By Omar Mohammed

This study explores the deep-rooted and evolving nature of antisemitism in the Arabic-speaking world. It traces its historical roots from pre-1948 socio-cultural and religious dynamics, through the impact of Nazi Germany and Soviet-era propaganda, to contemporary times where radical Islamist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and ISIS perpetuate antisemitic ideologies. The digital age has amplified the spread of hate speech via social media. Addressing antisemitism is challenging due to widespread denial and lack of Holocaust education in the Arab world. The

study recommends educational reforms, interfaith dialogues, and international collaboration to combat antisemitism and promote tolerance .

Washington, DC: Program on Extremism at George Washington University , 2025. 55p.

By William A. Darity Jr., Raffi E. García, Lauren Russell & Jorge N. Zumaeta

This paper examines the financial health of racial-ethnic groups in Tulsa, Oklahoma, nearly a century after the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. We use data from the Tulsa National Asset Scorecard for Communities of Color (NASCC) survey to assess the financial health of two demographic groups that were historically the victims of racial violence - Native Americans and Black Americans. Specifically, we investigate financial outcomes a century after these groups made significant economic gains during the Tulsa oil boom in the early 1900 s and were subsequently victimized by racial violence. We find that Black households have statistically significantly less wealth and income than Whites in Tulsa. Our decomposition analysis shows household demographic differences between Blacks and Whites largely do not explain these wealth and income gaps, suggestive of historical discrimination. While in the case of the Native American tribes and Whites, the findings generally show no statistical significance. Compared to other NASCC-surveyed cities that did not experience destruction to the level of the Tulsa Massacre, the Black-White wealth and income gaps and the unexplained portion of the decompositions are the largest in Tulsa. Our results provisionally suggest that past exposure to racial violence can have long-term effects on the economic outcomes of the affected groups decades later.

Journal of Family and Economic Issues (2024) 45:256–275

By Wilder Research

In the decade since Safe Harbor became Minnesota law, the state has built an extensive network in response to the sexual exploitation of youth, and more recently human trafficking, both sex and labor. The network spans from state and local government to Tribal Nations and community-based nonprofit programs. Founded on a public health approach within the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in recognition of the significant health and social impacts created by exploitation and trafficking on populations, Safe Harbor also partners extensively with entities in public safety, human services, and human rights, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) to offer a comprehensive multidisciplinary response. State law requires the Safe Harbor Director, based in MDH, to submit a biennial evaluation of the program to the Commissioner of Health under Minnesota Statute Section 145.4718. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure Safe Harbor is reaching its intended participants, increasing identification of sexually exploited youth, coordinating across disciplines including law enforcement and child welfare, providing access to services, including housing, ensuring the quality of services, and utilizing penalty funds to support services. The Safe Harbor law passed in 2011 and after a three-year planning period called No Wrong Door, the Safe Harbor system was fully enacted in 2014. In the years since, Safe Harbor has submitted three evaluation reports to the legislature, beginning in 2015. Each evaluation was conducted by Wilder Research at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Wilder) under a competitive contract with MDH. The evaluation process is an opportunity to hear and learn from trafficked and exploited youth as well as participants from a variety of disciplines who respond to the needs of these youth on a daily basis. For the current Phase 4 report, MDH contracted with Wilder again while MDH’s Safe Harbor Program produced accompanying evaluation materials. As a result, this Phase 4 Safe Harbor evaluation draws from complementary background reports that are combined to represent a variety of perspectives from both outside and within the Safe Harbor network. These resources not only evaluate Safe Harbor’s activities, but also address these activities in the context of significant current events including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the civil rights movement in Minnesota, as well as around the nation and world, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The supplemental evaluation materials, containing expanded findings, data, and appendix are contained in this document. All findings focus on the Safe Harbor network and activities between April 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021. The Wilder data collection and analysis took place between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021. The MDH data collection and analysis took place between September 1, 2020, and August 1, 2021. Between January 2021 and June 2021, Wilder interviewed grantees, multidisciplinary partners, and youth clients, and also surveyed youth clients to evaluate Safe Harbor. Wilder submitted its report including several findings and recommendations to MDH. Wilder found evidence for outcomes related to multidisciplinary partnership and access to services, including culturally specific services; the factors contributing to Safe Harbor’s impact; gaps and challenges; opportunities for improvement; and the pandemic’s impact on service provision. MDH analyzed the provision of the statewide Safe Harbor Regional Navigator component and the reach of the Safe Harbor Network to identify and serve youth, as well as availability, accessibility, and equity of Safe Harbor supportive services and shelter and housing, in addition to training for providers. MDH then submitted a Phase 4 evaluation report to the legislature including combined findings, recommendations, and conclusions. Summary recommendations are listed here, but included with further detail in the legislative report and within the supplemental evaluation materials included in this document: Recommended actions: ▪ Increase stakeholder ability to identify youth. ▪ Expand protections and services regardless of age and remain flexible in identifying service needs. ▪ Increase and improve access to services, especially for youth from marginalized cultures and greater Minnesota. ▪ Support more diverse and consistent staffing. ▪ Increase amount and cultural appropriateness of technical assistance, education, and training provided. ▪ Increase prevention efforts (by decreasing demand and identifying risk factors). ▪ Support improvement of more continuous, comprehensive, and robust outcome and process evaluation as well as inferential research. ▪ De-silo the response to sex and labor trafficking. ▪ Increase youth voice and opportunities within Safe Harbor. ▪ Heal organizational trauma to better help organizations, staff, and clients. ▪ Improve equity by conducting a cultural needs assessment with several cultural groups as well as strategically directing allocations of funds and resources to culturally specific groups. ▪ Strengthen relationships within the public health approach. ▪ Further promote government agency collaboration.

St. Paul, MN : Minnesota Department of Health, Safe Harbor, Violence Prevention Unit, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division 2021. 130p.

By Rafael Muñoz Sevilla , Bladimir Chicaiza. et al.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (USDOL-ILAB) has contracted with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to assess the current landscape of efforts to address child and forced labor in the cocoa supply chains in Ecuador, Brazil, and Indonesia. The main research questions focused on (a) the identification of efforts of governments, industry, and civil society organizations, including international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and workers’ organizations, to address child and forced labor in the cocoa sectors; (b) identification of the challenges encountered in these efforts; (c) review of situations that could potentially increase child and forced labor in the cocoa supply chain; and (d) identification of indications that these child labor and forced labor situations exist in the cocoa sector in these countries. The research methodology employed a comprehensive approach involving desk research, stakeholder interviews, and mixed-methods data analysis. The research team conducted a thorough review of more than 70 documents and websites, encompassing a wide range of sources. The team conducted interviews with 46 stakeholders, representing a total of 35 institutions and companies across the three countries. The research team adopted a mixedmethods data analysis approach, combining both primary qualitative data from stakeholder interviews and secondary data from document review. The research team adopted two conceptual frameworks to guide each country case’s analysis and triangulation between secondary data from document review and information gathered from key informants. The use of conceptual frameworks allows for comparability across the case studies, while recognizing and capturing the unique contexts and challenges of child and/or forced labor in cocoa in each country landscape. This study uses the structure of the (1) Cocoa Production Stages Framework, 1 to review phases of cocoa production in the supply chain in each country for relevant child labor and forced labor risks, as well as the (2) Systems Framework of Key Dimensions to Reduce Child and/or Forced Labor, 2 to assess the current efforts by actors in that country to make progress on child labor and forced labor reduction in cocoa. Qualitative data from interviews and the desk research were systematically analyzed to respond to the research questions and identify patterns, themes, and variations within these frameworks.

Arlington, VA: American Institutes for Research | 2024. 162p.

By Mei Zegers

The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (USDOL-ILAB) has contracted with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to research, identify, and develop indicators of progress and to assess efforts to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Based on a participative process, this report covers the analysis of stakeholders’ implementation of efforts, with emphasis on the period since 2019. The main research questions focused on (a) the identification of the initiatives and good practices of governments, industry, and workers’ and farmer-based organizations (FBOs) to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana; (b) identification of the challenges of and the extent to which and workers’ organizations and FBOs are actively and meaningfully involved in efforts to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors; and (c) a review of the efforts under and outside the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group (CLCCG) to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sector. The main stakeholders asked to contribute to the research were the governments of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; private-sector cocoa representatives; international development agencies; and international and national civil societies, including workers’ organizations and FBOs. The specific individuals contacted were selected on the basis of their membership in the CLCCG or as identified in mapping exercises of key cocoa production stakeholders. This research was based on a systems approach to data gathering, analysis, and interpretation. The approach identifies interrelationships, dependencies, and feedback loops to analyze dynamics, identify patterns, and make informed planning decisions for maximum results. A thorough literature review of 613 documents and websites was conducted for the analysis covered in the report. Interviews were conducted with 79 individuals. One-day workshops were conducted in May 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to discuss the development of a repository of progress indicators. These workshops also provided some information that was useful for the report. Further useful information resulted from email correspondence with representatives of 14 types of stakeholders that particularly focused on issues regarding needed support to strengthen the capacities of workers’ organizations and FBOs to address child labor and forced labor. Data analysis was primarily conducted using the qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti and with Mind Mapping software.

Most research limitations fell into three categories. First, although child labor and forced labor are both considered throughout our research, much more information is available on child labor. There has been increasing attention, as well as strategy development, to address forced labor in cocoa among key stakeholders. However, there have been very few in-depth initiatives aimed at addressing this issue in cocoa, aside from examples such as the Forced Labor Indicators Project (FLIP),1 and a collaboration between the Rainforest Alliance, International Cocoa Initiative and Solidaridad. 2 Given the lack of existing data on forced labor initiatives, it is difficult to cover forced labor in the same depth as child labor. Second, some studies have identified good practices to reduce child labor in cocoa production, but these do not cover the breadth of approaches and initiatives used. Ideally, good practices should be identified through independent studies instead of through self-assessment of implementers. Independent studies may include evaluations of projects, but these are limited in number on this specific subject matter. Third, throughout the report we refer to a broad range of types of strategies and initiatives; although there are some commonalities, there are also major differences that need to be taken into account because they limit comparability. Main Findings The research confirmed that there is no one way to approach child labor and forced labor reduction; rather, it is the combination of implemented strategies and practices that will lead to greater success in reducing child labor and forced labor. Since 2019, there have been positive changes in terms of strengthened collaboration, coverage, and (new) directions in the efforts to reduce child and forced labor in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. However, there are still many aspects that need attention to reach higher levels of impact on the reduction of child labor and forced labor. Currently, the focus on eliminating child labor at a household level has rightly expanded to consider many contextual issues and child well-being overall. This means focus on encompassing the availability of social services—including education and social protection coverage— functioning of workers’ organizations and FBOs and their voices, and deforestation and other environmental issues. In addition, the need to ensure that child labor is reduced consistently in communities, and not just among children currently working in cocoa, has gained recognition. efficiency and safety in cocoa production contributes to increased incomes. Application of methods to reduce accidents and illnesses caused by occupationally unsafe production technologies helps to simultaneously reduce the loss of income from such events. While awareness of the dangers of child labor has increased in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, forced labor remains a subject that is not sufficiently covered. Awareness raising on subjects such as how and where to report child labor and forced labor and available grievance mechanisms for community members is still too limited. There is still scope for better collection and consolidation of data at local and national levels on child labor and forced labor reduction initiatives and their impact on informing decision making. Data gathering and sharing of data to ensure that lessons learned,

implementation challenges identified, and good practices were used to inform future efforts was a challenge repeatedly identified throughout the research. Although the various multistakeholder platforms discuss some of the data, the concrete use of data for planning still needs greater attention, using methodologically appropriate means. The need to strengthen technical and logistics capacities at a local level to provide services to cocoa communities remains clear. The reduction of dependence on nonstate actors (international development agencies including foundations, NGOs) instead of on local government to provide services is necessary for long term sustainability. For this purpose, increased funding of local government services is key to enabling direct work with and sustainably of communities on child labor and forced labor reduction. Together with technical strengthening and support for logistics, including transport, impact of child labor and forced labor reduction initiatives will be exponentially increased, particularly if accompanied by improved infrastructure, such as schools, health provision structures, and improved roads. There are increased efforts to involve and strengthen workers’ organizations and FBOs, but their potential to contribute to addressing child labor and forced labor is not being fully realized. Although not all cocoa farmers are members of cooperatives and other farmer associations, many are. Efforts to encourage more farmers to organize and formalize them are underway, thus increasing the reach of workers’ organizations and FBOs. The necessity of increasing focus on including their voices and their local representatives to contribute to reduction of child labor and forced labor in cocoa is evident. This research found that there is still scope to improve the functioning of the CLCCG. Some aspects are similar to the need to join in streamlining the multistakeholder platforms. However, it is crucial to expand membership of the CLCCG to create greater diversity of inputs from key stakeholders. Further, as is relevant throughout all initiatives, the more concrete integration of specific forced labor reduction methods and initiatives can be scaled up The conclusions and recommendations presented in this research require a comprehensive and flexible approach to implementation. Continuous verification of the effects of the steps undertaken to reduce child labor and forced labor will be necessary on a regular basis and in an integrated manner. Recommendations are clustered around eight thematic types that this research identified as needing more focus and streamlining for initiatives to achieve greater impact on reducing child labor and forced labor in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The thematic areas and main focus of key recommendations are briefly summarized here. Detailed recommendations, their priority level, and main proposed responsible entities for their implementation are listed in the “Conclusions and Recommendations” section of the report.

American Institutes for Research® | 2024. 120p.

By Francisco Alba

In This Article

● Large-scale Mexican migration to the United States began in the early 1940s ● After flatlining for several years, emigration has started to bounce back ● The shift into a country of transit is perhaps Mexico's recent defining migration feature ● Immigration is largely a product of return migration from the United States and transit migrants who remain ● There has been a change in the government’s posture regarding transit migration

Migration Information Source, May 23, 2024

By Wilder Research

In the decade since Safe Harbor became Minnesota law, the state has built an extensive network in response to the sexual exploitation of youth, and more recently human trafficking, both sex and labor. The network spans from state and local government to Tribal Nations and community-based nonprofit programs. Founded on a public health approach within the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in recognition of the significant health and social impacts created by exploitation and trafficking on populations, Safe Harbor also partners extensively with entities in public safety, human services, and human rights, including the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) to offer a comprehensive multidisciplinary response. State law requires the Safe Harbor Director, based in MDH, to submit a biennial evaluation of the program to the Commissioner of Health under Minnesota Statute Section 145.4718. The purpose of the evaluation is to ensure Safe Harbor is reaching its intended participants, increasing identification of sexually exploited youth, coordinating across disciplines including law enforcement and child welfare, providing access to services, including housing, ensuring the quality of services, and utilizing penalty funds to support services. The Safe Harbor law passed in 2011 and after a three-year planning period called No Wrong Door, the Safe Harbor system was fully enacted in 2014. In the years since, Safe Harbor has submitted three evaluation reports to the legislature, beginning in 2015. Each evaluation was conducted by Wilder Research at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (Wilder) under a competitive contract with MDH. The evaluation process is an opportunity to hear and learn from trafficked and exploited youth as well as participants from a variety of disciplines who respond to the needs of these youth on a daily basis. For the current Phase 4 report, MDH contracted with Wilder again while MDH’s Safe Harbor Program produced accompanying evaluation materials. As a result, this Phase 4 Safe Harbor evaluation draws from complementary background reports that are combined to represent a variety of perspectives from both outside and within the Safe Harbor network. These resources not only evaluate Safe Harbor’s activities, but also address these activities in the context of significant current events including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the civil rights movement in Minnesota, as well as around the nation and world, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. The supplemental evaluation materials, containing expanded findings, data, and appendix are contained in this document. All findings focus on the Safe Harbor network and activities between April 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021. The Wilder data collection and analysis took place between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021. The MDH data collection and analysis took place between September 1, 2020, and August 1, 2021. Between January 2021 and June 2021, Wilder interviewed grantees, multidisciplinary partners, and youth clients, and also surveyed youth clients to evaluate Safe Harbor. Wilder submitted its report including several findings and recommendations to MDH. Wilder found evidence for outcomes related to multidisciplinary partnership and access to services, including culturally specific services; the factors contributing to Safe Harbor’s impact; gaps and challenges; opportunities for improvement; and the pandemic’s impact on service provision. MDH analyzed the provision of the statewide Safe Harbor Regional Navigator component and the reach of the Safe Harbor Network to identify and serve youth, as well as availability, accessibility, and equity of Safe Harbor supportive services and shelter and housing, in addition to training for providers. MDH then submitted a Phase 4 evaluation report to the legislature including combined findings, recommendations, and conclusions. Summary recommendations are listed here, but included with further detail in the legislative report and within the supplemental evaluation materials included in this document: Recommended actions: ▪ Increase stakeholder ability to identify youth. ▪ Expand protections and services regardless of age and remain flexible in identifying service needs. ▪ Increase and improve access to services, especially for youth from marginalized cultures and greater Minnesota. ▪ Support more diverse and consistent staffing. ▪ Increase amount and cultural appropriateness of technical assistance, education, and training provided. ▪ Increase prevention efforts (by decreasing demand and identifying risk factors). ▪ Support improvement of more continuous, comprehensive, and robust outcome and process evaluation as well as inferential research. ▪ De-silo the response to sex and labor trafficking. ▪ Increase youth voice and opportunities within Safe Harbor. ▪ Heal organizational trauma to better help organizations, staff, and clients. ▪ Improve equity by conducting a cultural needs assessment with several cultural groups as well as strategically directing allocations of funds and resources to culturally specific groups. ▪ Strengthen relationships within the public health approach. ▪ Further promote government agency collaboration.

St. Paul, MN : Minnesota Department of Health, Safe Harbor, Violence Prevention Unit, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division 2021. 130p.

By Anniina Jokinen, Anna-Greta Pekkarinen, Jessiina Rantanen

Forced marriage is a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing sev - eral intersecting factors that relate to situations in which individu - als are compelled to marry or stay married against their will. Forced marriage is widely recognized as a violation of human rights and in particular as a form of gender-based violence and honour-based vio - lence. The harms and negative consequences of forced marriages are multifold and challenge many service providers as well as the crimi - nal justice system. This report outlines the concrete challenges, factors and con - cepts that must be addressed when developing effective responses to tackle forced marriages and providing support to victims and persons affected. It is targeted towards various professionals and practitioners who may encounter victims of forced marriage or persons, families or communities affected by the phenomenon in their line of work. The content is based on a desk review of academic and other relevant liter - ature, as well information collected by the EASY project partners: the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI), University of Lleida (Spain), Associació Valentes I Acompanyades (Spain), SOLWODI (Germany), and the Im - migrant Council of Ireland, to identify approaches that have relevance in the development of effective and victim-centred interventions for victims of forced marriages. The best practices were collected mainly via semi-structured (individual or group) interviews with experts and/or survivors, that were based on a shared interview framework. The interviews were conducted in the summer and autumn of 2023.1 The experts interviewed included, e.g., NGO representatives and counsellors working with topics related to forced marriage, migrant women’s rights, honor-based violence and human trafficking, shelter/residential counsellors, government officials and policymakers, and law enforcement authorities from Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Catalonia (Spain). The survivors interviewed included, e.g., victim-survivors who work as mentors and/or had been supported by the interviewing organisation. Throughout the report there are quotes from the interviews to demonstrate the challenges, experiences and solutions identified. Table 1. Number of persons interviewed to collect best practices by each country and in total. The best practices collected were also shared and discussed with partners in a best practice workshop hosted by SOLWODI in Bonn, Germany on 20–21 November 2023. Each partner identified 4–8 best practices with a focus on themes such as proactive methods to identify victims, engaging with persons from impacted communities and reducing the risk of forced marriage; ways to support and assist victims; training and awareness-raising activities targeting professionals; multi-agency collaboration at local, national and international levels; and municipal, regional or national strategies to tackle or address honor-related violence and/or forced marriages. Ten of the collected best practices were selected and summarised for this publication. Moreover, in early 2024, the EASY project partners launched a legislative overview which presents the results of comparative desk research on the legal approach to forced marriage in Germany, Finland, Ireland and Spain (Villacampa and Salat 2023). Therefore, this report does not cover legislative frameworks and procedures in place in the four countries to address forced marriages and to protect the victims as they are covered in detail in the legislative overview. The two reports are complimentary. The ultimate aim of the EASY project is to enhance support for victims/survivors of forced marriage and strengthen the work against forced marriage in the four partner countries.

Helsinki: European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) HEUNI, 2024. 58p.

By Rafael Muñoz Sevilla , Bladimir Chicaiza. et al.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (USDOL-ILAB) has contracted with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to assess the current landscape of efforts to address child and forced labor in the cocoa supply chains in Ecuador, Brazil, and Indonesia. The main research questions focused on (a) the identification of efforts of governments, industry, and civil society organizations, including international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and workers’ organizations, to address child and forced labor in the cocoa sectors; (b) identification of the challenges encountered in these efforts; (c) review of situations that could potentially increase child and forced labor in the cocoa supply chain; and (d) identification of indications that these child labor and forced labor situations exist in the cocoa sector in these countries. The research methodology employed a comprehensive approach involving desk research, stakeholder interviews, and mixed-methods data analysis. The research team conducted a thorough review of more than 70 documents and websites, encompassing a wide range of sources. The team conducted interviews with 46 stakeholders, representing a total of 35 institutions and companies across the three countries. The research team adopted a mixedmethods data analysis approach, combining both primary qualitative data from stakeholder interviews and secondary data from document review. The research team adopted two conceptual frameworks to guide each country case’s analysis and triangulation between secondary data from document review and information gathered from key informants. The use of conceptual frameworks allows for comparability across the case studies, while recognizing and capturing the unique contexts and challenges of child and/or forced labor in cocoa in each country landscape. This study uses the structure of the (1) Cocoa Production Stages Framework, 1 to review phases of cocoa production in the supply chain in each country for relevant child labor and forced labor risks, as well as the (2) Systems Framework of Key Dimensions to Reduce Child and/or Forced Labor, 2 to assess the current efforts by actors in that country to make progress on child labor and forced labor reduction in cocoa. Qualitative data from interviews and the desk research were systematically analyzed to respond to the research questions and identify patterns, themes, and variations within these frameworks.

Arlington, VA: American Institutes for Research | 2024. 162p.

By Mei Zegers

The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (USDOL-ILAB) has contracted with the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to research, identify, and develop indicators of progress and to assess efforts to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Based on a participative process, this report covers the analysis of stakeholders’ implementation of efforts, with emphasis on the period since 2019. The main research questions focused on (a) the identification of the initiatives and good practices of governments, industry, and workers’ and farmer-based organizations (FBOs) to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana; (b) identification of the challenges of and the extent to which and workers’ organizations and FBOs are actively and meaningfully involved in efforts to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sectors; and (c) a review of the efforts under and outside the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group (CLCCG) to address child labor and forced labor in the cocoa sector. The main stakeholders asked to contribute to the research were the governments of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire; private-sector cocoa representatives; international development agencies; and international and national civil societies, including workers’ organizations and FBOs. The specific individuals contacted were selected on the basis of their membership in the CLCCG or as identified in mapping exercises of key cocoa production stakeholders. This research was based on a systems approach to data gathering, analysis, and interpretation. The approach identifies interrelationships, dependencies, and feedback loops to analyze dynamics, identify patterns, and make informed planning decisions for maximum results. A thorough literature review of 613 documents and websites was conducted for the analysis covered in the report. Interviews were conducted with 79 individuals. One-day workshops were conducted in May 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to discuss the development of a repository of progress indicators. These workshops also provided some information that was useful for the report. Further useful information resulted from email correspondence with representatives of 14 types of stakeholders that particularly focused on issues regarding needed support to strengthen the capacities of workers’ organizations and FBOs to address child labor and forced labor. Data analysis was primarily conducted using the qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti and with Mind Mapping software.

Most research limitations fell into three categories. First, although child labor and forced labor are both considered throughout our research, much more information is available on child labor. There has been increasing attention, as well as strategy development, to address forced labor in cocoa among key stakeholders. However, there have been very few in-depth initiatives aimed at addressing this issue in cocoa, aside from examples such as the Forced Labor Indicators Project (FLIP),1 and a collaboration between the Rainforest Alliance, International Cocoa Initiative and Solidaridad. 2 Given the lack of existing data on forced labor initiatives, it is difficult to cover forced labor in the same depth as child labor. Second, some studies have identified good practices to reduce child labor in cocoa production, but these do not cover the breadth of approaches and initiatives used. Ideally, good practices should be identified through independent studies instead of through self-assessment of implementers. Independent studies may include evaluations of projects, but these are limited in number on this specific subject matter. Third, throughout the report we refer to a broad range of types of strategies and initiatives; although there are some commonalities, there are also major differences that need to be taken into account because they limit comparability. Main Findings The research confirmed that there is no one way to approach child labor and forced labor reduction; rather, it is the combination of implemented strategies and practices that will lead to greater success in reducing child labor and forced labor. Since 2019, there have been positive changes in terms of strengthened collaboration, coverage, and (new) directions in the efforts to reduce child and forced labor in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. However, there are still many aspects that need attention to reach higher levels of impact on the reduction of child labor and forced labor. Currently, the focus on eliminating child labor at a household level has rightly expanded to consider many contextual issues and child well-being overall. This means focus on encompassing the availability of social services—including education and social protection coverage— functioning of workers’ organizations and FBOs and their voices, and deforestation and other environmental issues. In addition, the need to ensure that child labor is reduced consistently in communities, and not just among children currently working in cocoa, has gained recognition. efficiency and safety in cocoa production contributes to increased incomes. Application of methods to reduce accidents and illnesses caused by occupationally unsafe production technologies helps to simultaneously reduce the loss of income from such events. While awareness of the dangers of child labor has increased in both Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, forced labor remains a subject that is not sufficiently covered. Awareness raising on subjects such as how and where to report child labor and forced labor and available grievance mechanisms for community members is still too limited. There is still scope for better collection and consolidation of data at local and national levels on child labor and forced labor reduction initiatives and their impact on informing decision making. Data gathering and sharing of data to ensure that lessons learned, implementation challenges identified, and good practices were used to inform future efforts was a challenge repeatedly identified throughout the research. Although the various multistakeholder platforms discuss some of the data, the concrete use of data for planning still needs greater attention, using methodologically appropriate means. The need to strengthen technical and logistics capacities at a local level to provide services to cocoa communities remains clear. The reduction of dependence on nonstate actors (international development agencies including foundations, NGOs) instead of on local government to provide services is necessary for long term sustainability. For this purpose, increased funding of local government services is key to enabling direct work with and sustainably of communities on child labor and forced labor reduction. Together with technical strengthening and support for logistics, including transport, impact of child labor and forced labor reduction initiatives will be exponentially increased, particularly if accompanied by improved infrastructure, such as schools, health provision structures, and improved roads. There are increased efforts to involve and strengthen workers’ organizations and FBOs, but their potential to contribute to addressing child labor and forced labor is not being fully realized. Although not all cocoa farmers are members of cooperatives and other farmer associations, many are. Efforts to encourage more farmers to organize and formalize them are underway, thus increasing the reach of workers’ organizations and FBOs. The necessity of increasing focus on including their voices and their local representatives to contribute to reduction of child labor and forced labor in cocoa is evident. This research found that there is still scope to improve the functioning of the CLCCG. Some aspects are similar to the need to join in streamlining the multistakeholder platforms. However, it is crucial to expand membership of the CLCCG to create greater diversity of inputs from key stakeholders. Further, as is relevant throughout all initiatives, the more concrete integration of specific forced labor reduction methods and initiatives can be scaled up The conclusions and recommendations presented in this research require a comprehensive and flexible approach to implementation. Continuous verification of the effects of the steps undertaken to reduce child labor and forced labor will be necessary on a regular basis and in an integrated manner. Recommendations are clustered around eight thematic types that this research identified as needing more focus and streamlining for initiatives to achieve greater impact on reducing child labor and forced labor in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The thematic areas and main focus of key recommendations are briefly summarized here. Detailed recommendations, their priority level, and main proposed responsible entities for their implementation are listed in the “Conclusions and Recommendations” section of the report.

American Institutes for Research® | 2024. 120p.

By Human Rights Watch

In December 2024, Saudi Arabia will be awarded the 2034 Men’s World Cup hosting rights, which FIFA has engineered without competition. The tournament is just one of many massive, planned projects requiring immense construction under Vision 2030, such as the $500 billion futuristic NEOM city. “Die First, and I’ll Pay You Later” shows how migrant workers continue to face widespread abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions including exorbitant recruitment fees, wage theft, job immobility, inadequate heat protections and uninvestigated deaths. Saudi authorities promised labor reforms, but the report based on interviews with more than 150 migrant workers and their families shows how Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect migrant workers and remedy abuses. Migrant workers are the human engine of Saudi Arabia’s massive construction boom. There are 13.4 million migrant workers in the country and planned projects will result in millions more. The report shows how businesses and giga-projects funded by or linked to the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, are among those exploiting and abusing migrant workers. This blatant failure to protect workers creates a near certainty that the 2034 World Cup will come at a large human cost. The report includes recommendations to the governments of Saudi Arabia and migrant origin countries, as well as to relevant international entities including FIFA, sponsors and businesses looking to profit from Saudi Arabia’s mega- and giga-projects.  

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 130p.

By Human Rights Watch

The Rwandan government has long presided over the torture and ill-treatment of detainees, whether held in official or unofficial detention facilities across the country. In “They Threw Me in the Water”: The Need for Accountability for Torture in Rwanda, Human Rights Watch documents an array of serious human rights abuses, including torture, in detention facilities in Kigali and the west of the country. The case of Innocent Kayumba, the former director of Rubavu and Nyarugenge prisons, convicted on April 5, 2024, for the assault and murder of a detainee at Rubavu prison in 2019 underscores serious failings in the Rwandan judiciary’s response to evidence of torture. The judiciary, as well as the national human rights institution, have largely failed to investigate or address repeated and credible allegations of torture made by detainees and former detainees since at least 2017. While Kayumba’s trial is a significant first step towards breaking the near total impunity around abuse in detention, much more is needed for Rwanda to end the practice and hold accountable those responsible for torture and other ill-treatments in prisons and unofficial detention facilities. Rwanda should comply with the provisions of its own constitution and fulfill its obligations under international human rights law by urgently conducting a comprehensive investigation into torture in prisons, that is capable of leading to both accountability and redress for victims.

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 39p.

By Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International

Amnesty International Kenya and Human Rights Watch document the abuses committed by police and other state agents during the 2023 nationwide protests. The opposition, Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition, organized the protests over alleged fraud and malpractices during the 2022 elections, and against the high cost of living and tax hikes proposed by the new administration of President William Ruto. “Unchecked Injustice” is based on 224 interviews with survivors and witnesses to abuses in Nairobi, Kisumu, Machakos, Migori, Nakuru, Kisii, Nyamira, Homa Bay, Siaya, and Makueni counties. The report documents how police used arbitrary and excessive force against protesters between March-July 2023. They shot directly into crowds with lethal weapons and lesslethal “rubber bullets,” fired tear gas into residential areas and schools, and carried out violent and abusive house-to-house operations, beating and shooting residents, killing at least 31 people. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority, which provides civilian oversight of the work of the police in Kenya, recorded that at least 67 were killed during this period. The report also documents arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and other ill-treatment of people including children under 18, and the long-term health and socio-economic impact of abuses. Amnesty International Kenya and Human Rights Watch call on the Kenyan government to acknowledge, condemn and investigate the killings and use of excessive force by police, and hold to account those credibly implicated in abuses. The government should also introduce credible police reforms.

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 96p.

By Human Rights Watch

The 175-page report, “‘I Learned How to Say No’: Labor Abuses & Sexual Exploitation in Colombian Webcam Studios,” exposes working conditions in webcam studios in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, and Palmira, where models record content that is broadcasted by adult platforms and streamed around the world. Webcamming is a global industry in which studies estimate that platforms keep between 50 and 65 percent of what viewers pay. People interviewed said that studios retain as much as 70 percent of what is paid out by the platform, reducing the pay of workers. Adult webcam platforms based in the United States and Europe should immediately address labor abuses and sexual exploitation in Colombian webcam studios.

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 285p.

By Michael Garcia Bochenek

In the last few months of 2017, public defenders working in United States communities along the US-Mexico border began noticing a pattern. Over several months, they had seen an increasing number of people facing criminal charges for irregularly crossing the border arriving in court with a new concern: When these people had a chance to speak in court, their primary worry was not that they were facing prosecution; instead, they were asking the judges where their children were. These public defenders were seeing the early days of the forcible family separation policy put in place by the administration of US President Donald J. Trump and developed in a larger context of overheated, dehumanizing, and at times racist official rhetoric toward migrants. The policy began in March 2017 as a pilot program in and around El Paso, Texas, and was then rolled out along the entire US-Mexico border in early 2018. The policy deployed a minor federal criminal charge—“improper entry”—to force children and parents apart. Its official name, “Zero Tolerance,” referred to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ directive that every adult who entered the United States irregularly would face prosecution. Criminal charges for improper entry have long been misused as a means of immigration enforcement, raising serious human rights concerns. More than five years before Sessions’ “zero tolerance” directive, improper entry and improper reentry were the most prosecuted federal crimes in the United States. As misguided and abusive as this earlier use of such charges was, it had not deliberately targeted children and their parents. In fact, before mid-2017, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) generally did not request prosecution of parents arriving with their children and federal prosecutors had usually declined to pursue improper entry charges against parents traveling with their children precisely to avoid separating arriving families. The policy developed at Sessions’ directive did not appear primarily aimed at securing convictions. Although a criminal conviction would mean more serious consequences on a subsequent irregular entry, the offense is, as a federal magistrate judge observed, “quite literally one of the least serious federal offenses.”1 The real payoff, as far as the architects of the policy were concerned, was that a criminal charge could be used as a reason to transfer the immediate responsibility for protective care of the child. Parents who faced charges were in the custody of the US Marshals Service. Their children remained in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention. The parents were rapidly convicted—some spent less than a minute in front of the judge once their case was called, and most received sentences of time already served in government custody, so they were back in CBP holding cells in short order. In the meantime, however, DHS, the federal government department that includes CBP, had deemed their children to be unaccompanied. DHS agents not only knew exactly where the parents were but also knew that the parents would quickly return to CBP detention. Even so, the department treated the brief change in custody as meaning that parents were not “available” to provide care. Unaccompanied migrant children are entitled to specific protections. In response to a court case settled in 1997, Flores v. Reno, care of unaccompanied children is the responsibility of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A 2008 anti-trafficking law requires DHS to transfer unaccompanied children to ORR expeditiously, usually within 72 hours. The forcible family separation policy weaponized these requirements. Keeping families together is, in the vast majority of these types of cases, in children's best interests. But instead of making every effort to keep families together, DHS transferred the children it had separated to ORR, without planning for or putting measures in place that would enable authorities to reunite them with their parents. Discussions about separating children from their parents at the border began less than a month after President Trump took office. One federal prosecutor commented in early 2017, “History would not judge that kindly.” 2 In March 2017, after Reuters broke the story that family separation was under consideration, a DHS staffer emailed Allen Blume, the department’s budget director, to say, “I would be truly grateful if you could tell me this isn’t being seriously considered.” 3 This report is based on a review of public and internal government documents, legal proceedings, and the findings of DHS, DOJ, and HHS internal investigations, drawing on Human Rights Watch’s extensive interviews with forcibly separated children and parents in 2018 and 2019. It finds that the forcible separation of children from their parents was a deliberate, targeted policy choice taken even though the architects of the policy knew or should have known that it would inflict anguish and suffering on families. Forcible separation of children from their families inflicted harms that were severe and foreseeable. Once parents realized they would not be immediately reunited with their children, they were distraught. Some children sobbed uncontrollably. Many felt abandoned. Nearly all were bewildered, not least because immigration officials would not tell them where their parents were or gave responses that proved to be lies. Children forcibly separated from their parents experienced anxiety, had nightmares, regressed to earlier developmental stages, or found it difficult to trust others and form attachments. Some lashed out. Others stopped speaking.

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024, 145p.

By The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

Women and girls are more likely to be the targets of cyber violence on digital platforms and, as a result, they experience significant physical, sexual and psychological distress and/or financial difficulties. ▪ There is limited provision in digital platforms’ standards and trust and safety policies for keeping users safe from gender-related cyber violence online, despite the high incidence of this phenomenon. ▪ The standards and trust and safety policies of the platforms make little reference to relevant human rights acts or important legislative advances in the fight against gender-based violence and cyber violence. ▪ Digital platforms dealing with the significant challenges of cyber violence acts and behaviours would benefit from greater collaboration across platforms. This would enable cross-platform reporting and the harmonisation of the wide variety of definitions of cyber violence. ▪ Digital platforms do not have cyber violence data that is disaggregated by sex available for incident reporting, response and followup practices. This renders the assessment of the true extent of cyber violence acts and behaviours against women and girls challenging. More transparency is needed in relation to moderation and follow-up practices. ▪ This lack of a gender-sensitive approach at the level of reporting, recording and responding to different forms of violence online renders the scale of the phenomenon of cyber violence against women and girls largely invisible and contributes to obscuring its dynamics.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2024 22p.

By Jonathan Haggerty and Arthur Rizer

After the Trump administration implemented its “zero tolerance” immigration policy in early 2018, stories of children being ripped from their mother’s arms and extended family separations emerged. Initially, administration officials denied the existence of any policy aimed at separating families at the border. Others later claimed the separations were unintentional. However, a recent review of a leaked report from the Office of the Inspector General reveals both claims were false. This report revealed staff members from the White House and the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security met on multiple occasions to craft a plan, which they knew would separate migrant children from their parents, with the explicit goal of deterring illegal border crossings. The resulting outrage eventually prompted President Trump to partially rescind the “zero tolerance” policy and fueled the political left’s opposition to the Trump administration’s handling of immigration laws. As a new administration takes office, immigration advocates have produced an exhaustive list of border policies for the Biden White House to repeal, but this administration will have to prioritize which of the Trump-era immigration regulations to address first. And, while the political left undoubtedly presents a strong case against the “zero tolerance” prosecutions undertaken by its predecessor, a robust set of conservative arguments against this policy offers the Biden administration ample, cross-ideological support for a new approach.

R STREET POLICY STUDY NO. 212 November 2020, 7p.

Edited by J. W. Cross

"George Eliot's Life" by J.W. Cross is a three-volume biography that provides a detailed account of the life of the renowned author George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans). Compiled by her husband, John Walter Cross, the biography is based on her letters and journals, offering a unique perspective on her personal and professional life.

Volume 1 covers Eliot's early life from 1819 to 1857. It begins with her childhood, her move to Coventry, and her early literary career. It also details her travels to Geneva and her initial forays into writing[1].

Volume 2: The second volume spans the years 1857 to 1870, focusing on Eliot's rise to literary fame. It includes her relationships with key figures in the literary world, her partnership with George Henry Lewes, and the publication of her major works such as "Adam Bede" and "Middlemarch"[1].

Volume 3: This final volume covers Eliot's later years, from 1870 until her death in 1880. It discusses her continued literary success, her marriage to John Cross, and her reflections on her life and work. It also includes insights into her personal struggles and triumphs[1].

These volumes provide a comprehensive look at George Eliot's life, though some critics have noted that Cross's portrayal may lack some of the "salt and spice" of Eliot's unconventional life[2][1].

Originally published by HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1885.

By Michael T. Light, Jason P. Robey, Jungmyung Kim

Although minor forms of criminal justice contact are increasingly used to identify immigration violators, little research has been conducted at the intersection of immigration and misdemeanor justice. As a result, citizenship remains undertheorized in punishment research and fundamental questions remain unanswered. In this article, we introduce the “crimmigrant” punishment framework to conceptualize the unique case processing consequences for non–U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants. We then draw on rich case data from all misdemeanor arrests in Texas and California between 2006 and 2018 to establish four notable findings. (1) Misdemeanors are common and consequential. We observe more than 1.4 million misdemeanor arrests involving non–U.S. citizens, the overwhelming majority of which resulted in criminal charges and formal punishments. (2) The offenses that funnel noncitizens into the misdemeanor system are similar to those of U.S. citizens; however, we do observe an appreciable number of arrests linked to noncitizens’ legal status (e.g., giving false information). (3) Once in the misdemeanor system, noncitizens, and especially undocumented immigrants, are significantly more likely to be convicted and incarcerated compared with similarly situated U.S. citizens. (4) These disparities are more severe in Texas than in California.

Criminology, Volume 62, Issue 4, 2024, pages 655-703

The four volumes of Thomas Paine's writings, edited by Moncure Daniel Conway, offer a comprehensive collection of Paine's influential works. Here's a brief summary of each volume:

1. Volume 1 includes early political writings, such as Common Sense and The American Crisis. These works were pivotal in inspiring American colonists to seek independence from Britain. Paine's clear and persuasive arguments helped galvanize public opinion in favor of the revolutionary cause[1].

2. Volume 2 focuses on Paine's writings during the French Revolution. It includes "Rights of Man," in which Paine defends the Revolution and argues for natural rights and democratic government. His critiques of monarchy and advocacy for social reforms are central themes.

3. Volume 3 contains Paine's religious and philosophical writings, most notably "The Age of Reason." In this work, Paine critiques organized religion and promotes deism, emphasizing reason and scientific inquiry over religious dogma.

4. Volume 4: This final volume includes Paine's later political and social writings, such as "Agrarian Justice." In it, Paine discusses economic inequality and proposes a form of social security funded by a landowner tax. The volume also includes various letters and essays on political and social issues.

These volumes collectively showcase Paine's profound impact on political thought and his enduring legacy as a champion of liberty, equality, and reason.