Sesame seeds in Sudan: new report and stakeholder collaboration

A new study, the first of its kind, takes a deep dive into the human rights situation in the production of sesame seeds from Sudan used in tahini and hummus sold on the Swedish market. The results in the report show high risks of child and forced labor. ETI Sweden is now mobilizing stakeholders to work together to jointly prevent and limit violations and improve conditions for sesame seed farmers in Sudan.

”Forced labor and child labor are some of the risks we have identified in the production of sesame seeds in Sudan. Now we will act together with our members to see how we can improve the situation for those who grow sesame seeds used in hummus and tahini”, says Christopher Riddselius Senior Advisor at ETI Sweden.

After years of conflict, Sudan is one of the continent’s poorest countries, yet it is the world’s largest producer of sesame seeds. The majority of sesame seeds in tahini or hummus sold on the Swedish market come from Sudan. Therefore, ETI Sweden commissioned Ergon Associates to carry out a risk analysis of sesame seeds from Sudan. The initiative came from ETI Sweden members Axfood, Coop and Sevan who first raised the issue. The report is the first of its kind and shows several serious risks for human rights violations in the supply chain of sesame seeds in Sudan.

Cultivation mostly takes place at a small scale and farmers often receive low compensation for their harvest, while most of the profits go to several intermediaries. Many workers in the production are migrant workers who work during the harvest season, which makes them particularly vulnerable. For Swedish companies using products with sesame seeds from Sudan, it is currently very difficult to achieve traceability all the way to the farm and to ensure good working conditions. The ongoing conflict in Sudan makes it even more difficult to monitor the situation.

”Considering the current situation in Sudan, if companies continue to trade sesame seeds from Sudan, they should carry out heightened due diligence. If they are unable to conduct due diligence they may have to pause trade with sesame seeds from Sudan. Until then, companies should carefully examine their sesame seed supply chains to address the problems. In order to make a difference for growers, many actors in the food industry need to come together and work for improvements”, says Christopher Riddselius.

ETI Sweden and its members have developed a number of recommendations on how stakeholders should act in this difficult situation and have agreed to work together to achieve a trade in sesame seeds that benefits farmers and workers in the supply chain. Among other things, companies should map their supply chains, investigate actual and potential negative impacts on human conflict, if possible conduct an on-site risk analysis in Sudan, and investigate risks related to alternative countries of origin. Changing and improving the living and working conditions of sesame farmers in Sudan will require strong cooperation between companies, states, authorities, civil society and other relevant actors. Therefore, ETI Sweden will mobilize and invite the industry for a meeting later in 2023.

Recommendations

ETI Sweden’s recommendations on sesame seeds from Sudan:

• Companies should take measures to prevent and mitigate potential and actual risks of adverse impact in their supply chains in accordance to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. ETI Sweden has, together with its members, taken the first step of identifying risks in sesame production in Sudan. Companies should now use this information to manage the identified risks.
• The starting point of the risk management should be to drive improvements for people working in the supply chain. Disengagement with suppliers where risks have been identified must be done in a responsible way and only if actual or potential adverse human rights impacts cannot be prevented or mitigated. This is particularly important in the sesame seed supply chain in Sudan, where many people are in a very vulnerable situation.
• The ongoing armed conflict in Sudan puts additional requirements on companies’ due diligence, at the same time as it is more difficult to investigate and manage risks in the country. If a company continues to trade with suppliers in Sudan, it should carry out heightened human rights due diligence in line with the UN guidelines Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict-Affected Contexts. This means identifying and assessing not only actual or potential adverse human rights impacts, but also actual or potential adverse impacts on conflict that the company may cause or contribute to through its own activities, or that may be directly linked to its operations, products or services. If companies are unable to conduct due diligence in line with the UN and OECD Guidelines due to the current conflict, companies may have to disengage from trading sesame seeds from Sudan.
• When changing origin from Sudan, companies should investigate potential and actual risks in other production countries. Several other countries where sesame seeds are produced are also high-risk countries for human rights (e.g. India, Tanzania, Myanmar, China, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Pakistan, Mozambique, Niger and Cameroon).
• Companies should map their supply chains for sesame seeds according to the annex “Mapping member companies’ supply chains” in ETI Sweden’s report Sesame Seeds in Sudan.
• As soon as possible, companies should conduct a Human Rights Risk Assessment (HRIA) in Sudan.
• All actors in the industry should work to increase transparency and traceability in the Sudanese sesame seed supply chain.
• All actors in the industry should work together to influence the situation in the Sudanese sesame seed supply chain.

ETI Sweden’s work on sesame seeds from Sudan:

• ETI Sweden and our members plan to conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) that includes on-site research in Sudan. For this work, we aim to engage members of Joint Ethical Trading Initiative (JETI) and relevant importers of sesame seeds in the continued work. The initial plan was to conduct the HRIA during the winter of 2023/2024, however due to the current situation and conflict in Sudan the study has been delayed.
• ETI Sweden and our members will, in the autumn of 2023, gather relevant actors to discuss how the industry can work together to address human rights risks in Sudanese sesame seed supply chains. The group will not only focus on Sudan but also look at other production countries.
• ETI Sweden and our members will work to create awareness and mobilise other actors who directly or indirectly work with sesame seeds, or in other ways are affected by the issue.

Contact

Do you want to be involved in ETI Sweden’s work on sesame seeds or do you have any questions? Please get in touch with Christopher Riddselius on christopher.riddselius@etisverige.se.