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Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, the main ingredient for chocolate. Yet few of the billions of consumers of chocolate around the world are aware of the role that the cocoa trade has played in the armed conflict and political crisis in Côte d’Ivoire in recent years.

This report documents how revenues from the cocoa trade have contributed to funding armed conflict and how opportunities for enrichment from cocoa through corruption and misuse of revenues, both by the government and the rebel group Forces Nouvelles (FN), continue to undermine the resolution of the crisis.

The authors address various related areas including:

• a general overview of the cocoa trade in Côte d’Ivoire and internationally
  
• the government’s use of the cocoa trade to fund armed conflict
• mismanagement and unrest in the cocoa sector
  
  

The authors offer various recommendations for national and international government and the chocolate industry who have a responsibility to ensure that the products they sell are conflict-free. The industry cannot remain a passive actor. Instead, it should play a positive and pro-active role. Companies should use their influence to ensure that money from cocoa levies is not misused or diverted.

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