to CCTV, Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council, which reviewed and approved the "Draft Implementation Regulations of the Mineral Resources Law of the Peoples Republic of China." The meeting emphasized the need to strengthen the management of the entire mineral resource chain in accordance with the law, scientifically determine the list of strategic mineral resources, improve resource reserves and emergency response systems, and comprehensively enhance the level of mineral resource security.According to CCTV: Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council to study and promote relevant work on resolving local government debt risks.

Hershey, Nestle, and Cargill win the dismissal of a claim of child slavery in the United States

Charlie Brooks

Jun 29, 2022 11:06


Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed a case brought by eight Malians claiming child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa plantations against Hershey Co (NYSE:HSY), Nestle SA (SIX:NESN), Cargill Inc, and others.


U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich determined that the proposed class action plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue because they failed to prove a "traceable nexus" between the seven defendant companies and the individual farms where the plaintiffs worked.


She added that the plaintiffs did not adequately explain the role of intermediaries in the cocoa supply chain, and that the companies did not oversee actions in "free zones" where 70 to 80 percent of cocoa is farmed.


Mali and Ivory Coast share a border in West Africa.


The plaintiffs claimed they were trafficked as children after being approached by strangers who promised them employment for which they would be compensated, but did not pay them, threatened them with starvation if they did not work, and forced them to live in squalor.


Their attorney, Terry Collingsworth, said that the plaintiffs plan to file an appeal to "compel the businesses to keep their agreements and put an end to this dreadful system they have created."


Other defendants included Mars Inc, Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Barry Callebaut AG, and Olam International Ltd.


In court filings, the seven defendants said that they "strongly abhor the practice of forced labor" and that they were addressing non-forced child labor in cocoa supply chains.


However, they contended that the plaintiffs' too broad legal theory may hold too many parties liable for forced child labor, including consumers and merchants who would benefit from lower prices.


In accordance with the Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the plaintiffs filed suit.


The Supreme Court of the United States rejected a similar case brought by six Malians against Cargill and Nestle under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 in June of last year.


This was the most recent in a line of judgments denying access to federal courts based on human rights breaches occurring outside the United States.


Coubaly et al. v. Cargill Inc. et al., U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, case number 21-00386.


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