Children's work, mercury and gold panning in Mali |HRW Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch

In many rural regions of the world around the world, men, women and children carrying in artisanal gold mines to earn a living.Artisanal or small -scale exploitation is an activity of the informal economy which uses destechnics of rudimentary extraction requiring an abundant mande.According to estimates, some 12 percent of world gold production would come from craft mines.

Mining is one of the most dangerous work sectors in the world, and yet children's Letravail is common in craft mines.The present report examines the use of child labor in the artisanal mines of Mali, located in the vast beltureau of West Africa.Mali is the largest gold producer in Africa, after the South Africa and Ghana;Gold is the main export product of Mali.

According to estimates, between 20,000 and 40,000 children would work in the AURIFERTISANAL (gold panning) sector in Mali.Most start working from the age of six.These children are subjected to some of the worst forms of children's work, which lead to exposure to toxic chemicals, even Lamort.They dig wells and work underground, extract, transporttet crushed the ore, and they wash it during the Department operation.Many children suffer from serious pain in the head, neck, arms or back, and long risk lesions in the spine due to the heavy charges they move and the removal movements that they execute.Certain children onté injured during the fall of stone blocks or by sharp desoutils, others fell into wells.Parailleurs, they risk being seriously injured and working in unstable wells which sometimes collapse.

The goldsmith children are equal to the mercury, an extremely toxic substance, when they make the amalgamation of the gold ore and the Mercury, then burning the amalgam to recover.Mercury attacks the central nervous system and is particularly harmful to children.The workers are risk a mercury poisoning, which leads to a series of neurological effects, in particular tremors, coordination despens, vision disorders, debt evidence, memory losses and deconcentration problems.The toxic effects of mercury are not noticed but develop over time: for people who are not medical experts, they are difficult to detect.Most adult and children are not aware of the serious risks they incur healthy health by using mercury.

The majority of working children live with their parents and work alongside them.Parents send their children to work at the mine to increase family income.Most parents are themselves and are not paid for the gold they extract, while traders and some local officials withdraw considerable profits.But some children live or also work with other people - relatives, descents or foreigners - and are exploited on them by them.A large percentage of children with migrants, from different regions of Mali or neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and Guinea.Some may be victims of children's trafficking.In artisanal mining extraction, young girls are sometimes victims of exploitation and sexual abuse.

Many children working in craft mines never go to school and are therefore with the acquisition of essential skills for Lavie, as well as future job possibilities.Legovernment has largely failed its mission to make the education accessible and affordable for these children.Tuition fees, lack of infrastructure and the poor quality of education dissuade many parents from the areasmières to send their children to school.Schools also sometimes fail to register and integrate children who have migrated to mining sites.However, some working children go to school, but it is difficult for them to keep up with the school rate because they work in mines on days off, weekends and during their time..

In the opinion of Human Rights Watch, with a few exceptions, international Malian companies active in the trading of Orau Mali Nese are not sufficiently used to attack children's work in the chain of prprivisionation.Gold from the Maliest craft mines largely bought by small traders who read intermediaries and deneal houses in Bamako, the country's capital.Some trading houses export gold to Switzerland, Arab Emirates (in particular Dubai), Belgium and other countries.

In view of international law, Malian legovernment is required to protect children from child labor, as well as against economic exploitation, trafficking in human beings and mistreatment.He also has him to guarantee free and unobligatory primary education for all.In addition, the government must take measures to avoid accidents and diseases related to work, and to reduce population exposure to substances..International development partners should help the poorest nations, such as Mali, to pay their obligations which are incumbent upon the terms of international law.In terms of international law and other standards, companies on the responsibility of identifying, preventing, alleviating and justifying their impact on human rights speaks bias of reasonable policies and diligence measures.

The Malian government has undertaken an encouraging approach by taking certain important measures purifying children's rights.He declared illegal the dangerous work of children in craft mines and, in June 2011, adopted a national action plan for child labor elimination.He has also made some progress with regard to improving access to education, but the net education rate, namely 60.6 percent, remains low.With regard to Lemercure, the government supports the reduction measures to use mercury provided for in the future International Treaty on Mercury.

However, the government has not used all its political weight to guarantee the effectiveness of these efforts.Existing initiatives, such as the work of the national child labor, tend to be isolated and suffer from a lack of workforce.Parair, they do not benefit from the total support of other ministerials.Health policy does not have aestrategy aimed at preventing or treating healthproblons related to the use of mercury or other states associated with extraction mining.Workers' children, including those who live in areas, do not benefit from any governmental education policy, and the teaching system has not been adapted to our needs.The mining policy has focused on the industrial exploitation, which is the prerogative of the international companies, and has strongly neglected problems with artisanal exploitation, in particular the work of the.Meanwhile, local officials and traditional authorities such as local chiefs benefit financially with artisanal exploitation.In crucial fields such as lasanté, education and craft mines ,governmental policies are also sometimes undermined by the local Desfunctionaires, who exert a considerable weight in the current decentralized governor.This attitude underwent the efforts made by the Government to tackle the problems of the rights of the child, in particular to children's work in the artisanal gold mines.

Donors, united agencies and civil society groups have some important initiatives relating to child labor, education or mining artisanal in Mali.For example, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and a Malian non -governmental association, the PAP and advice, helped children abandon the mine work and to school.But these initiatives onté of a limited scope and they were used to a lack of funding and the inconstance of political support.The United States and European Lacommission have considerably reduced the defects they allocated to international programs on children in Mali, causing ILO funding problems.Internationally, the ILO did not give to its 2005 call in favor of an action entitled "Minors Out of Mining" ("the miners out of the mines"), within the framework of which thegovernments of fifteencountries, including Mali, is to eliminate children's work in gold panning by 2015.

The dangerous work of children in the artisanal mins of Mali can only be eradicated to the Fifferent actors - the central government and the Lolocales, civil society, the UN agencies, the funds, the gold areas, as well as the gold and the gold traders andGolden companies - conducted by this dicinity as a priority, bring it fully their political employment, and help to finance efforts aimed at putting a term to the dangerous work of children.It is necessary to urgently need concrete and achievable solutions which are the bearers of change.

Initially, the government should learn immediate measures to put an end to the use of mercury by the children who work in the Origaling, in particular by publicly reiterating the prohibition of this form of dangerous work of children, in Menantine Information Campaignmining areas and regularly enefting labor inspections.

Apart from these immediate, the government and all the school stakeholders should unite their efforts to implement the government of government action on children's work.The government would also take measures to improve education in education in areasmières, by abolishing all tuition fees, entering state aid to community schools by implementing a social protection program for children and.The government and the other actors should bring increased to the gold areas, for example by helping them to create cooperative and to introduce replacement technologies which reduce the use of mercury.The Government should paralyze the impact of mercury on the lasanté of goldsmiths, in particular children, are interested in other disantry problems linked to mining extraction.International funders and UN agencies are becoming the government, both political, financial, technical expertise, in the efforts it makes to eliminate the dangerous work of children in crafts.We must convene a national round table on the workworms of children in the artisanal mines of Mali, bringing together all the actors concerned - Government, civil society, UN, donors, experts and businesses - and create a dynamic view of a concerted action.

Malian and international companies should recognize their responsibility with regard to children of children and other human rights issues.They should set up very complete procedures of reasonable diligence and initiate a realvialogue with their suppliers and their government, insisting on the adoption of measures with a view to eliminating the work of the work within a specific time, for example two years.They would also have their direct support for projects aimed at eliminating child labor, among other programs of education and health for children in the craft mining areas.An immediate ettotal boycott of gold from Mali is not the autoviolet solution of human rights committed in the Mines d'Or Artisanales Dumali.A boycott would risk reducing the income of the ordered communities affected by poverty and could even increase child labor, families seeking to increase their income.

On a regional scale, the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) should ensure that the ECOWAS mining code prohibits child labor in minesartisanales, including the use of mercury, and givesmandate in the government to take measures aimed at reducing mercury use.Internationally, the future International Treaty on Mercury should force governments to take action which put an end to the practice of the use of work by workers.The ILO should follow up on the ends which it has started previously to put an end to the children in gold panning by reactivating its initiative "Minors Out of Mining".

Field research with a view to report between fevrieret April 2011 in Bamako and in the mining areas of west and southern Mali.The researchers of Human Rights Watch are on three mining sites of the Kéniéba circle, in Larégion de Kayes located in western Mali - Baroya (Sitakili commune), Tabakoto (commune of Sitakili) and Sensoko (commune of Kéniéba).We also visited the World of World (Municipality of Mena) in the Kolondiéba circle, in the Sikasso region, in Sudu Mali (see map).

Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 150 people - with 41 children working in mining areas (24 boys and 17 girls) - fine reports.[1] Thirty-three of these children worked in gold panning and the huilt-in, including seven girls, were workers in other sectors such as childcare, work-domet, agriculture or small businesses.Five of these forty-one children were immigrants;two come from Burkina Faso and three from Guinea.We also interviewed three young adults aged nineteen nineteen;Two of them worked in a mined’or and the third engaged in sex trade on a siteminier.

The majority of interconnected children lived with their parents, but five lived with other members of their families or other tutors, and sevenvated alone.

We also maintained ourselves with a vast palette of other actors in the mining regions, in particular parents and tutors of children with adults, teachers and school directors, health care workers and health experts,Village chiefs, rafflers (chiefsstraditional mines), NGO activists and Dusex workers.In addition, researchers from Human Rights Watch have held up with gold traders in the mining areas and with representatives of UN agencies and degutments in Bamako.We interrogated Minister of Labor and the Public Service and its staff, as well as responsible for the Ministry of Mines, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment and Assainment, the Ministry of Education and Duminister ofPromotion of women, child and Lafamille.We also maintained ourselves with officials from local authorities in the Keniéba and Dekolondiébaiéba circles.

We have also interrogated international companies that import gold and other prodities via complex supply chains, including two companies that import gold from artisanal mines Dumali.In addition, outside the borders, we talked with several international experts on gold panning, the use of mercury and deseffets of mercury on health.

Interviews with workers' children have taken place in a quiet environment, apart from the presence of other adults.The names of those questioned will remain.All the names of the children used in the present report are pseudonyms.We have made arrangements for a local NGO intervene in the case of a child victim Demaltutance at home.When we interviewed DESENFANTS, we adapted the duration and content of the Entretian according to the age and maturity of the.Interviews with children under the age of 10 did not last more than 15 minutes, while those with more children lasted up to 60 minutes.

Most onté interviews carried out in Bambara with the help of an interpreter.Bambara is the mother tongue in four million Malians belonging to the Bambara ethnic group;It is also the language of Maliet in several other West African countries.Three interviews with Guinean desecants and one with an 18 -year -old onté -in -French Guinean conducted in French.An interview with an 18 -year -old sex worker was carried out enanglais.

One of the challenges that subsides during our research work has been assessed the age of the children.Some did not know their exact age.Parents or tutors were sometimes unable to give the child's precise age.In Mali, almost half of all births are not withdrawn from civil status, which means that it was difficult to obtain information on the age of the children we interviewed.[2] We have agreed that those interviewed were only of them if we were some, judging their age of their own estimate, the estimate of their physical appearance of their physical appearance.For this reason, we did not include testimony of a boy who claimed to be 18 years old when he seemed younger.

In addition to the interviews, we have carried out documentary research, consulting a large -term written documents emanating from the government, Du’onu, NGOs, media, university experts, businesses and other sources.

Mali's economy

It has been centuries that the mines are operated in Mali.Vast West African kingdoms, including the Empire of Mali (around 1235-1400), built their wealth of gold from the Bambouk region, in western Mali, Etsur the Trans-Saharan gold trade.[3] Gold continued to be an essential raw material during the period of colonialism and in the Malian postcolonial economy.

Since 1999, gold has been the main export production of Mali, followed by cotton.In 2008, there were some 75 percent of all Malian exports.[4] While the price of gold has considerably increased from the last decade, the prices of other raw mightrs, such as cotton, have dropped.Mali is currently the third largest African Ducontinent Gold producer, after South Africa and Ghana, and the first Great Gold producer in the world.[5] Since 2005, the gold production of Mali amounts to nearly 50 tonnes per year - which represents a more than 2.9 billion US dollars at the prices of September 2011.[6]

The main lodge-extracted regions are located in the west and in southern Mali, more precisely in the Dekéniéba circle near the bordermalo-senegalese (previously known as Bambouk);In the area around Kangaba, less than 100 kilometers southwest of the capital;and in several areas of the Sikasso region (see card).While the mining extraction in Keniéba and Kangaba dates back to hundreds of years, many mines in the Sikasso Ontté region opened in recent years.LaceOture of the Sahel includes several other countries, including Laguinée, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger etle Nigeria.

During history, Malian minors have practiced mining extraction, known as gold panning.This practice still exists today.Artisanal or small scale mining is carried out by people, groups, families or descooperatives.Mechanization is minimal or non -existent and the excavation and treatment methods require a abundant work.Minor craftsmen, or goldsmiths, operate with limited capital, often in the secturinformel of the economy, and they are not employed by a company.[7] According to official figures, Mali's craft mines produce some tons of gold per year;The real figure could however be higher.[8] Due to the rise in gold prices, gold panning has a growing number of people in Mali and Africa of West in the last decade.[9]

The majority of gold produced today comes from large industrial mines.Among the important multinational multinationals present in Mali Figure Gold Ashanti and Randgold (two multinationalsud-African companies), IAMGOLD and plane Gold (two Canadian companies), ResoluteMining (Australia) and Avnel Gold Mining (from the United Kingdom).This is exploiting several large industrial mines, such as the Merila, Sadiola, Yatela and Lulo, as part of Joint Ventures with the Malian government;This holds a minority participation of some 20 percent.[10] A new mine law is currently underway;It will increase the participation of the Government of the industrial mines and will oblige societies to implement local development projects.[11]

Despite its gold riches, Mali remains a very poor country.The 2010 Human Development Index, which measures health, education and income, places Mali in 160 elevation on 169 countries.[12] about 50 percent of the population lives with less than one dollar per day [13] and social indicators are very low.Nearly 20 for a hundred of all children die before their fifth anniversary and adults attended school only for 1.4 years on average.[14] The organizations of development and defense of human rights take a critical look at the benefits that are offered by the Malian gold sector to the whole population, in particular highlighting the lack of detained revenue.[15]

Artisanal or girlfriend extraction mining

West and southern Mali have more than 350 gold panning sites;Even the government ignores a specific hill.[16]

According to the estimates, the number of the organized in Mali would oscillate between 100,000 and

200,000.[17] Some 20 percent of them are children.[18] By getting on these estimates, the number of children working in Mali's artisanal mins would be between 20,000 and 40,000.

The work process is organized by groups of gold areas that initially agree on how they will distribute gold extracted.These groups can include adults and children.The Ontattured artisanal mines of workers of many regions of Mali, ains from the country of the West African sub-region, such as Guinea and Burkina Faso.

By virtue of the mining code, gold panning is legal in geographic areas specified as an gold panning -to -gold.[19] In realical, most of the craft mining sites are located in the corridors.[20]

The government tolerates these activities, in part because the mayor and other local authorities, as well as the actions of a payment, sometimes take advantage of the presence of artisanal mines.As part of the decentralization which took place in the 1990s, the control and taxation of the artisanal gold exploitation of gold were contained in local authorities.[21] Sometimes, goldsmiths must pay money or give part of their their their own to traditional authorities who exercise customary dates on earth.According to custody practices which continue to take place today, traditional the authorities - are that the village chiefs - are designed as owners of all land in a determined area.[22] They have the power to open or close a mine.On behalf of the village chief, the raffle (traditional chief of the mine) takes care of management issues in Lamine.He attributes to each group of minors a well and, in certainzones, he receives a payment in return.[23] Ilgers also conflicts between minors.

Mayors also sometimes pay for the peppers or receive other mine income.[24] A mayor of Kolondiéba circle transferred his usual Lamairie office located in the urban center of the commune to a mining unsite when the mine was opened during the 2010 year, and at the time of our visit, he received a third partyeach payment paid for each new well awarded.His raffle explained:

Furthermore, it often happens that Lesorpailleurs pay part of their income to more and more powerful minors who rent machines and equipment to those who cannot afford them.These operators are held by people who occupy a certain position exert a certain influence within the community;they most often notable (traditional authorities) or local officials.Thus, a mayor reported to Humanrights Watch that he "possessed" a mineoù he put rental machines.[26] His advisor had 70 to 80 people working for him on Huitsite.[27] The relationship between the rich gold operators and the ordinary gold areas sometimes apparent to the relationship between an employer and one.Some wealthy operators also lend money to the poorer minors, weighing on them the weight of the debt.The managers of a community on the mining sites explained that the debtc on serious pressure on the goldsmiths, who tried to derebt the money within one month, and they have been one of thereasons why the parents sent their children to work in the mines.[28]

The goldsmiths to whom a well -party has been awarded sometimes use other minor to work for them.They are acted as the "owners" of the well.Several goldsmiths of the Keniéba region explained that they were giving two out of three ore bags to the "owner" of the well.[29]

In some areas, minors have put up surprised cooperatives or groups of interest -condemn to invest together in equipment, improve the effectiveness of the work process Etaccriste their revenues.[30]

Children's work and lamigration in West Africa

Children's work is highly suffered in Mali and other parts of West Africa.When poverty serves as a backdrop, they act as a common strategy to increase the household of the household.According to Malian official figures, about two -secred children in Mali work, and some 40 percent of all the children aged five to fourteen years of dangerous destasses.In absolute figures, this means that about 2.4 million children exercise a job considered as prejudicable.[31] Infantile work disadvantages working children in terms of education and the dutovail market in general, and he exposes children to the one -series human rights violations, such as exploitation of labor workforce, children's violence and trafficking.[32]

In Mali, the majority of children work in agriculture.Among the other sectors appear in the domestic letravail - entirely carried out pardes girls - breeding, fishing, crafts, trade and artisan mining, in particular the body and exploitation in careers.Forced begging is another form of children's work which concerns the students of Koranic schools (talibés) which are exploited by their teachers.[33]

Children's migration is an ancient traditionan West Africa.[34] The youngest children are often sent to live with loved ones witharials;This practice is called "confoate" (family placement).[35] With regard to adolescents - older children at 18 years old - Quitter the village to search for economic independence is, today Commercier, an important rite of passage.[36]

Even if children's family placement can be beneficial for the access of a child to education and to teaching, they can also lead to children's exploitation and trafficking.[37] Children's trafficking in several work sectors becomes an increasingly widespread proboh in West Africa, Y understand in Mali.Most of this trafficking is done through small informal networks, especially within families and between.In addition to this internal traffic, there is also trafficking between Mali and its neighboring countries.[38]

International human rights law

Mali has ratified a large number of international detections, including the International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PidesC), the Children's Wedding Convention (CDE) and its optional protocol concerning the selling children, prostitution of childrenand pornography putting children, as well as the protocol aimed at approving, suppressing and punishing the trafficking of people, in the enabled women and children.[39] Furthermore, Mali has ratified binding conventions of Ait, in particular the convention on the worst forms of labor of the Desenfants (Convention 182) and the Minimum Age Convention (Convention138).[40] At the regional level, Mali is a state party at the CharteAfricaine of Human and Peoples' Rights as well as to the African Lacherte of Children's Rights and Well-Being.[41] In Mali, international treaties have an authority greater than that of national legislation.[42]

Children's work

The term "child work" is defined by the ille a work likely to "harm the santeet in the physical, mental, moral or social development of children" and to "compromise their education".[43] International law does not prohibit all types of workinfantile.Certain types of activity are authorized that they do not interfere with the child's lascolarity and do not harm the infant.[44] The Minimum Age Convention and the Convention on Children's Work Lights state in detail which details equivalent to infantile work, according to the child's age, the type of work done, hours of hoursprovided, the impact on education and other factors.

According to the CDE, all children have the right to be protected against the economic exploitation.[45] Economic exploitation designates the fact of useful to withdraw material interest, especially in activities such as work, exploitation and children's trafficking.[46]

The worst forms of children's work

The Convention on the worst forms of children's work - establishes that the worst forms of children work understand "all forms of slavery or similar practices, such as children's sale and trafficking, ... as well as workers or compulsory" and "Works which, speaking nature or the conditions under which they are exercised, are subject to denying the health, safety or morality of the child ”.[47] This lasttype of work is also defined as dangerous.

According to ILO, mining extraction is among the most dangerous sectors and occupations.[48] Under the terms of the Convention on the worst forms of children's work, dangerous wearing includes the work that expose children to Dessévices, those that are carried out underground, those that are carried out with machines, equipment or deutilsDangerous, those who involve manipulating or carrying heavyloads, those which are carried out in an unhealthy environment that can expose the children to substances, agents or processes, or on conditions of temperature that are to their health, and those who arecarry out particularly difficult conditions, for example for long.[49] The Convention calls on States to define the dangerous work in their national legislation.[50]

The minimum age

With regard to work other than those who are part of the worst forms of children's work, international law that states specify a minimum age of employment and work.The Minimum Age Convention provides that "the minimum age will not be lower than the age at which the compulsory lascolarity ceases, nor in any case at fifteen".”[51] Exceptionally, developing countries were used to specify a minimum age of 14 years aimoment of ratification.[52]

The Age Convention on the Minimumper also minimpermits light work from the age of 13, provided that these "did not be likely to prejudice their health or their development;And are not likely to carry out their academic attendance, to their partner in orientation or professional training programs […] or their ability to buy the investigation received ”.[53]

The right to education

Both the CDE and the pidesc state the leprincipe of free and compulsory primary education.[54] Furthermore, secondary education, so general and professional, and higher education should be covered and accessible to all.[55] States are required to protect children from any work to compromise their education.[56]

Although under the terms of the CEP, the rights were subject to a progressive achievement, the States have "the minimum fundamental obligation to ensure, at least, the essentials of the essential of each of the rights".Most of these rights cannot be the subject of progressive realization but must be assuredimmély.[57] In particular, states are required to "ensure primary education for everyone, sansudrimination".[58] They must also ensure that the prime education is free and compulsory.In order to carry out the right to primary education, the states are required to establish and to implement action plans; when a part of the party manifestly does not have the necessary features, the international community al’enbligation to help it.[59]

The CDE invites states to present the necessary measures, if necessary within the framework of international cooperation.[60] Likewise, the African Charter of Rights and Well-being of the Enfant provides that "every child is entitled to education" and specifies that the right to free and compulsory basic education should be gradually.[61]

The right to the best state of health likely to be reached

The right to the best state of health likely to be reached is devoted in the international human rights ledit.The pidesc, the CDE, the African Charter Rights of Human and Peoples, as well as the African Charter Desdroits and the well-being of the child, recognize the right to physical and mental health, as well as the right of patients to actto health care.[62] Several regional and international legal instruments require that states protect children from any work likely to harm their health or physical leurde development.[63]

With regard to the workplace environments, the states parties to the PidesC are required to improve "all aspects of hygiene medium and industrial hygiene", for example, aumoyen of prevention measures against accidents at work andprofessional maladies and by means of measures aimed at reducing the exposure of the population to certain substancesnocives such as toxic chemicals.[64]

The full achievement of the law alleger state of health likely to be achieved gradually.[65] Furthermore, states have fundamental obligations which must be fulfilled immediately, among other essential primary care care, access to none discrimination health services, and access to sufficient unappromision in healthy and drinking water.[66] Other obligations are just as priority, in particular prodigals of genesic, kindergarten and child health care, establishing education and access to information on the pruncipal health problems of the community.[67]

Protection against violence, sexual abuses and children's trafficking

The CDE and other International Treaties to which Mali is a state Party protect the children against violence and the abuse.Although parents' parents are the first managers who are under their care, states have an obligation to protect children from any form of violence, damage or physical or mental brutality, abandonment or denegligence,ill -treatment or exploitation, including sexual laviolence.[68] Exploitation and sexual violence against children will in all their forms.[69]

People trafficking is prohibited under international law.[70] Having a little wider that the trafficking in adults, the desenfants trafficking is understood to be "recruitment, letransport, transfer, accommodation or reception of a child for the purposes of exploitation".[71] The exploitation includes, "at least, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of exploitation, work or forced services, slavery or lespratics similar to slavery, servitude ororgans of organs ".[72] Children's trafficking is also cataloged among the forms of children's work.[73]

International Business Obligations in Human Rights

Although it is to the governments that it is first and foremost to promote and guarantee respect for human rights, private entities such as companies ontégally responsibilities in matters of human rights.This basic principle is widely recognized at the international scaling and it is reflected in international norms, as very recently with adoption, speaks Council of Human Rights of the United Nations in June 2011, Desprincipes Directors relating to companies andhuman rights.[74]

The guiding principles have been developed by John Ruggie, ex-specialist in special secretary of the United Nations responsible for the question of human rights and societies and other companies.The said principles do not give or orientations with regard to thegovernmental regulations relating to the implications of companies on human rights and they do not call for surveillance or to laproduction of reports concerning said incidences.Nevertheless, they are a useful guide setting out many of the human rights obligations that are incumbent on businesses and agents that oversee their activities.The principles put the accent on the concept of duty of diligence into human rights - to know that companies must implement a process to identify, prevent, reduce and account for their impact on human rights.According to the guiding principles, companies should monitor their impact and set up procedures to remedy the negative impacts they are on human rights or to which they contribute.[75]

Companies can also go to join the UN World Covenant, an initiative to integrate commitments in terms of human rights.The 10 principles of the Global Pact cover ingeneral human rights, labor rights, as well as environnemental standards and standards relating to the fight against Lacorruption.They are taken from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other instruments.The companies that involve in this voluntary initiative of business responsibility agree to "respect the effective abolition of child work".[76]

In May 2011, the Organization for Economic Decopation and Development (OECD) Aadopté a recommendation of the Council relating to the guide on the duty for dediligence for responsible supply channels enhanced from zones of conflict or in Hautrisque.[77] LaRecommandation is not legally restrictive but it calls on the Member States and other to implement a framework for the exercise of the duty of diligence in the chain of the minerals' prprivisionation, as well as a depolitic model relating to the chain ofsupply.Political lemodel stipulates the following: "We will cleanse or take advantage, will contribute, assist or facilitate no way of perpetration by third parties ... [of] any form of forced or compulsory work ... [and] children of children's work".[78] The OECD is currently developing desupplements relating to specific minerals, Notammentun supplement on the supply chain of.[79]

National Lalegislation relating to human rights

Under the 1992 Malian Labor Code, children are authorized to work from 14 years old, in violation of international law, which fixes the age of 15.[80] For anyone under the age of 18, the criminal legislation prohibits forced, compulsory and dangerous, or lestravals exceeding children's forces or likely to injure theirmorality.[81]

The government has drawn up a list of dangerous work for children, which prohibits children's use for many forms of work in the traditional ordeal.More specifically, it prohibits the digging of wells, the cut and the transport of woods for the outcome in the galleries, the transport of rocks of the hole, the Lecoring, the grinding, the streaming in the water, so which is used by explosives, ofMercury and cyanide.[82] A decree also stipulates the weight that children were united to carry, according to their age, their gender of the mode of transport.[83]

Mercury is not prohibited in Mali, but it appears in the list of hazardous waste established by Legovernment, which subjects it to the rules of commercestrictes.[84]

Under the law relating to education, teaching is free in Mali;This is that all tuition fees, whatever they are, are illegal.[85] The same law also stipulates that esto -angered education;Parents are required to put their children to school during the nine years that the deepening education lasts, from the age of six.[86]

The codepeal includes protection against violence, negligence with regard to children and child trafficking.[87] Child traffic is defined as the displacement of a child under operating conditions which transform into market value.[88] A new initiative aimed at a separate law on Lalutte against the trafficking of children is currently underway.[89]

The child protection code of fundamental protections for children, such as ledroit to equal treatment and the right not to be exposed to violence, negligence, sexual desévices and exploitation.[90] The code distincts specifically economic exploitation, understands children's traffic or any work likely to harm the education, health, morality or the development of the child.He sets the minimum age for children's work at 15.[91]

According to estimates, between 20,000 and 40,000 children work in the artisanal gold mines of Mali.[92] Both girls and boys are active in gold panning, the number of girls and boys being equal to equal.[93] They work under conditions which cause short and long -term health problems and which lesse to frequent the school.Their right to health, education and protection, including child labor and brutality is violated auquotidian.

Children are sent to work to increase family income.Many parents of working children are goldsmiths, and often they earn little money.Goldsmen must frequently spend money or give part of their minerals or their oral traditional or local authorities, or to minors who praise their machines or hire them as labor workforce.Some are also in debt, and this pressure pursues on them leads them to send their children to Lamine to work there in order to bail out family income.

Most children go to the mine with one of their parents or siblings, Etils work alongside them.Others, nevertheless, are sent to live and work with anotherFamille, according to the tradition of confaching (family placement), or they live and work by themselves.Sometimes other adults, relatives, or even foreigners, also take advantage of children's lavulnerability and operate them economicly sending them to work at mine without remunerating them.

The government has failed to effectively tackle child work in crafts.He did not apply the current law prohibiting the dangerous forms of children's work and was hardly used to ensure the availability and the accessibility of teaching in the zones of mining craftsmanship.No more interest in the question of protection of the endorsement, in health problems linked to mining, nor to health matters related to the use of mercury in the organ.

The dangerous work of children throughout the mining extraction process

Dig very well and work underground

The first phase of the gold extracting process consists in digging and combining wells or pits.This work is very demanding on physical leeplan.Some boys who are not over six years old perform this task.A boyfriend of the surrounding area complained that the digging of wells caused him desoulers in the palm of the hands.[94] Another boy, Moussa S., also about six years old, told Human Rights Watch:

Hamidou s., about eight years, also pointed out to us to dig wells with a pickaxe, which caused the back and nape of the back of back and nape.[96]

The wells are estimated to have a depth of at least 30 meters, sometimes more.[97] Onconsidere that those who descend into the wells and work underground do "man's work", even Scecers are still children.Oumar k., About 14 years old, described his experience:

Very few safety measures are taken to ensure that the wells are livable or that minors who are basically can go back in all of them.Oumar k.explained that he and another miners relayed every hour to make sure that the person setting at the bottom had enough force to go back to Lasurface.[99]

Some goldsmiths perform mamagic rituals which, they believe, will protect them from accidents.Lesgares working underground try to look good but have trouble concealing their fear and frustration.Ibrahim k., which aerfigre of neighboring Guinea to come and work in the artisanal mins of Mali, confided:

"Pull the rope" and transport leminerais

Outside the well, desenfants and adults go up the ore with buckets.This task commonly called "shooting the rope".Several children pointed out to us that shooting the rope and carrying the ore caused pain to them and that they were stopping this work.Karim s., a boy who worked the World's mining site with his older brother, admitted his pains:

Lansana K., a 13 -year -old boy who digs wells and raises heavy buckets, complains:

Once the ore has come out of the well, it must be transported to the places where it is either Misen Bag to be stored or crushed, crushed and planned during the bread.Most workers - eatenfiant adults - transform the ore on their shoulders, while many others use small trolleys to transport their charges.Several boys questioned complained of pain due to the transport of ore.One of them was Djibril C., 15, who explained:

Another 14 -year -old boy told us that he was carrying the ore from the well that he was put in bag.He explained that even if he used a cart with unâne for transport, he often felt all overwhelmed after being raised weights and having bent, concluding: "I feel that this work is too much for me.[104]

Some children also carry water loads in the mines, most of the time to use during the painting of gold (and sometimes to drink it).Cetravail is mainly reserved for girls and poses the same healthproblons as other transportation tasks.[105]

Grind the ore

Hard and rocky ore must be crushed and crushed before the breading operation from which gold is extracted.When crushers and desbroyeurs are available, minors praise them to crush and grind Laterre.[106] The machines are noisy and produce a lot of vapors.It is generally men and adolescents who manipulate Cesmachines and every day, they often spend many hours on descasseurs or crushers without any protective equipment.[107]

When there is no machines to crush the rock, the goldsmiths crushed it manually, usually with a hammer or a pestle and mortar.This work is perfoving by girls or boys.[108] This can proceed accidents, as well as long -term dorsal lesions.

Bread

Once the ore has been abroad and reduced to the state of fine sand, it is (breading operation) to extract gold.Golden basing is the basic technique used to extract the ordu ore.The circular movement printed with the rock quicontient the ore and the water means that the gold is deposited at the bottom of the Batée, while the lighter materials which remain on the surface can be eliminated.This task is largely considered to be a work of women and girls.[109] Out of 10 goldsmith girls that we interviewed, nine said they were praising gold.Some boys also lefont.[110]

Several girls have mentioned backwards, headache and general fatiguelated by the painting of gold.[111] Susanne D., 11, said:

Aminata C., a 13 -year -old girl working at the Baroya mine, explained to us:

Sometimes, before breading, the ore is concentrated material with a higher gold content by making it pass through.Sluice is an inclined duct covered in its bottom by UNTAPIS or other material which retains the gold particles.[114] Children also do this work.

"Jetravaille every day with mercury": the use of mercury for amalgamation

In Mali and everywhere else in the world, Lesorpailleurs use mercury - a white liquid metal - to extract the gold from the ore because it is bonmarch and easy to use.[115] In Mali, amalgamation is often carried out by women and children (girls and boys).[116] The mercury is mixed with the reduced ore to the state of fine sand and it forms an alloy with gold, creating an amalgamation.After the amalgam was recovered from the sandy material, it is heated for the Mercures to evapor, so that it does not remain what.

The use of mercury on the gold panning sites of Mali takes the working children a risk of mercury intoxication, mainly due to the disadvantages released.Mercury is a toxic substance that attacks the central nervous system and is partly harmful to children.[117]

Of the 33 children interviewed who work in the craft mining, 14 have held them themselves.The youngest was six years old.[118] Susanned., 11 years old, explained to us how she uses mercury:

None of the children with whom we maintained ourselves knew why the mercury was dangerous north.Some had never heard what a mercury is accompanied by health risks.Fatimata n., a Burkinabé girl, explained to us:

Some goldsmiths consider that mercury is a magic substance.Mohamed S., 16 years old, who is moving, axplated:

Although mercury is a dangerous product of the Malian government regulations, the Dumercure trade is flourishing.It often happens that traders also shave with mercury trade.The merchants have detected that they received the Mercury of Lasous-Région countries, notably Ghana and Burkina Faso.[122] Mercury merchants are present in the mining outdoor zones and they sell mercury on the sites.Human Rights Watch learned that in a city, mercury is even sold a store that had some 25 kilos of mercury in stock.[123] In certain areas, merchants provide free of charge to goldsmiths so that they sell them gold.

Mercury merchants provide this substance directly to children.Mariam D., inworognan, explained:

Another boy told us that it was necessary to receive the mercury of a local merchant.Oumar k.Aexplated that he mixes mercury and the sandy ore Etensuite, he brings the amalgamation to the merchant, who burns him.Asked about health risks, he replied that he did not know that mercury was dangerous.[125]

Mercury mercury intoxication in craft mines - an "invisible epidemic"

Mercury, a toxic substance that attacks the central nervous system, is particularly in the children.He can cause development problems among other things.There is no famous level of Mercury which is without danger.[126] Mercury can also tackle the Cardiovascular System, the Kidys, the Gastrointestinal, Ausystem Immune and Lungs.The tremors, convulsions, vision disorders, headaches, memory losses and concentration are all symptoms of a ramp.Higher levels of mercury exposure can cause kidney failure, insufficiency, or even death.This chemical can also affect the reproductive health of women, for example by reducing theFerility and causing false layers.[127] Lapluarty of people who are exposed to dangerous levels residence are either when they inhale mercury vapors, they consume fish contaminated by mercury.[128]

The goldsmiths, including workers' children, are exposed to mercury by inhaling the vapor that emerge when the amalgam is melted.They are considering this substance by contact with Lapeau, although health risks are less serious than in Lecas of inhalation of mercury vapors.[129] Researchers qualified Mercured intoxication "invisible epidemic".[130]

Although no study has been carried out on Malian children, a study on the exposure to the mercury of children in the artisanal mines of Indonesia and Zimbabwe Zimbabwe that children living on the mining sites presented levels of the most high ofmercury in the blood, lescheveux and urine that those who lived elsewhere.[131] The working children - these lives in an area mining and worked with mercury - were those who presented the highest level of concentration of mercury in the blood, hair and urine.They also presented signs of perpetual intoxication, such as coordination problems (ataxia), disrespects and memory disorders.[132] The main cause of this poisoning was exposed to mercury vapors when the amalgam is burned in order to extract gold.

Mercury is partly harmful to fetus and infants, and it can be transmitted from mother to child during lagrossess or breast milk.The fact that goldsmiths manipulate Mercurelors that they are pregnant or when they are breastfeed.[133] Furthermore, his small children inhale mercury vapors when they are present after amalgamation areas, either at the mine or at home.During a visit, we observed a woman with a baby on her knees who helped another woman amalgamation while holding mercury in her hands.[134]

Contaminated waters and fish consumption that live in these waters are also a source of Mercury for children.[135] Desorpailleuses of Sensoko entrusted us with that he regularly had in the river the water used for amalgamation.[136] It is dangerous because it is in water that mercuryput takes its most toxic form, methylmercury, quis’Accumula in fish and affects the population when it is fisheries.[137] In World, researchers from Human Rights Watch observed fromorpailleurs who poured water on the floor, nearby, after having used it for the Malgamation.A local gold merchant confirmed that it was common to empty water on the ground in areas -identified.[138]

"It hurts everywhere": other consequences of child labor in craft mines the health plan

Respiratory diseases

Children of the mining areas suffer from respiratory diseases that range from bronchitis to lapneumonia, including tuberculosis (TB).[143] In mining, respiratory illnesses are largely dust from dust emanating from craft mines during working leaproces, and they can affect both attractive children and other children living in the vicinity.Mory C., a 11 -year -old baroya, complained:

Respiratory diseases are frequent among minors all over the world, and a disease, lasilicosis, is specifically associated with the mine work.[145] In Mali, doctors have neither the equipment the ability to diagnose silicosis; there is therefore no data on the prevalence of this disease in the country.[146]

Musculoskeletal disorders

Out of 33 workers interviewed, 21 said they were suffering from back pain, neck and headache, headache or arms, women or joints.It is digging, pulling, deteriorating and transporting the heavy ore loads that caused pain. Ainsi,Oumar k.complained about the consequences for the health of works such as digging well, under -handed work and the fact of raising very heavy buckets:

This painful work can affect the long -term development of children, causing a skeletal development of the back and the nape of the nourish.[148]

Maintaining in a curved position of long periods to dig or run, and make repetitive movements, such as grinding rock with manual tools, can cause similar pain and physical descents in the long term.[149]

Lesions due to accidents

On mining sites, children risk injuries caused by sharp tools, chips and rock falls and frequent samples of wells.Thus, inferior 2011, a 15 -year -old boy from Tabakoto fucked the tibia with a hoe.[150] Children who crush stones may suffer from cut-off by rock shards where they risk cutting out with tools.[151]

Ore transport can also cause accidents, as illustrated by Mamadous's experience., aged about six:

Mamadou s father.insisted the fact that the work at the mine was good for the education and the training of his son, and he affirmed Mamadou was four years old.[153]

Workers' children sometimes fall into the wells when they work underground, or they fall as they go up or down, like adults.[154] A Tabakoto nurse treated an 11 -year -old boy who had fallen into a well and had her hand.[155]

Comme expliqué plus haut parOumar k., a hardworking child, sometimes the wells collapse.[156] Very often, this causes fractures, opened injuries, dorsal lesions and other injuries, and it can even death.[157] A doctor from the Kolondiéba circle pointed out that there were a wells of wells in the mines of Mpekadiassaet of World every month, but Human Rights Watch was not in the process of checking this information.[158]

Several cases of collapses in Desmines illustrate the potential danger for workers, even no child has been affected by these incidents.Enavril 2010, an adult lost his life at the Kéniéba mine, his head having been shattered during the collapse of a well, and two others died when collapsing wells that occurred in the region the same year.[159] At least three workers were killed during the collapse of a well at the World of World at the end of 2010 or 2011, sowing fear in many minors.Although the mayor quoted the figure of three victims and tried to minimize the incident, other mine workers have taken that the number of victims was likely to be high.[160] An official of the Ministry of Labor equaled to a collapse of well during a visit to a mine in the Keniéba region.[161]

Even children who do not participate in mining extraction visit the mines and run Desrisques.Among them are those who are taken to the Parents speak, given the absence of crèches.Elderly children face the difficult task to protect their younger brothers and sisters so that they do not fall into the wells or so that they do not happen to them in no other accidents.[162] A Kéniéba doctor treated two in two who had fallen into a mine well near Dekéniéba.Children were about five and six years old.[163] In Baroya, a boy, about three years old, was in a well and injured in the arm.[164]

Working hours and salary: between support for the family and exploitation

Work hours

The children we interviewed that they often worked just at 11 a.m..[165] A study of the ILO on child labor in the craft mining in Mali Arévélée that children worked on average nineheures per day.[166] The working day is almost continuous.For example, Haroun C., 12, who never attended school, told Human Rights Watch that he worked in Lamine from 9 am to 5 pm and that he had pain at the joints the night.[167] Some children said they were taking a break for lunch or rested for a moment when they feel when they.[168]

Artisanal mines generally plan one day of rest per week for everyone, including children.This day is considered one day for the minds of the mine.[169]

Some workers' children go to school, but they do working days at the Golden Mine during the holidays and Leswek-End.They also sometimes work at the mine after school or dry lessons to go to mine.[170] out of 33 goldsmith children interviewed, 16 went to school.The latter were mostly younger and attended primary school.Among the children who went to school, Issa S., 12, complained about the impact of long working hours on Sasanté:

Salary

Often children working in crafts are not paid.If they are entered, they give most of Leurargent to their parents or their tutors;Adolescents who live by themselves often send money to the parents.When children work for people other than their parents, they are also exposed to mistreatment and exploitation.

The economic contribution of children to their families

There are many children who contribute to the production process but who, in the end, do not receive gold.Their work is considered to be part of the product of a group work.[172]

Some workers are funded.The salary is irregular, varies and is based on the quantity of gold extracted.[173] Most often, working children give money to the parents or their tutors to increase the revenues of Lafamille.Of the 17 children who declared us to win, 13 had to give it to their parents or to their tutors.[174]

When parents are not present, children sometimes earn the money they are sending.One of these children, Nanfadima has., 11 years old, aexplicated:

A 15 year old boy, Abdoulaye M., also sends his money home:

Another boy, Tiémoko K., 15 years old, also earned money for his parents who lived.He was subject to the same operating conditions the adult gold areas, having to give two thirds of his ore to another goldsmaker considered as the owner Dupuits:

Children who earn their lives

Some teenagers earn money for themselves, especially when they have migrated and vividly.However, it is not always enough to survive.Ibrahimk., 15, said:

Some adolescents had the opportunity to earn a large amount of money eten had kept part for them.The prospect of winning from money encouraged them to work in an artisanal mine, but they were not largely aware of the risks involved.A boy, Julani M, told us that he had embarked on an occasion 30,000 CFA francs (about $ 65) in two days and that he had bought clothes with money.[179] Several teenagers proudly told us that they earned money. L’une d’elles, Fatimata n.From Burkina Faso, admitted that she had won 80,000 CFA francs (around $ 174) on an occasion and had kept a party to buy clothes.She concluded that "Letravail, it's good for me".[180] Aïssatous., 17, earned his own money and used it for her wedding trousseaude.She explained:

On occasion, some parents also reward their children by giving them small money or a gold decigram.So, Moussa S., six years old, sometimes receives 100 CFA francs (about $ 0.21) from his father as a gift.[182]

Children's exploitation by their tutors

According to the ILO, around 20 percent gold cores work for adults who are not their parents, for example an employer or a loved one.This leads to an economic exploitation frequent.[183]

Among one of the cases met with that of Boubacar S., who lived with tutors.His parents' workers worked elsewhere and had placed it in an infamous that they knew.Boubacar said he earned 1,000 CFA francs (around $ 2.18) a day and that he immediately had his wages to his tutor.He was in tears when he explained to us the following:

The boubacar teacher, which the boy was mistreated by Sonbeau-Père.The latter had told him that he would not pay tuition fees if the child refused to do the work he asked him to do.[185]

Mariam D., the daughter of Worognan who was very thwarted by the fact that her mother-in-law was the money she earned, told Humanrights Watch:

Children's trafficking

In the artisanal mines of Mali, all the conditions are met for the trafficking of children being the conditions for the operating of the workforce held above.Children who migrate without their parents and work for other adults are specially in the process of human beings.According to the ILO, about two thirds of the working children interviewed in the craft mines of Mali are migrants.[187] A regional survey on the mining artisanale has revealed that 10 percent of the childhood children in the artisanal mines of Guinea, Mali and Burkinafaso were foreigners who came from other western African countries and lived on themining sites without their parents.[188]

During our research, we have renounced several children who were the victims of exploitation and whose situation could be equivalent to Dela deals with children.One of them was Boubacar S., 14, Sensoko, in the Keniéba region, whose situation is described above.[189] He lived with tutors who treated him "as if I was not a human being".They were lensing to work in a craft mine and to make bricks.His parents were goldsmiths who had left to work in another gold mine from Mali; they were not in contact with him.[190]

Human Rights Watch also interviewed Burkinabè and Guinean children perhaps victims of milking.Salif e., 15, had been entered from Burkina Faso to Mali by his parents, and he had to be avoided up to a World of World with two other Gargals who were members of his family.They were part of the head of the Burkinabé community, who was Salif's uncle, and they also worked for him.[191] When we interviewed Salif, it's been three weeks since he worked at the mine and he had not yet paid paid.

The heads of migrant communities play a key role in the organization of the life of goldsmiths of.[192] The head of the Burkinabé community of Worognan, the uncle Desalif e., explained that about 60 people were working for the.A local gold merchant confirmed that he employed several children.[193]

Work under constraint

According to a recent survey, Lamajority of workers do not like the work they do but they do it to help their parents.[194] Even when children are not victims of milking, they are often confronted with a certain degree of constraints that they work in gold panning.The decision to send children to the mine - if alone, either with lafamille or tutors - is almost always taken by parents, and Lesenfants have little voice in chapter.This stress situation when parents or tutors exert psychological pressures or threaten children with physical mistreatment.

Several children have told us that they would like to abandon the hardware work if they were lipped.[195]C’était le cas deMariam D., that his mother-in-law was carrying out at the mine when there was no school and the fogged to give her all his pay.The girl was upset by this situation, but she did not know how to ensure.She explained to Human Rights Watch: "I don't want to work at the mine.I want to stay at school ”.[196]

Aminata C., 13, said that she washed gold and amalgamated with mercury.Even if her father gave her painkillers when they used the effects of her hard work, she pointed out that Son Pétère insisted that she continues to work:

Hamidou s., eight years old and third, described his situation:

In some cases, children will love their work but they feel that they cannot.In the study of the aforementioned ILO, 39 percent of the children questioned said that they could not stop and leave work at the Golden Mine according to their wanting to want.[199]

Other forms of children's work in mining communities

The existence of artisanal gold mines often leads to the creation of small centers.Children perform many other forms of work in these communities.Some work in gold panning and another work at the same time.

Agriculture and domestic work are the most common forms of child work in Mali.[200] Boys often work in agriculture, sometimes leaving the mine during the harvest.Others work only in agriculture.[201]

Many girls from communities are doing domestic work, within their own families or in foster families with whom they live.[202] Although most of the domestic work is done at home, part is done at the mine.Women often their youngest children with them at the Minecar they do not have day care stores and they shed their older children to take care of their little brothers and their little sisters.[203] The children must often carry their youngest brothers and sisters on their backs, they must give them food and protect them from.In one of the cases, a mother explained to us Qua Four daughter took care of her little sister at the mine.[204]

Children also work in other activities.For example, they sell water or desaliments, or they make bricks or clothes.[205] In addition, some children engage in sex trade, one of the worst forms of child labor.[206]

Attitudes in the face of children's work

Children's work is common and inspection accepted in Mali.A recent survey on the possession of child labor confirms that parents generally also have child labor as acceptable.[207] Teaching a child how to extract gold is seen as a part of socialization.[208] Government officials also declared to Human Rights Watch that child labor was part of Malian laculture.An official of a ministry qualified children's work as "socializing" because it is the value of the work.[209]

We interviewed a goldsmith who claimed to have gold for a value exceeding US $ 10,000.He sent his son Mamadou s.at the mine when he did not need this income.He explained :

Community leaders in Worldanont underlined what they perceived as a positive effect of children in gold extraction, namely the community has now had the means to buy more articles such as new roofs, bicycles or machinesagricoles.[211]

Sexual exploitation

Sexual exploitation is currency in mining areas, especially on the vast sites from the brings together many different populations from Mali and elsewhere.[212] Infantile prostitution is in essence harmful and, with regard to the righteousing, it constitutes one of the worst forms of work from the.International law also prohibits the exploitation ofxual.

Some girls identify with sex workers.NGOs working on the question of the prevention and treatment of HIV in mining areas in contact with adult and children's sex workers in the craft chiefs of the Sikasso and Kayes region, in particular on thegrands mining sites such as Alhamdoulaye and MassiogoIn the Dekadiolo circle, M'Pakadiassa in the Kolondiéba circle, Ethamdallaye in the Keniéba circle.[213]

One of these NGOs has established that of 12 percent of sex workers with which she takes care of 15 and 19 years old.She also noted that the vastmajority of sex workers were desterangers, most of whom came from Nigeria and Decôte d'Ivoire.[214]

On the mining site of Worldnan, in the region of Sikasso, women and girls, most of them, engaged in sex trade.Stella a., a 17 -year -old sex with sex, described us in a violence of violence in which she works:

Mariam D., about 11 years old, worked at the World of World and described his environment:

Many girls are engaged in sexual desrapts to escape poverty, exchanging sexual favors for food or other products, without considering that it is a question of sex.Some of these girls come to work in small localcomes such as restaurants, but they are encouraged by the restaurant and other employers or tutors to feel up to sexual intercourse.[217] The advisor to a village chief, interviewed by Save Thechildren, described the situation in a mine of the Kadiolo circle:

The traditional andlocal authorities of the Kolondiéba circle expressed their own occupation in relation to sexual exploitation in the mines.A local official responsible for social affairs is paid for ephemeral relations that take the appearance of informal "marriages" interior adults and girls or young women.[219]

Girls who engage in sex or multiple sexual intercourse are exposed to a risk of HIV infection.Although the prevalence of HIV only has one percent in Mali, it is considerably more in sex workers.In this population skategory, the prevalence of HIV rose to 35 percent in 2006.[220] Lestravilleurs and health organizations working on HIVs'acre to say that mining sites are risk areas with regard to HIV infection, due to the lapresence of a large number of sex workersAnd as a family without family.[221] However, there are no data on the Duvih prevalence in mining areas.

Sexual violence

Some rape cases are to be deplored in craft mines areas.Government officials of the Kolondiéba circle described rape as a current phenomenon.[222]

In December 2010, a girl from Huitans was raped at the Dem’Pékadiassa mine (Kolondiéba circle), apparently by a 53 -year -old man.[223] According to the security forces, several other designs were recently produced in M’Pékadiassa, especially on girls.[224] According to Lagendarmerie, a 15 -year -old girl was raped in Lamine de Worognan in February 2011.[225] A suspect was placed in detention, but he had not yet been tried at the time of the Human Rights Watch visit to the mine.[226]

Worognan gendarmes said the area was frequently letheater of violence.They complained about a lack of workforce and building.[227]

It is the Malian government that must be the political and legal responsibility for the violations of the rights of the child in Mali in Mali.Entering a large number of international instruments relating to human features, the democratically elected government of Mali ademontré that he had the will to fight human rightsators.However, the policies and programs on the work and the rights of children have been impact because they were faced with a unmanca of political and financial support, or they did not implement.

International donors have unimportant role to play by supporting the government in the Laurealization of Rights.In 2009, the five main donors of Mali were the United States, the European Union, African Development Labanque, World Bank and China.Lafrance, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan were among the other major bilateral donors in Mali.[228] Although some donors are engaged in initiatives for children's work and child protection, these areas have not benefited from all the necessary retention.

Some UN agencies and certainong are also interested in child labor and forensicing related to Maliet mining in other countries.However, even if the ILO and the NGOs carry out some important programs in Mali, these are a limited scope.Unfortunately, the ILO did not lead to a global campaign in favor of eliminating child labor in the craft mines, within the framework of which 15 governments was an end to children's work in mining outdoorBy 2015.

Government action in the face of children's work

In 2006, the government created the National Cell Work Combat (hereinafter Aubaled in cells against child labor).The said cells carried out studies on child labor and addressed a list of dangerous work which prohibits the use of children for practically all the activities of organizing, such as the digging of wells, the transport of stones, the crushing and the grinding of ore,Basicing in water and the use of mercury.[229]

Nevertheless, the efforts of the government to put an end to the work of the Desenfants have, on the one hand, was undermined by the bad application of the policies implemented, and on the other hand, they did not benefit from a whole political commitmentgovernment institutions.The cell against the work of the work is in a way in isolation and it suffers a lack of funding as well as a lack of support for other ministries.[230] Efforts to stem children's work, which has been hampered by the reduced number of labor inspectors in Mali.[231] Labor Labor were criticized for the results obtained.[232] Furthermore, very few onté -work inspections carried out in mining areas;The some inspections that took place were in Lademande de l'Ioit and with its funding.[233]

More recently, the cell against child labor has led the process of developing an action plan to fight children's work.[234] The action plan for the elimination of child labor work (Panetem) was adopted in June 2011.He wants to eliminate the worst forms of children's work by 2015, and all forms of children's work in the 2020.During the first phase, it proposes to identify children who carry out the work dangerous or who have been victims of milking, and otherwise, to remove them from these conditions.It also aims to provide sens of assistance to education, professional lanforme and care, and to offer generating activities to the families concerned.In addition, the action plan in the adoption of a law on the trafficking of children, the engagement of prosecution against the traffickers who are children and the managers of their sexual exploitation at Desfins Commercial, as well as on an increaseof the minimum age of employment, passing it from 14 to 15 years in order to respect the international commitments of Mali.[235] Unfortunately, the action plan is not interested in the disastrous implications for child labor on the health of health, among other things in the use of Mercuredans the artisanal gold mines.Nor does it understand Dest and Destrial with regard to companies likely to attract the benefit of child labor, either directly or via their supply chain.[236]

Despite these shortcomings, the action plan offers the possibility of improving the short life of two million children who work under prisoner conditions in Mali.It is still unknown whether the government will fully support the action plan, aurisque to undermine the interests of influential operators.The government is also confronted with a challenge, that of obtaining sufficient support for this $ 100 million plan.[237]

Donor and NGOs programs concerning children's work

The role of donors in the fight against children

Most of the programs relating to children's work in Mali are funded by donors and inbound, they have been faced with drastic Descoupes.Until 2010, the United States granted significant unfinvenience to the ILO/IPEC in Mali, which made children's work-related programs by the Malian partners.[238] One of the ILO/IPEC programs included a regional study on artisanal mining in Mali, Auniger and Burkina Faso, as well as initiatives aimed at removing the children who worked in gold panning in thesethreePays.[239] Unfortunately, the United States has ended its funding for child labor programs in Mali since Ledébut of 2011.This situation is not in Mali: US funding for the IPEC programs around the world has been reduced and is swayed from $ 49 million in 2010 to 27 million dollars in 2011.[240]

For several years, the Committee European (EC) has been another important fundaler for Ait/Ipec in Mali, but it has decided to reduce funding.In 2011, the CE finance the ILO/IPEC in Mali at a height of 202,000 US dollars, less than half of the Dusoutien brought in 2010.[241] CE FINANCE A project of the ILO/IPEC entitled Tackle, which aims to withdraw children from work to educate them in Mali and in 10 other countries, and fights child work in mines.[242] Other bilateral donors or NGOs financely programs against child labor in Mali, between the Netherlands and Spain.[243]

Programs aimed at ending the work of the artisanal mines

Several Malian NGOs are implementing programs that aim to subtract children at work, improve access to education and raise awareness of minors about children's work issue.Some of these projects are featured by the donors mentioned above.

The NGO Support Network and Disconseils (RAC) has produced, with ILO/IPEC, several successful success to help the children of the artisanal gold mines of Kéniéba.The NGO has managed to subtract more than 1,300 children in the workplace and has promoted access to education in the communities of gold areas (or even an annoyed).[244] More recently, ILO/IPEC has also started working with an NGO, Jiekatanie, on the problem of children's work in the craft mines of Sikasso.[245]

Nevertheless, the donors nefurse funding only for limited periods and for specific projects.Given that the funds of AS/IPEC arrive at their end, the communities are likely to request support and the children who have stopped working at the craft mine may have to start again.

The ILO initiative "Minors Out of Mining": vain promises?

In 2005, the ILO launched a vastcantry aimed at combating child labor in minesartisanals around the world.She gathered governments, desoythies and employers from all over the planet to join her exhorting call to get the miners out of mines - "Minors Out of Mining!" - The goal is to eliminate children's work in mining on 2015.[252] The campaign included a detailed action program, in particular the regularization of small -scale operations and activities in order to withdraw mines discovered in the process of working in the extraction mining.

In June 2005, 15 countries, including Mali, publicly ringing itself to set itself up to eliminate child labor in mines by 2015 and they signed a promise in this sense.[253] Parailleurs, the American government, the Ghanaian government, the International Federation of Unions of Chemistry, Energy, Mines and various industries (ICEM), the International Metal Metal Council (ICMM), an associationbringing together the societies, committed to supporting the ILO and the Lesgovernments in the efforts made to eliminate the children in mining in mining.[254]

It is unfortunately to note which initiative turned short without any concrete result niaucun followed.The ILO complained of a lack of engagement of some of the signatory parties, among others a change of management within workers' associations and employers.ILO/IPEC also deplores lack of funding allocated to efforts relating to work in the mines.[255] Six years have passed and the initiative is largely with oblivion.[256]

The efforts made to end the abuse and the trafficking of children

Admittedly, the government has taken some measures aimed at attacking the abuse and the deals with children, but its ability to prevent this type of child rights violations is very limited, and the child protection system isnot fully funeral in Mali.[257]

In 1999, the government has set up the national promotion of the child and the family, but it only had a vague legal mandate charging it from the development of implementation "programs and plans'Child and family promotion actions ”.[258]

The national leadership carried out a study on the abuse of children and it manages second -fuss in Bamako for the victims of mistreatment.[259] However, she is only interested in certain cases.Rural areas such as areasmières are very far from its centering.Most of the protection work of the endorsement carried out today, among other lesinitiatives aimed at preventing mistreatment and desenfants trafficking, is the fact of NGOs and local organizations, but even associations rarely work in mining areas.[260]

In recent years, the Malian government and its neighbors have made some efforts to fight against the trafficking of human beings in Africa of the west, as stated in the action plan against the latraite of the people adopted by ECOWAS in 2006.[261] NGOs with the Malian police and UN agencies on the identification of victims of the trafficking of people and, in the case, they bring them back to their country of origin.[262] However, few proceedings have been initiated.[263]

In certain gold panning areas, Lesong have created local vigilance committees.[264] These committees are made up of a palette of actors - teachers, local authorities and actors of civil society - which carry out activities for the purpose of the trafficking of the community of the community of the community.Unfortunately, certain studies on the other hand that local vigilance committees in rural areas of Mali had sometimes prevented any migration, instead of making the distinction between migration and deals with people, thus restricting the children of children to freedom of movement and, in some.repatriating against their will.[265]

Mortalityinfantile is extremely high in Mali.Almost one in five children - 19 percent before reaching the age of five.Diarrhea, lapneumonia and malaria are the three main causes of mortality in Mali, and these diseases are also very common in the mining.[266]

Children who work in the Origaling are exposed to several serious risk supports linked to the EnvironmentMaSain in which they live and to the dangerous work that they take out.However, access to health to treat these mine -work health problems is extremely mediocre unlike serious gaps in health policy.More specified, the government has failed to be of effective prevention measures, such as dessenubilization campaigns relating to the risks associated with mercury, an improduction of technologies which reduce the exposure.

Health system deficiencies

Mali is a country where health care is mediocre trappers with other West African countries.More than half of the population lives more than five kilometers from the nearest health establishment.[267] The Maliconnait also a pronounced shortage of personnel of health.He has a doctor for 20,000 patients, and three infirmières or midwives for 10,000 patients, well below the average of the whole African continent.[268]

There are few parliament establishments per capita and general access to local health care is mediocre, endeptops to bring communities closer to health services as part of health strategy.[269] Malidisposes of a pyramidal health structure, with community centers (CSCOM) at the level of communities, reference health (CSREF) at the level of the Districts, and regional and national hospitals at the top of the laastructure.The health system is based on use costs paid by patients.Consequently, access to health care is difficult for destitute and community health centers are used.[270]

Certain health services are free, including health care for children under the age of five, cesarean women, as well as the treatment of HIV and some other diseases.Access to health care has improved in these fieldspecies.[271]

Obstacles to children's access to health in areasmières

Access to health care in gold panning areas is often very limited, endeptop in high risk of health problems with the mine.For example, in the district of Keniéba, there is only one reference health center, with some Enmedicine doctors, to serve 208,000 inhabitants.There are 19 community health centers, which have the staff of nurses and midwives.[272]

In some mines, there is a health worker, for example a nurse, who holds a small -manner and returns certain cases to the Leplus Community Health Center.Nevertheless, many other mines have no public health service.This is the case with one of the largest craft mines in the Dekéniéba region, Hamdallaye.[273]

In the absence of Publique Health Services, several NGOs lead HIV prevention and detract programs in gold panning areas, but they have too limited resources to provide moregeneral health care.They generally do a work of thests, distribute condoms, go to the meeting of sex workers and help patients to have the voluntary access to guidance and screening, and there is a treatment,.[274]

The gold panning areas suffer from a lack of sexual andgenesic health services, in particular prenatal services and requests.[275] A doctor complained that the mines did not have more specialized services for victims of violencesexual.[276]

Some patients are asking for the help of traditional healers or resorting to authority for their children.[277] Quatreenfants workers entrusted Human Rights Watch that they regularly presented analgesic tablets.[278]

Government's indifference to mercury health problems

In Mali, the government does not appeal anything in terms of research, diagnosis or treatment of diseases and mercury problems.It does not have data on the poisoning of adults or children speaks Mercury in gold panning areas.[279] The capacities are very reduced within the Ministry of Health and in the entire health system to diagnose mercury intoxication and treat it.[280] Legovernment particularly suffers from an absence of longer -term detertégie concerning the way of attacking the threat posed by Mercury for Health, among others Mercury intoxication in children.Current children in children's health does not absolutely shed this question.[281] Even a recent government report on the environmental health is barely interested in the problem.It is content to mention that mercury is used in craft mining, but that the quantities are not known.[282]

Lesefforts to reduce the lamptering exposure

The Ministry of the Environmentgium The questions relating to mercury through its focal point The strategic approach to international management of chemicals (SAICM) [283] and, in 2009, it welcomed a national conference on the craft outlet of the 'Now in West Africa -speaking Africa, which has particularly emphasized mercury use.[284] However, there are few concrete actions on the ground, such as training for gold areas on the risks posed speaks Mercury and on the introduction of horns or other technologies ofremplacement.

With the support of the United Organization for Industrial Development (ONUDI), donors and experts, the government will begin to develop a action plan for the reduction of the use of Mercuredans Golden Gold.[285] International donors-France, the United States and the global environment funds-equally, in mid-2011, to launch several other artisanal mining projects in Mali, Auburkina Faso andin Senegal, emphasizing the use of the use of mercury.[286] They agreed with a promising evolution and we hope that the programs, which will be implemented by NGOs and the UNUDI, will pay attention to the particular situation of the children who use mercury and, more generally, to theMercury children's exhibition.

To an international treaty on reducing the use of mercury

Internationally, the states are currently negotiating a legally bontraging instrument on mercury.In 2009, the United Nations Environment Deprogram Directors (UNEP) agreed to develop this treaty, and Sonadoption is scheduled for 2013.[287] The current treaty draft does not provide for a measure to protect workers who are missed for amalgamation.[288]

Mali, like Nigeria, is one of the African countries represented within the Committee of Negotiation (CIN) of the Treaty.He played during an important role in the development process.Thus, Mali plays a role of first Plantans The development of a common African position in favor of compulsory national action to reduce Mercury use in craft mining extraction.[289]

Lack of access to education is one of the causes of children's work in artisanal mines.Access to education is generally poor in Mali in general, and in craft mining areas in particular.In 2009-2010, the net school rate was 60.6 percent, Etseuls 56.3 percent of children had completed their primmer studies.[290] Education policies are far from having benefited vulnerable groups, among other things workers in mining areas and other sectors.In mining areas, school buildings and infrastructure are lacking;and tuition fees create desbarrières within indigent mining communities.Parailleurs, the authorities responsible for education and the schools themselves have largely ended to meet families of child mild to ensure their school education.

Access to education in the gold panning

The absence of school infrastructure in the mining Lescommunicates

Since minesartisanals are located in remote areas, physical access to schools is often a problem.In the Kéniéba region, many villages for a long time in the mining..For example, one of the large mines south of Kéniéba, Hamdallaye, had not been school when a local NGO was caught in May 2010.[291] When new communities of goldsmiths appear in the zones, they are even more likely to lack schools.[292]

Public schools existing in the mining are often in a pitiful state.The vast majority of schools are too small and do not have separate classrooms for each group.[293] Thus, the World School has only two premises for six years, and therefore, it can only accommodate two years at a time;During our visit, there was a first one and a sixth class.[294] Other schools bring together several years together and the course give lessons in the same classroom.[295] Enjolate half of all schools do not have delatrines - a practical problem that dissuades girls to defrease the school - and do not have a canteen, sports facilities or the teachers' room.[296]

Some mines have schools, private schools or madrassas (Koranic schools).However in the mining areas, the school of schools based in the ESTASSEZ Low communities;This means that the government has even more obligation to ensure that public schools have made available to children.[297]

Scholarship fees

Santillegal tuition fees in Mali, and yet parents pay for children who go to school.Community schools perceive Desfrais, and even public schools sometimes ask parents to pay money or in kind, for example by giving food to the teacher.

Tuition fees of parents to send their children to school rather than mine.Teachers, parents and workers' children told us that descolarity costs were one of the reasons why the children did not go to school.A group of seven Sensoko, in the Kéniéba region, which they could not pay for descolarity costs for all the children of the family and that parked, they sent some children to the mine of the gold to work there full timeRather than school at school.Each month, they pay at the local school 800 CFA francs (around US $ 1.75) Parenfant.This group of women had a total of 29 children of schools working at the mine;Of these 29 children, 18 frequented the school.[298]

Karim s., a child working in Lamine de Worognan, described his desire to go to school:

Un autre enfant travailleur,Oumar k., explains that he had gone to school but that he had to abandon because his parents could no longer pay tuition fees.He established in school until fourth year, but he was no longer admitted after an absence for illness because his parents had not paid school fertures.Her three sisters were not passed over.[300]

In Mali, when parents owe choices as to school attendance, they are more often than girls than girls.It arrives that girls are rather used to make domestic work, or they are married before teaching adulthood.[301] The situation does not differ in mining areas.Susanne J., 11, told Human Rights Watch:

Some parents justify the work of the mine by the need to earn money to pay tuition fees.Lansana K., a fifth year schoolboy, complained:

De même, Hamidou s., which is only in the third year, used money on the mine to buy school equipment.[304]

The use of tuition fees to finance schools also lead to other problems.Teachers have confirmed that "the big problem ... is that parents do not all pay their share".[305] A member of a school management committee complained about the fact that they have "all the difficulties of the world" to ensure that parents pay their contribution to school.[306] It follows that sometimes teachers do not receive Desary, or only part of their salary.[307]

The situation of migrant children

Many goldsmiths migrate mineen mine.This creates a serious problem in terms of education of their children.According to the ILO, two thirds of children working in craft mines are migrants.[308] Some children move with their parents in mine every two months.Thus, in 2010, numerous goldsmiths, which have had several mines in the Sikasso region, including Kola mines, Kékoro, Kalankan and Worldanan.[309] Fatimatan.A Burkinabé teenager who never went to school, told us that she had had to work as goldsmith from her youngest.She first worked in the extractionminière in Burkina Faso, and then she came to Mali with his his uncle and her aunt - to look for gold there.They lived for almost a month on a mining site in Kékoro (Bougouni circle) and subsequently, they left for Worldanan.[310]

An educational manager explained what happens when a new mine is open:

On the mining sites, schools are poorly prepared for the end of the end.A school director reported to us that her school had no migrant children, while the community had welcomed several thousand migrants during the year.Only 30 children were enrolled in school while the number of residents stored at more than 4,000.[312]

School workers' workers

Some working children go to school, which represents a double burden for the children and often leads to bad academic results.Moryc., an 11 -year -old boy from Baroya, described his experience to us:

Some children cannot do at school.Nanfadima has., 11 years old, let us acquire that she had to redouble a year.She worked at the mine during school holidays and after school during the week:

It often happens that students working in gold panning do not present themselves to school, resulting in high levels absentism and abandonment.[315] School and teachers described the eragative effects of gold panning on the results of students.[316] A teacher of the fifth and sixth years after that almost half of the children of saclasses worked at the mine.He explained :

Educational policy: inability to achieve workers' children

The Malian government has the right to ensure education for all and to support the millennium for development relating to teaching, [318] by guaranteeing access to education just to the ninth year (EDUCATIONFORMATION), a betterAccess to education for girls, teacher training, as well as formal education.Decentralization is one of the key elements of thegovernmental strategy;It aims to allow half communities appropriating the school.[319] Lesbeleurs of funds grant considerable funding to the Du secturée, in particular support for the budget of this sector.In 2009, they went on 161 million US dollars in official assistance to Mali education.[320] They also helped to finance a remarkable expansion of community schools.[321]

The fact remains that educational lapolitical did not grant an impairment to children who are vulnerable because of their economic condition, their gender, their family situation, their anti or other reasons.The current educational program is lacking to offer specific measures to achieve vulnerable children, with the exceptional exception of children with disabilities and nomadic children.[322]

Although the number of children registered in primary education has increased considerably for 1998, many children of primary school age are still not educated.[323] Mali remains well below the average of sub-Saharan Africa.[324] Access to secondary education is still.[325] A significant number of children have never been inscribed in school.Among those who are registered, many do not assist regularly in the courses and abandon the school.[326]

There is also a great disparity between boys and girls in the field of education.The net schooling rate of girls is 54.6 percent, compared to 66.8 percent for boys, and only 48.6 percent girls finish their primary studies, against 64.1 per cent.[327] In secondary and higher education, the gap between boys and girls is even greater.[328] Although the government has emphasized the improvement of access to education for girls, the lamajority of officially not educated children are Desfilles.In 2007-2008, more than half of the girls aged 7 to 12 were not educated.[329]

As illustrated above, one of the reasons for the low school rate is the cost.Parents must pay fees for school, such as registration desfrais, books, equipment, the Honorary Uniforms of the School Management Committee.[330] In Denmberux African countries, tuition fees and school fees are major obstacles to education Despauvres.On the other hand, it is proven that the abolition of descolarity costs considerably increases the registration rate and school attendance, especially among the poor and the girls;This abolition is also required by Ledroit International.[331] There are other obstacles to schooling, in particular Ladistance at which the school is located, as well as the lacquality of teaching.[332] The high percentage of students per teacher, the lack or absence of teacher training and the air supply has an unfavorable impact on the quality of teaching.[333]

Community schools, which are a large independent measure, constitute an ausystem alternative of public schools.A community school is a non -profit school created and managed by a community or an association.Official recognition fell by local authorities to all schools for a series of simple criteria.[334] Recognition of community schools has been expanding to education, but it posseed the payment of tuition fees and lowered the educational standards because the majority of teachers are not unrelated.[335]

The creation of schools is one of the strategies implemented can be able to access education in the areas experiencing high degrees of mobility and migration.In northern Mali, mobile schools have been put surprised in recent years for nomadic groups.Lessenseignants move with the nomads and teach under tents which are provided by the community.[336] Experience in northern Mali could serve as a US model for the country's mining areas.

Social protection desmesures to improve the cups in education

Social protection programs could promote access to education for working children in gold panning areas and elsewhere.

Social protection is a depolitic whole aimed at increasing access to basic servants and reducing economic and social vulnerability.It includes social assistance (such as cash transfers and free school meals), social services for poor households, so social assurance and related legislation.[337]

Until now, the clever has not carried out a coherent social protection policy and it has only implemented measures of social protection, without paying special attention to the needs of the children.Ontété cash transfer programs used in several countries to finance education for education for children.[338]

A previous social protection program for vulnerable children successfully carried out in Mali ended.From 2002 to 2007, Mali had abused an enespece transfers program for mothers, intended to allow them to send their children to the School.It also covered the goldsmith areas of the Kayes region.As part of this program called Boursemaman, indigent mothers received a monthly scholarship (equivalent to US $ 11) if they agreed to send their children to school and have them pursued their colaity.If the children abandoned school, species in cash were suspended.[339] Leprogram was modeled on an ENESPÈCES transfers program successfully implemented in Brazil, Bolsafamilia.[340] Although the Maman Stock Exchange Program has led to an increase in schooling rate and a decrease in abandonment rates, it is interrupted, probably due to the skepticism of certain backgrounds compared to the cash transfers programs.[341]

The current government policy has the importance of free school meals to encourage poor families to send their children to school.The government has introduced a bill to set up a national center for school canteens, responsible for coordinating and overseeing the creation of Cantiensscoliaries.[342] To date, school canteens have been imposed in 166 municipalities affected by drought and hunger, especially in northern Mali.Currently, gold and southern goldsmith areas do not benefit from these free ironings.The government itself recognized that the number of school breaches in Mali was far too reduced.[343]

A recent government plan for social protection could ultimately provide deschanges, if it is implemented as it should be.After a long process of consultation, the Malian government developed a national social protection action plan in 2010, and the Aadopté in August 2011.This action plan includes a cash transfer program for vulnerable populations, as well as free school meals.[344] When these lines were written, no decree had yet been taken on the question of the program if the program would particularly target the children and the orphans.[345]

Given the prevalence of children's work in Malian artisanal mines, it is likely what produced thanks to the use of infantile mandat is found in chains of the praprisionation of national and international businesses active in the trading of goldartisanal, unless they apply appropriate diligence procedures.International standards require companies to identify the impact on human rights by exercising a duty of diligence, that they prevent human rights violations that leuraction may cause and that they make up and make accounts for human rights abuses committedbecause of leuraction.Human Rights Watch is only aware of two companies, Kalotijewellery International of Dubai and Tony Goetz from Belgium, which have put reasonable diligence procedures.It may be other companies active in the gold trading in handcrafted this type of procedure, but Human Rights Watch has not been able to establish this fact.Parailleurs, it was not possible for Human Rights Watchd’Obtation of information on procedures and policies DEBON Number of companies active in the trade in the artisanal mines for mines.

At the national level, the Malian government is unwilling to take measures to place lents in the face of their responsibilities in this area.

The responsibility of the GOLD in Mali in Mali

On all the gold panning sites of Mali, small gold traders buy gold extracted by deanfants and adults.Sometimes the traders help at the time of the Malgation;In other cases, they buy gross or after the amalgamation.

Gold prices fluctuate and have reached record heights in 2011.In April 2011, the merchants spanked golds between 10,000 and 17,500 CFA francs (between 21.94 and 38.40 US $) for a gram of gold.[346] In Bamako, traders paid between 21,000 and 21,200 CFA francs (between 46.06 and $ 46.40 approximately) for a gram of gold, then which was negotiated at around 21,400 CFA francs (46, Around $ 94) the gram internationally.[347]

Most of the gold extracted artisanal mines is sold by local traders - which return to gold panning sites - to larger language in Bamako, sometimes by the intermediary canal.These biggest traders direct a trading desmais who are generally recorded as a limited liability company.Trade relations are memory and sustainable;Several traders of the areasmières have confirmed that they were still selling at the same trading house in Bamako.[348] with an occasion, a small gold merchant qualified his counterpart in Bamako as "boss" and another Occasion, a merchant based in Bamako showed a person who bought gold for him in the mines.[349] Some wealthy goldpaillers also engage in the golden of gold extracted from "their" mine "their" well;One of these operators of the Kéniéba region opened its own company in Bamako, removing all intermediaries.[350]

There is also a cross -border organ trade with Guinea or other Auvanovoisins, in both directions.[351] Part of gold from Mali mines is introduced under neighboring countries, but higher quantities are imported, for example Guinea and BurkinaFaso.[352]

It is the responsibility of the merchants of Mali and the sub-region to ensure that they do not buy gold extracted by children, but a good number of traders interviewed by Human Rights Watch have shown that they were little aware of their responsibility or that'they hardly cared.[353] A Keniéba's Nedociant denied the fact that children who are young that adolescents worked in mines.[354] Another recognized the existence of the problem, but he said that he could do nothing to change the situation.[355] Leproprottaire of a Bamako trading house argued that he was absolutely not aware of the work of Deenfants and that he had never visited any artisanal mine.[356] Another Bamako merchant reported that he did not know the risk associated with the use of mercury.[357]

Many traders even buy gold directly from children, an obvious sign of their tacit employment at child work.[358] A merchant pointed out:

The role of associates of gold areas

Malian mining gold areas organized within several organizations, including the Union Desoperators of Mali (UNOMIN), the Federationationational desorpailleurs du Mali (FNOM) and the association Desfemmes de Mali (AFEMIN).In some cases, these associations have helped goldsmiths to create cooperatives or economic interest groups, or their have material.[360] The professionalization of the gold panning sector could contribute to increasing the income of gold areas and, consequently, to reduce children's work.[361]

To date, it has not, however, the case.Who is, within certain associations, the emphasis is not sufficiently placed on problems such as children's work, the use of mercury and the exploitation of indigent goldpaper.Thus, some members of the Lachambre des Mines du Mali, an organ created recently to the expression of small and large mining companies, who were to admit that child labor was a professional.[362] The president of the House of Mines told Human Rights Watch:

He also defended infantile workforce, if by chance she, saying that in different work sectors, parents often worked with them with them.Another member of the House of Mines defended children's work by explaining that he was part of the education (socialization) of the child.[364]

On the other hand, the president of the National Fédération des Orpailleur du Mali expressed Sapré occupation as to the use of child labor and said that he wanted to take action by this.[365]

The responsibility of international companies active in lenegoce de l'Or

The official figures of Mali indicate that the amount of artisanal gold exported each year around four tonnes, a value of $ 230 million at the prices of September 2011.Nevertheless, real lacanity could prove more, because part of gold probably leaves the country of.Other figures obtained from the Malian Ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade show that during the first half of 2011, nine international companies were bought artisanal gold up to 83 million US Dollars.[366]

Swiss companies

The export statistics obtained from the Malian Ministry of Economy and Finance show Switzerland is the main trading partner of Mali in lenegoce of artisanal gold.[367] Between January 2009 and May 2011, quantities of artisanal gold exported from Mali to Switzerland for a value of 34 million US dollars.[368]

According to data obtained from the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Trade, between Janvieret June 2011, the Swiss company Decafin was the only export to Switzerland to Switzerland.[369] DECAFINEST A company based in Geneva, founded in 1977, active in the metals of preciousness and also operating as an institutional.[370] In a letter addressed to Decafin, Human Rights Watch described the use of infantile workforce in artisanal gold mines and asked the company to provide information on its policy and on the procédures that it hasEstablished to prevent the violations of the rights of the child, as well as on the Dontelle manner controls the situation of children on gold panning sites.Decafin, through his lawyer, said that the company "intervenes only at the end of it" and that it "has no nornial or with producing companies or with the government of Mali".[371] Following a meeting with Human Rights Watch, the company sent a second letter through its lawyer, declaring that it only intervened of a chain made up of at least four intermediariesand that it could not exercise any power of the pressure on producing companies or on the Dumali government.Nevertheless, the company stressed that it would argue its suppliers and the House of Mines of Mali on Les Conditions for the extraction of gold.The letter also indicates the guiding principles relating to business and rights of the man constitute its code of conduct.[372]

Dubai companies

The United Arab Emirates, and more partly Dubai, are the second most important destination for Malian artisanal gold.Between January 2009 and June 2011, Emirates companies bought gold for an approximate century of $ 18 million.[373]

According to statistics obtained from the dualisters of industry, investment and duct, four companies based in Dubai Ontacheté de l'Or artisanal during the first half of 2011: Kaloti Jewelery International, Mayer, Globe Gold and Salor DMCC.[374] Human Rights Watch has not been able to get the coordinates of Mayer, Globe Gold and Salor DMCC, and could not come into contact with these companies.By way of unintention, Human Rights Watch ignores whether these companies apply Desprocédures de diligence reasonable with regard to orartisanal which could have been produced thanks to the use of an infant worker.

In response to a letter writing the results of Human Rights Watch research on children's work in Mali craft mines, Kalotijewellery International informed Human Rights Watch of his child and other rights tohumans.[375] The company has also provided signed Documents by Malian merchants in which they declared that "the undersigned certify by the present that these meters come from an area spared by the Conflits, devoid of infantile labor and thatThey went through appropriate operating channels, based on personal knowledge ".[376] Kaloti Jewellery International informed Human Rights Watch that she had recently suspended all imports from her Malian customers, a measure that Human Rights Watch has neither recommended nor supported because they could be economic consequences for the communities of communities'goldsmiths, made up for children.[377] The Director General of Kaloti also became interested in support for initiatives aimed at ending children's work in this sector, for example describes to improve access to education.[378] Humanrights Watch continues his dialogue with Kaloti Jewelery International on Lesmesures that international companies should take to stem children's children.

Companies from other countries

Mali also exports several other European and North American countries, and in Thailand and China from the Origin.A merchant reported international buyers occasionally came to buy the gold directly on gold panning sites.[379]

According to figures obtained from the dualist of the economy and finance, between 2009 and 2011, the third largest trading partner in Mali after Swiss and the United Arab Emirates was Belgium.During the first half of 2011, a Belgian company, Tony Goetz, used some 60 kg, of a value of around 3 million indollars.[380] In response to the letter from Human Rights Watch concerning the use of infant workforce in the artisanal Golden Mali, Tony Goetz said that "the craft mines that make the use of extremely -to -do mercury are not atMany of Tony Goetz NV suppliers "and that their suppliers had said that they did not use infant workforce.The company Aégalement reported that "the quantity of Tony Goetz to Malian suppliers nerepreted only a very negligible quantity of the company's total purchases (namely less than 0.5% total desaches)".[381]

Government mining policy: inability to regulate the gold panning sector

The mining policy of the Governmentmalian is mainly focused on large -scale mining, which produces the majority of Mali Orexported, as well as the need to attract international investors.When the government deals with questions related to gold panning, the approach it adopts secularized especially by a leave and an indifference in the face of omnipresent poverty, at children's work and the use of mercury in craft mines.It is most gold panning activities, including those outside the gold panning corridors fixed by Lali.According to an official, 97 percent of the gold panning sites are used outside these corridors.[382] The government has failed to regulate and bring support to the sector, a measure which could increase the income from theeur and help to eradicate children's work.

One of the reasons for this situation is many officials of local communities and traditional desautorities are taking advantage of gold panning with the rights over the wells or by receiving part of the Golden laproduction as a customary owners of the Earth.[383] Sometimes, the officials of local authorities become operators and receive disabled people through the gold areas that work for them.An official of the Ministry of Mines said that there was "a conflict of interest when the mayor is goldsmith".[384] Consequently, local authorities - which exercise an control over gold panning activities - take their role as regulator seriously and are able to take action against children's work.Unresponsable Government explained to Human Rights Watch: "Sometimes the mayors earn money with Lesmines, so they do not exercise good control".[385] It is therefore not surprising that the managers of the central level consider gold panning as a "difficult" question and that the rules generally be to be interested in childhood work of children's work.[386]

Although stolen from certain thornys, the government has recognized the need for best information about this sector.Jointly with Labanque Mondiale, he currently carried out a study on the economic lerendant of the artisanal gold mines of Mali.[387] According to a manager of the ministry of mines, there is a volume to better regulate the sector, for example clearly ending the areas where summer gold panning.[388] Some government officials have announced the closure of Minesqui are located in classified forests or near water debut, but it remains to be seen whether this policy will be implemented.[389] In the Kolondiéba circle, the government announced theFermeture of a mine, but it then closed the site that the rainy season, when most gold areas leave to agriculture for several months for several months.[390] Even if it is possible that certain gold panning sites be in the future in the context of efforts aimed at approving the environment, it seems unlikely that more and more parts of this sector are declared illegal to be subjected to severe restrictions.The new Mining Code project continues to use the concept of corridors, while strengthening the role of minister of mines and the environment, illustrating the wish to control to a certain extent gold panning since the central legutment.[391] The recent creation of the Chamber of Mines of Mali is a sign of support for the sector, in particular the wealthy operators and the gold traders.

Regional and international initiatives aimed

The initiative for Latranspance in the extractive industries (EITI) in Mali

In August 2011, Mali Aadhered on the initiative for transparency in extractive lesindustries (ITIE).[392] The EITI is an international voluntary initiative which requires itsmembrases that they disclose information on payments to governments by oil, mining and gas companies.It brings together governments, businesses and groups in civil society.Countries that apply to become members of the EITI are subject to a validation process.[393]

The EITI concentrates almost exclusively on the obligations of governments and enterprises, mining and international gas, and it pays little attention to the national companies active in the trading of artisanal gold.However, by committing to comply with the standards of transparency in large -scale mining extraction, the Malian government has established an important principle which could, to come, be extended to the gold panning sector.

The action of civil society compared to the mining sector in Mali

Most groupings of Malian civil society focusing on mining exploitation focus their work on the large -scale mining sector.They observet collect information on the behavior of the government and desgrandes undertakings in terms of transparency, environmental desincances and the profit that local lapopulation withdraws from it.NGOs serve as a large counterweight from a degrees of a degrees, for example, by putting the government a parallel report or by collecting information on the damse caused by mining companies.[394]

Sometimes civil society groups are also interested in the orgate.The Foundation for Development in the Sahel, one of the main NGOs in this region, carried out a small study on the use of Mercury in Kangaba.[395]

Common mining policy and mining for West Africa

On the regional level, Lacommunauté Economique des States of Africa of West (ECOWAS) adopted a directive on extraction mining in 2009, and it is about to adopt a policyminière in 2011.A legally binding mining code is for 2014.[396] This process aims to harmonize the ways to achieve the question of mining extraction and avoid leveling from the bottom within the framework of which the states offer incentive conditions to international mining companies without sufficiently protecting the income from theState.

The directive underlines the obligation that states, holders of mining and other mining rights to respect human rights, in particular the children of the child, to protect the environment and to make transparency in transparency.Nevertheless, he barely mentioned gold panning.[397]

Politics, which ministers have been valid in June 2011 and which will be adopted later in 2011 by heads of state, addresses the questions related to the body.[398] It calls for the regulation and development of artisanal mining, and seals the commitment of member states to improve activities that are organized by introducing changes in the regulatory framework, as well as via the creation of cooperatives of gold areas, of the cooperatives,technical and financial assistance programs and other capacities strengthening.She also calls on states to "promote harmonious coexistence between large -scale mining operators and artisanal and small -scale mining operators".[399]

The future mining code could become an important recruitmental tool if it contains a clear dutovail ban on children in gold panning and prescribes measures aimed at reducing the use of mercury in the organ.

International efforts aimed at creating a child labor supply chain

Companies recognize more and more that they must join human standards, in particular to standards relating to children's rights and the environment.A series of voluntary standards and codes have been drawn up internationally; some are general, others are in the mining sector.Nevertheless, to date, their impact has been verylim the gold panning sector in Mali.

Certain initiatives seek to guarantee a chain of the artisanal gold without child work.More specifically, two organizations having acquired experience in the labeling of products from a fair duct and in gold panning published the Fairtrade and Fairmined Standard for Goldfrom Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, that is to say a standard"Fairtrade" (Trade Equitable) and "Fairmined" (Extraction Équitable) for gold from the artisanal or small scale exploitation.Beforeboundary of this fair trade label, producers have been organized within associations and small mining operators, adhere to conventions n ° 138 and 182 of the ILO, and exclude the use tomorrow from infantile work for dangerous workGoldening.This standard also requires that producers president to have access to training and employment.[400] Furthermore, producers must use techniques that make it possible to rely the use of mercury and they are required to give up certain risk practices, as the amalgamation of the golden ore with mercury, the fact of burning'amalgam in houses, or the use of mercury by deanfants, pregnant women and people suffering from certain Chronal diseases.[401]

The "fair trade" label offers the opportunity to promote best practices and highlight the need to exercise a duty of diligence.Its implementation, however, presentsdulted.As a general rule, it is difficult to disgust the validity of the fair trade label, as has been upstream of the use of infant workforce for the allegedly certified desparity.[402] At the current hour, this certification is limited to Latin American, but during 2012, several African countries will be the subject of an evaluation of their participation in this program.[403] The above -mentioned regional project on the reduction of mercury will examine whether it will be possible to come to introduce the label in Africa, among others in Mali.[404]

Companies active on the market of diamond and gold have also launched an initiative to promote ethical standards and they united to create the Council for Responsible Jewelery (Advice for a Pratique responsible for jewelry).[405] The organization has implemented a certification system for itsmembars, which are subject to a Devérification procedure to be admitted within the association.

International NGOs are ringing in a promising campaign entitled No Dirtygold (no dirty gold), which invites retailers to operate changes in the operating industry, in particular with regard to the damage caused by gold extraction.As part of this campaign, a set of general principles were developed and the retailers are unit to subscribe to it.These principles include adherence to international conventions and respect for normes in terms of work, but they do not mention children's work.[406]

Children's work in the artisanal gold mines of Mali exposes children to serious risks for their health and often prevents them from going to school.Gold children are sometimes also avictable of economic exploitation, constraints, trading people, physical mistreatment and sexual abuse.

Children are forced to work to increase family income;Furthermore, Deenfants work is accepted socially and considered as a useful educational experience.Many parents of children with gold areas who live in poverty and negagnate only a fraction of the gold they extract, because they have to pay rights to the traditional or local authorities for operators who engage them as workforce orpraise them.

The Malian government has failed to effectively tackle children's work in the order.Admittedly, he has taken some important measures to purify the rights of children, but he did not use his political weight to guarantee the effectiveness of ESPERFORTS.Existing initiatives tend to be isolated and do not benefit from political and financial support.Furthermore, central government policies have sometimes been led by local civil servants.In the context of decentralization, the central government aderned to local authorities a large part of the responsibilities in crucial fields such as what education, health and mining artisanal, but these local authorities do not work to fight against the work of the work ofchildren and to replace children's access to education and health care.

The DESENFANT work policy has not been fully implemented and lacks vitality: only a few rare labor inspections have taken place in the artisanal gold mines and the children's law of children is not applied.

The government's educational policy has not benefited workers' children, including those in the ornament areas, and it has not been adapted to their needs.Tuition fees, school failure and the poor quality of school dissuade many parents from sending their children to school.The government largely has its mission to make education accessible established for vulnerable children such as children with.

Mining policy focuses on the industrial mining outlet, which is the prerogative of international business, and it has strongly neglected theproblons related to artisanal exploitation, in particular children's work.In this sector, the government tends to support powerful operators and traders and wealth it takes advantage of craft mines at the local level, but it does not provide any support for ordinary gold areas.

With regard to the policy of Desanté, the Government has not drawn up detertégie or taken on concrete measures to prevent outtrait the health problems linked to the use of mercury or other questions associated with mining in areas.

Donors, the agencies of ONU and the associations of civil society have launched some useful initiatives relating to child labor, education or artisanal exploitation in Mali, but these initiatives were resolved without real planTogether, and it is struck by a lack of reliable funding and coherent support for.In particular, the ILO is bent to financing problems after the United States and the European Commission have been reducedly reduced the funds they allocated.Internationally, the ILO did not follow up on 2005 in favor of an action entitled "Minorsout of Mining" (age miners outside the mines), within the framework of which the governments of fifteen countries, of which Mali, were committed to eliminating the work of the Desenfants in the craft mines sector on 2015.

The Malian and International Agreements Activates in the gold trading are not sufficient to tackle child labor in the supply of supply, for example, by monitoring the minesqui to supply them in order to verify whether they do not use the Autravail of thechildren, and by insisting that their suppliers put anterme in the use of child labor if they see the existence of this work.The Malian government has not noticed accounts for traditional authorities and powerful exploits on mining sites, for example by carrying out regular work of regular work, and it did not insist on national traders to make a supply chain without work without workdesecants.

The dangerous work of children in the artisanal mins of Mali can only be eradicated to the Fifferent actors - the government, the Sociétécivile, the UN, the funders, the artisanal operators, the Goldennegiants in gold and the companies active in the trade—Donsidate that his eradication is aprise, bring him fully their political support, etc.ontribue to finance the efforts aimed at putting an end to it.

The Government must ensure that the competent national minister - the Duravail and the Public Service Ministry, the Ministry of Mines, Leministers of Health, the Ministry of Sanitation Environment, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry ofthe woman, the child and the lafamille - when the local authorities all work Deconcert.Depending on their field of expertise, various minister and government institutions should take the lead to focus on the points raised in the recommendations exposed below, and work in close collaboration with all the other ministries concerned.

First, the government should immediately take measures to put an end to the use of mercury by children working in artisanal mines.Furthermore, the government and all the parties conducted should unite their efforts to support and put the national action plan on children's work recently.They should also take descendures to improve access to education in gold panning areas, in particular in all tuition costs, providing support from community schools and by putting a social protection program for children and.In order to strengthen the communities of the Originator and improve hygiene entertainment, the government and the other stakeholders should provide support and strengthen the capacities of gold areas, in particular concerning technologies that reduce the use of the dumercure, and be interested inThe impact of mercury on goldsmiths, especially children.A national round table on dangerous wearing for children in craft mines should serve Deforum allowing to bring together the actors concerned and to create a dynamic for a concerted action.

Malian and international companies should assume their responsibility in relation to children's work and other questions relating to human rights, enappearing the principle of reasonable diligence and by exercising dismissals on their suppliers and on the government in order to achieve a tangible reduction in workchildren.A boycottimmediat and total of gold from Mali does not constitute a resident of human rights violations in the mines of Orartisanales of Mali.A boycott would risk reducing the indigenous descommunicates income of gold areas and would even be aware of an increase in children's work, families trying to increase their income.

Malian augoverment:

Put an end to child work in gold panning, understand in their use of mercury:

Improve children's access to health care in gold panning areas:

Improve access to education for children working in orartisanal mines:

Protect children working in gold panning areas against mistreatment

Improve the livelihoods of goldpairing communities:

To the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

In the countries of funders, the World Bank and the competent UN agencies, such as it, UNICEF, the UNUDI, the UNEP and the WHO:

To Malian and international activities in the trading of artisanal gold:

Take measures to guarantee a supply chain without children's work:

To Malian associations from the Ordiller:

To all governments:

Juliane Kippenberg, researchers in the Division Rights of the Child of Human Rights Watch, carried out the research due to report and ensured the drafting of it.Clive Baldwin, senior legal advisor, participated in the field research work.Judit Costa, assistant to the child's rights division, and Katharina Theil, trainee Roland Algaining to the rights of the child, gave their assistance to the work of documentary research.Katharina Theil also supplied the first draft of the section on the right -handed.

This report was revised by Zama Coursen-Neff, deputy director of the child's rights division;Matt Wells, researcher at the Africa division;Jane Cohen, researcher in health and human rights division;Chris Albin-Lackey, senior researcher at the Human Entreprises and Rights division;Agnes Odhiambo, researcher at women's rights division;Clive Baldwin, legal advisor;and Babatunde Olugboji, Deputy Director at the Duprogram Office of Human Rights Watch.The French translation as made by Françoise Denayer and Revuepar Peter Huvos.

Judit Costa and Noahbeaudette, assistants to the rights of the child;Anna Lopriore, creation manager;Grace Choi, director of publications;and Fitzroy Hepkins, mail manager, assigned their competition to the production of this document.

We would like to thank Ben Silverstone from Doughtystreet Chambers in London;Susan Gunn and Benjamin Smith of the International Labor Organization;Marcello Veiga, professor of mining engineering at the University of British Columbia (Canada);And Stephan Böse O'Reilly, Deputy Professor of Public Desanté, University of Health Sciences, Informatics and Medical Technology (Austria), for the precious advice they have provided to us on questionss and for their remarks aboutCeraptport or part of the report.

Above all, we would like to thank Lesnumberux Malian children who have had the courage to share them with them.We would also like to express our militant gratitude of NGOs, traditional authorities, goldsmiths, teachers, health workers and other people we met during our research and who have offered us support and their hospitality.We would also like the Malian government which has been open to discuss with us the questions addressed in the possible report.

Human Rights Watch does not have any information to establish whether the exporters appearing in the list presented below have set up Despolitic and/or Real Directs Relative Diligence of Artisanal Gold likely to be extracted from the use ofinfant worker.

Human Rights Watch has not been able to contact the people or companies mentioned below, with the exception of Decafin, Kalotiet Tony Goetz.Except with regard to these three companies, Human Rights Watchne has no information allowing to establish whether the persons or companies appearing below have implemented Despolitics and/or procedures of reasonable diligence anegoce of gold susceptible tobe extracted thanks to the use of infant manpower.

Human Rights Watch presumes that the name "Kaloute" refers to "Kaloti".