Ghana : Child Labor Fuels Gold Supply Chain

Informations

• Publié par: Fil_actu
• Publié le: 12 juin 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 3
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 6 Mo

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H U M A N
PRECIOUS METAL, CHEAP LABORR I G H T S
Child Labor and Corporate Responsibility in Ghana’s Artisanal Gold Mines
W A T C H











Precious Metal, Cheap Labor
Child Labor and Corporate Responsibility in Ghana’s
Artisanal Gold Mines



Copyright © 2015 Human Rights Watch
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978-1-6231-31609
Cover design by Rafael Jimenez



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For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org JUNE 2015 978-1-6231-31609

Precious Metal, Cheap Labor
Child Labor and Corporate Responsibility in Ghana’s Artisanal Gold Mines

Map .................................................................................................................................... i
Summary and Recommendations ........................................................................................ 1
Methodology .....................................................................................................................14
I. Background: Gold Mining in Ghana ................................................................................ 16
II. Child Labor in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining ................................................... 19
Causes of Child Labor in Mining ............................................................................................. 20
Pay ......................................................................................................................................... 22
Working Hours ........................................................................................................................ 23
The Hazardous Nature of Mining Work..................................................................................... 24
Impact on Education ............................................................................................................... 31
Attitude of Mine Managers, Sponsors, and Traders to Child Labor ........................................... 34
III. Child Labor and the Gold Supply Chain: The Responsibility of Companies .................... 36
Responsibility of Companies in the Gold Supply Chain ............................................................ 36
From Ghana’s Mines to the Global Gold Market ....................................................................... 37
Due Diligence by Traders in Ghana .......................................................................................... 42 y Global Gold Refiners ................................................................................... 46
IV. Ghanaian Government Response ................................................................................. 57
Failure to Protect Children from Abuse .................................................................................... 57
Challenges in Ensuring Access to Education ............................................................................ 61
Government’s Approach to Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining ......................................... 64
Addressing the Threat of Mercury ............................................................................................ 67
Regulating the Gold Trade ...................................................................................................... 69
V. Donors, UN Agencies, and NGOs ................................................................................... 70
Child Labor in Mining .............................................................................................................. 70
Mining and Mercury Use ......................................................................................................... 71
Supply Chain Due Diligence .................................................................................................... 72
VI. The Way Forward ......................................................................................................... 74
Full Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 75
To the Government of Ghana ................................................................................................... 75
To Ghanaian Export Companies, including the PMMC, and International Gold Refiners ......... 78
To Ghana’s Association of Small-Scale Miners ........................................................................ 79
To Gold Traders in Mining Areas ............................................................................................. 80
To Mine Managers and Machine Owners ................................................................................ 80
To Large-Scale Gold Mining Companies in Ghana ................................................................... 80
To the ECOWAS Commissioner on Gender and Social Affairs ................................................... 80
To the Government of Switzerland .......................................................................................... 80
To the Government of the United Arab Emirates ..................................................................... 80
To Donor Governments and Implementing Agencies, and UN Agencies .................................... 81
To the International Labour Organization ................................................................................ 81
To the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ........................................... 81
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 82
Map
I HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2015 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE Women and children carry pans of ore at Dompim
mining site, Tarkwa-Nsuaem district, Western Region.
© 2014 Juliane Kippenberg/Human Rights Watch
PRECIOUS METAL, CHEAP LABOR
Child Labor and Corporate Responsibility in Ghana’s Artisanal Gold Mines