What if Something Went Wrong Hazardous Child Labor in SmallScale Gold Mining in the Philippines HRW

Summary

In the Philippines, thousands of children mined money every day. Children are working in an unstable mine with a depth of 25 meters, which is about to collapse. In the water, the coast, and rivers, the oxygen tube is attached to the mouth and mining gold. In addition, there is a risk of irreparable health damage due to mercury poisoning to process gold using toxic metal mercury.

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In a survey in Camarines Norte and Masbate in the Bicolal region, Human Rights Watch talked about 65 children about craftsmanship and small gold mine work.

The children talked about the fear of getting off the tunnel and jumping into the hole. They complained of labor, such as back pain, skin infection, and muscle convulsions that match the symptoms of mercury poisoning. Human Rights Watch also interviewed a witness of a 1 7-yea r-old boy and an adult brother in September 2014, a witnessed and deadly accident that suffocated on the Fukumine mining.

The Philippine government has done little to protect children from the dangers of child labor in small gold mining. The government has ratified and enacted the law to fight the worst form of child labor, but has rarely implemented them. The government has hardly monitored child labor in mining, and does not impose penalties to employers, nor to withdraw children from such a dangerous working environment.

The government has taken several important measures to guarantee education to everyone, but the number of children who work in the gold mine is still concerned. Limited and environmental restrictions on smal l-scale mines, including the use of mercury in March 2015 and the prohibition of underwater mining, are enforced despite the government's promises that mining can be reduced and mining is useful for residents. Not done.

Furthermore, the Philippines signed the Minamata Treaty of Mercury in 2013, but has not yet ratified it.

The fact that the government does not take concrete actions not only has a shortage of staff and technical abilities, but also has a reputation for local residents in poor areas and miners and traders who depend on child labor. Reflects the lack of political will of countries and local officials to take.

The government should improve its child labor monitoring and child protection systems and reach out more to children who have dropped out of school. It should also ensure that programs to address the ills of poverty, such as free school meals and social assistance programs, reach families in mining areas who often depend on child labor for survival.

With regard to mining, the government should support the creation of a legal, regulated, child labor-free small-scale gold mining sector that helps rural families thrive. It should also ratify and implement the Minamata Convention. In particular, it should introduce mercury-free processing methods and take special measures to protect children from mercury.

Other countries should also act to eliminate child labor in this sector. The Philippines' central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, buys and exports gold from local vendors, but has no process for checking the conditions under which the gold was mined. The central bank, as well as international gold traders and refiners, should trace the gold back to the mines where it was extracted, require suppliers to source only child labor-free gold, and put in place strong safeguards to monitor child labor.

Methodology

Human Rights Watch conducted field research for this report in November 2014 and June 2015 in the provinces of Camarines Norte and Masbate in the Bicol region of the Philippines.

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Human Rights Watch researchers interviewed 135 people, including 65 children (44 boys and 21 girls) working in artisanal and small-scale mines. Human Rights Watch also interviewed four young miners, ages 18 and 19, who began working as children. Human Rights Watch also interviewed government officials, including barangay (village or district) officials and representatives from relevant ministries, traders, teachers, health workers, mining experts, and representatives of international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Whenever possible, Human Rights Watch interviewed children in private, isolated locations. Because privacy is difficult at mining sites, in some cases the interviews were conducted in the presence of other children and/or a few adults. Interviews were conducted in Tagalog, with the assistance of an interpreter when necessary. No compensation was paid to interviewees.

To protect the privacy of the children, all names have been replaced with pseudonyms.

I. Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mines

"Small gold mining" is defined in the Philippine Law as not using machines, simple, and mining with a large working population. [1] [Such small mines are also called craftsmen mine. In this report, the term "small gold mining" uses craftsman mining and smal l-scale mining more widely.

Small gold mining is conducted in more than 30 states in the Philippines, which is an important means of living for many poor rural areas. [2] Smal l-scale mining belongs to the informal sector.

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Estimated 200, 000 to 300, 000 are engaged in small gold mining. [3] According to official statistics, large and small mines produce about 18 tons of gold in 2014, with their market value of more than $ 700 million. [4] There is no reliable figure about the production of gold by small mining. This is because the estimated 90 % of gold is smuggled abroad and is not traded at the government managed by the government. [5] 70-80 % of the Philippine gold is estimated to be derived from small gold mining. [6]

Under the Philippine law, the government can specify a specific "people mining" (minahang bayan), which is allowed for small mining for miners with valid licenses. [7] [7] In fact, there are only four such areas throughout the Philippines, and almost all small mining companies are operating unauthorized outside such a designated land. [8]

Businessmen provide funds to mining work and machinery (such as air compressors, blower, ball mills that crush ore, etc.), and are profitable. [9]

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In March 2015, the government revised smal l-scale mining rules and regulations. In order to increase the number of legal mining projects, the government simplified licensing and simplified the process of the mining area declaration of people. [10] The government has also banned specific harmful mining, such as mining mercury and mining underwater (s o-called compressor). [11] However, he did not mention child labor and did not mention the ban on child labor.

According to the Philippine law, labor is 15 years old, and dangerous labor under the age of 18 is prohibited. [12] The Philippines ratified international laws on child labor, especially the minimum age of the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the worst form of child labor treaty, and provide underground labor, work in water, and dangerous substances. The work to be handled is dangerous, and it is one of the worst forms of child labor. [13] In 2013, the Philippines also passed the Basic Education Enhancement Law and obliged all children in the Philippines to provide compulsory education up to the age of 18. [14]

Despite such a powerful legal framework, child labor is common. According to the 2011 Child Labor Survey, about 3 million children are working in dangerous environments in the Philippines. [15] The main root cause is family poverty. Many working children do not go to school. Estimated 3. 5 million children are not going to school. [16]

A recent survey by the Philippine no n-governmental organization (NGO) has found that 14 % of children living in mining areas are engaged in mining. [17] Most of the child workers were 11 to 17 years old, but it turned out that younger children were working in mines. According to ILO's 2009 statement, more than 18, 000 boys and girls are working in mines in the Philippines. [18] Most of the children's labor in the Philippine mines are dangerous and fall under the worst form of child labor.

Underwater Mining

In the Philippines, many golden deposits are under the water. A unique mining method called compressor mining has developed in coastal areas along the coast, rivers, and wetlands. Diving in the water for a 1 0-meter depth in the water, the miners receive air from the tubes attached to the diesel engin e-driven air compressor on the ground. Most of this dangerous tasks do are adult men, but sometimes some boys.

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Human Rights Watch interviewed seven boys engaged in compressor mining and three young people who started this job as a child. They talked about the moment of fear when they dive for the first time. 1 4-yea r-old Dennis says: "I dive for the first time when I was 13 years old. It was dark, deep, and I felt scared because it was the first time ... I got used to it now." [19]

A boy who was pulling up a bag of ore from the compressor mine told Human Rights Watch that the same day he tried diving for gold for the first time: "Today I tried to go in, but I only lasted a minute. It was cold. It was very dark, and when I came out it was really cold." [20]

Divers usually enter narrow wooden tunnels (about 70 x 70 centimeters) dug into the bottom of the sea or river. Some stay underwater for an hour, some for three hours, and sometimes even longer. According to Human Rights Watch, some of the boys became extremely cold after being underwater for so long.

Samuel, 17, said: "It's very cold and very dark. The scary thing is that we've just started (digging a tunnel into the riverbed) and it's all mud." [21]

Gold divers are at risk of drowning due to lack of oxygen or landslides. In some cases, the compressor tubes that supply oxygen to the divers stopped working, forcing them to quickly start breathing air. One diver, Joseph (16 years old), said:

When the machine stops, especially the hoses, there's no air. It's normal. It happened to me."[22]

However, diving deep and then coming up quickly can also be dangerous. Small nitrogen bubbles can accumulate in the blood and cause "benching sickness" or "decompression sickness." This can result in joint pain, shortness of breath, brain damage, or embolism.[23]

Compressor mining also poses other health risks. Children who work long hours underwater often suffer from itchy and suppurating skin infections, known locally as 'long bolombo.'[These infections are caused by bacteria in the water.[25] In addition, children are exposed to carbon monoxide from diesel compressors, which increases their long-term risk of lung cancer.[26]

In March 2015, the Philippine government banned compressor mining. [27] Prior to this, some barangays had already passed local ordinances banning the practice. [28] Although compressor mining appears to have declined in recent years, it remains an important livelihood in Camarines Norte and continues despite the ban.

Mining in Underground Pits

Boys also work underground in dry tunnels, up to 25 meters deep, alongside adult miners. They are usually lowered into the mine by rope and work there for several hours. If the mine is deep, a fan is used to pump oxygen into the miners. If the mine is not too deep, the miners work without a fan, but often experience difficulty breathing.

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In September 2014, two brothers, Nel Pernesita (17 years old) and Joben Pernesita (31), died in the mine in the mine village in the suburbs of Camarines, Camarines, causing the risk of underground mining. It was revealed. Local authorities and their relatives concluded that the boy and his brother, who came to help him, had suffocated. [29] The brothers did other mining work and then entered the mine on their own. The owner of the mine was there, but he did not stop them, saying that "I do not interfere with the children", saying that they accept children as workers. [30] When the third brother entered the mine to see the other two, he found two dead. The death had a deep influence on the local community, but boys and men continued to work underground. [31]

Human Rights Watch talked to some boys working in the basement. Andres (14 years old) worked underground, but at the time of the interview, he was doing other mining. He worked 12 hours a day and took a lunch break on the ground around noon. [32] He said:

Occasionally, the bags containing ore were dropped on the toes. There are 30 kilometers ... It is difficult to carry ore and pull. It's too heavy, and when I take a rest, I feel weak. I didn't want to be there. It's tough. I'm scared because it might collapse. [33]

Some boys work 24 hours a day: In the morning, entering the pit, working all day and night, and leaving the mine only during a short break for meals. [34]

Children's workers talked about accidents in the underground tunnel about falling rocks, wooden beams, fallen, and tools they were using. 1 4-yea r-old Andrew working near a larg e-scale filminella mine in Masbate explained:

I have been working in a mine for a long time. I was with my father. My father goes to the mountains and tunnel. The tunnel is deep. The tunnel is deep. Follow the ore with your father and bring it to the ground. The ore is in a bag ... I often spent a night at the mine and return home at 4 o'clock in the morning ...

In 2011, he slipped his feet in the tunnel and injured his arm with a wire. This was surgery. I spent a day at the hospital ...

I also saw the Bardown (mine collapse) case. One of the panners was killed and his eyes were popping out. Bardown is common in our region and occurs when a filminella breaks. Every time it feels like an earthquake [35]

Edwin (17 years old) told Human Rights Watch:

At one point, when we were in the mine, our friends brought lumber. The rope wrapped around the tree loosened, and the timber fell on us. Fortunately, we managed to avoid it. Otherwise, we would have died there. [36]

Carrying Heavy Loads

Child workers often carry heavy luggage, whether they are young children, working underground and on the ground. Several children in interviews complained of pain in the back, shoulders, flanks, and hands by lifting and carrying heavy ore bags.

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One of the nin e-yea r-old David, who carries stones with many other small children, is one of the Boston mine in Capsay, Masbate. [He told Human Rights Watch that his back and legs hurt to carry heavy ore from tunnel to ball mill. [38] The girls also talked about the pain of carrying heavy luggage. [39]

Richard, about 10 years old, talked about his job:

I took the stone and crushed it with a hammer. I do it every day. Put the stone in a ball mill or later into bread crumbs ... When you carry a or e-containing bag, your flank will hurt ... Two days ago, when I carried the stone, the stone fell and my leg was hurt. Blood came out. I painted healing glass. I continued working. [40]

In the long term, carrying heavy luggage is harmful to children. [41]

Processing Gold with Mercury

Many miners engaged in craftsmanship and small gold mining are mined for gold mining, and they are processed with mercury, a toxic metal of liquids that form gold and amalgam. Mercury is cheap and easy to use. Processing using mercury is performed by many children, including girls.

Since mercury is commonly used in smal l-scale gold mining by craftsmen, about 70 tons of mercury are excreted in the environment every year in the Philippines. [42] It is only in the northern part of the Bengetto state that the miner processes money without the use of mercury. [43]

Mercury attacks the central nervous system, causes lifelong disorders, including brain disorders, and even death. Mercury is particularly harmful to children with a developing nervous system, and younger children are more serious. [44] Mercury is a threat to all people who are exposed to mercury, as well as workers dealing with mercury. Many surveys have shown that the load on mercury is significantly higher than inhabitants who do not live or work in the mining areas. [45]

Since mercury is accumulated in fish, the fish near the mining site, for example, on Mount Dirwar on Mindanao, is severely contaminated with mercury. As a result, it is taking health risks to the local community that eats fish. [46]. One study also revealed that the mercury concentration of school children near a small mining site was high. [47] According to the Ministry of Health, Rombron was diagnosed with 10 adults and two children in 2012 as a mercury poisoning due to small gold mining. [48]

Mining workers use two methods to process gold. One is a method of enriching the gold ore while turning it in a round pot, which is called a panning. After that, mercury is added to attract gold particles. Amalgam is separated from other soil, burned by a broker, mercury evaporates as toxic gas, leaving raw money. < SPAN> The Philippines has about 70 tons of mercury in the environment because mercury is commonly used in smal l-scale gold mining by craftsmen. [42] It is only in the northern part of the Bengetto state that the miner processes money without the use of mercury. [43]

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Mining workers use two methods to process gold. One is a method of enriching the gold ore while turning it in a round pot, which is called a panning. After that, mercury is added to attract gold particles. Amalgam is separated from other soil, burned by a broker, mercury evaporates as toxic gas, leaving raw money. Since mercury is commonly used in smal l-scale gold mining by craftsmen, about 70 tons of mercury are excreted in the environment every year in the Philippines. [42] It is only in the northern part of the Bengetto state that the miner processes money without the use of mercury. [43]

Mercury attacks the central nervous system, causes lifelong disorders, including brain disorders, and even death. Mercury is particularly harmful to children with a developing nervous system, and younger children are more serious. [44] Mercury is a threat to all people who are exposed to mercury, as well as workers dealing with mercury. Many surveys have shown that the load on mercury is significantly higher than inhabitants who do not live or work in the mining areas. [45]

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Mercury mixed with gold ore. © 2015 Mark Z. SALUDES for Human Rights Watch

Mining workers use two methods to process gold. One is a method of enriching the gold ore while turning it in a round pot, which is called a panning. After that, mercury is added to attract gold particles. Amalgam is separated from other soil, burned by a broker, mercury evaporates as toxic gas, leaving raw money.

The second method of using mercury is called "whole ore amalgamation" and is particularly harmful. Large amounts of mercury are dumped directly into a ball mill filled with whole ore (unconcentrated) and mixed in the running ball mill for a period of time, such as 20 minutes. After this, the mercury-gold amalgam is collected and burned to obtain the gold. The tailings are washed away. [49] Human Rights Watch researchers have observed uncontrolled flows of such light gray, mercury-contaminated tailings at some mining sites. In Malaya, mercury-contaminated tailings flowed directly into the Bosigon River, where children played, swam, and panned for gold.

Most of the child laborers interviewed by Human Rights Watch worked with mercury. The youngest child who burned the mercury-gold amalgam was 9 years old. [50] The children typically obtained the mercury from local traders. They mixed the mercury with their bare hands and often burned the amalgam, with no protection from the toxic fumes. Human Rights Watch observed the children burning the amalgam in a variety of locations, including indoors and in homes.

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Panning in Water

One of the children working with mercury was 13-year-old Ruth, who told Human Rights Watch that she was processing gold so her family could buy food. She started working at age 9, an age when she dropped out of school. She told a Human Rights Watch researcher:

[When you came] I was washing the ore. We put the mercury in it and we get the gold out of it. We burn it with a torch in the factory. I give the money I earn to my mother, who pays the ball mill owner 100 pesos (US$2. 23) per processing. [But sometimes I buy a bag and get nothing. [51]

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[52] Human Rights Watch interviewed several adults and mining workers for adults and children suffering from tremor and convulsions, a symptom that matched mercury poisoning. [One of them was Irene, and she started mining at the age of eight, and has been dealing with mercury since then. She is now 15 years old and talked to Human Rights Watch about the job of a child mineral group:

Impact on Schooling

Go to Ogawa with a pot and a shovel, where you use the pot. Scoop the stone and sand from the water in the pan. If you shake the pot for about 2 minutes, fine sand will come out ... Some people put mercury in a pot in the river, while others do it in the store like me. Put the refined sand in a pan and then put the mercury. Burn it with a torch. Amalgam burns in a clay pot. Mix mercury with bare hands. Because it is a fine sand, mix it by hand until it becomes a paste ...

No one told me how to handle mercury. Everything we are doing is just imitating the people who were doing it before ... I live with my parents. There are brothers. We are 12. Four of them work in Ogawa. 11, 12, 14 years old, and 15 years old. I have a 1 8-yea r-old brother and work in tunnel and tunnels.

I work in the rain, so I just recovered from heat. Panning is really hard, my body hurts, and my hands can be beans. My hands and legs are convulsed. Sometimes your hands are swollen ... I couldn't stand this spicy, so I thought I'd cut my wrist. [53]

Convulsions, tremors, and skin symptoms could be a symptom of mercury poisoning, but the interviews have not been tested for mercury exposure, and Human Rights Watch causes the symptoms of children. I couldn't identify it. Local health centers are not able to test for mercury poisoning and are often lacking in training on mercury poisoning. [54]

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II. Government Response

Many children searching for gold mine are standing in the water, continuing to touch mud and water, and as a result, they may suffer from skin diseases. [55] 1 4-yea r-old Roy, who searches for gold mining at a paracare compressor mining site, says that he was on the romborumbo: "Itchy, especially when it gets wet. I have an ointment. I am not a doctor. 4. 4. 4. ~ 5 days last. " [56]

Edgard (15 years old) covers money at a compressor's mining site. He started a small mining job at the age of 10. He said about the condition of his skin: "There is a rash on the feet. It's because of the water here. It swells like water, and when I scratch it, it suppurates. That's all. " [57]

Child Labor and Education

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By engaging in small gold mining, children skip school and sometimes drop out of school. Nearly on e-third of the children interviewed by Human Rights Watch had not been to school at all. One of them, Richard, dropped out in second grade. He says:

I stopped school in my second grade. I started bread from about 8 years old after dropping out ... I dropped out of school because my father died. We are three brothers and work here. [58]

Teachers in the mining area have stated that child labor in mining is causing children to drop out of school and irregular school. The principal of a elementary school in Panike, Masbate said: "Child labor in mining is one of the causes of dropping out here." [59]

Some of the child workers go to school, but they regularly speak classes to work in the mine. For example, Anna, a 1 3-yea r-old, is always on Tuesday to work with her mother. [60] Malaya's teacher said, "In extreme cases, they only see them (children working in the mining) during the exam, and are rested during the other periods." [61]

Children have no time to rest or study, and if they start working in mining, their grades may decrease. Children and teachers have pointed out that they are tired, slowed down, and lack of concentration due to mining labor. [62] Andrew (14 years old), working in the basement, explains: "I often got tired at school. [63]

The main reasons the children mentioned as a reason for dropping out and skipping schools were to help their parents financially. In addition, some children said they worked in the mine to earn school supplies. [64]

Despite a strong legal and policy framework, the Philippine government has done little to protect children from the harmful effects of child labor in mining. The government has done virtually nothing to monitor child labor in mines or to remove children from working in mines. It also does little to enforce laws and regulations on small-scale gold mining, and tolerates the social and environmental damage it causes.

The Philippines is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which protects, among other things, the right to safe and healthy working conditions, education, and the highest available standard of health.[65] [65] States are obligated to take measures, both on their own and with international assistance and cooperation, "to the maximum of their available resources with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights" of the Covenant.[66] The Philippines has also ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides various protections for children. [67]

Mining and Mercury Exposure

The Philippines has an ambitious legal and policy framework to eliminate child labor, but enforcement remains weak due to a lack of staff and technical capacity, a lack of political willingness among elected barangay officials to take unpopular steps, and a disconnect between the capital and decentralized local governments.

Under Philippine law, the minimum age for employment is 15 years old, and hazardous work, including underground and underwater mining, is prohibited for anyone under 18 years old.[68]

Under the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (2007-2015) and the Program Against Child Labor Convergence, the Philippines has set a goal of reducing the worst forms of child labor by 75% by 2015.[69]

For example, the government's conditional cash transfer program for poor families is specifically targeted to child labor households and is complemented by other livelihood support programs. [The Campaign for Child Labor-Free Barangays seeks to support local governments in their efforts to create communities free of child labor. [71] Local governments may also enact ordinances prohibiting child labor to enforce national laws. [72] Under the leadership of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), various government agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Education, address child labor issues and coordinate through the National Child Labor Commission (NCLC).

International support organizations have almost positively consider the Philippines's initiatives. For example, the U. S. Ministry of Labor believes that the Philippines has achieved a "big move" in child labor. [73]

However, the actual actions on site are not as follows. Inspections are not organized and rare in the mining sector. The number of labor supervisors has been increased by more than 300 in recent years [74], but the inspection has not yet worked. According to the Ministry of Labor Employment, the Ministry of Labor Employment is not stationed locally, so the balanced guys must monitor themselves. [75]

The Balangai Program, which has no child's labor, has only a small part of all the balanced guys, and it is not declared that even a balancer who is participating in the program has no child labor. [Child protection and police abilities are also limited at the balancing level. [Camalines Norte and Masbate officials have not inspected Human Rights Watch for child labor in mines. [The Ministry of Environmental Natural Resources (DenR) has been requested to participate in NCLC, but has not participated. [79]

Even if child labor is confirmed by other stakeholders, government authorities do not necessarily respond quickly. When a local newspaper reported about child labor in Masbate, DSWD acknowledged that "no one was sanctioned and no responsibility was charged." The ministry explained the enlightenment activities on child labor, but said that the children were not hired by anyone, but said that they worked alone, minimizing the problem. [81]

Responsibilities of Gold Trading Companies

Regarding education, the government has achieved important results. The Foundation Enhancement Law has extended free compulsory education to the age of 18, and has taken various measures to enhance the school and enhance education and make education compatible with the needs of children. [For example, in the alternative learning system, the government dispatches mobility teachers and provides school education in distant areas. [However, elementary schools are currently 89 %, but high school schools are much lower. [84] According to the Ministry of Education's Deputy Secretary: "The current problem is that the entrance rate to high school is decreasing. I will not enroll or drop out." [85]

About one in ten children between the ages of 6 and 14 is not in school, an absolute number of about 3. 5 million. [86] When elementary and high school-aged children begin attending classes irregularly or drop out altogether, the government has no clear procedures to ensure that measures are taken to return them to school. [87] The government also has no programs specifically targeted at mining areas. [88]

The Philippine government has largely failed to enforce laws, regulations, and policies regarding small-scale mining and mercury. This appears to be due in large part to a lack of capacity, disconnection at the central, regional, and local levels, and a lack of political will among local officials.

Most small-scale gold mining in the Philippines is conducted outside government-designated mining zones and is effectively illegal. Mine inspectors based in regional cities rarely inspect small-scale gold mines and fail to enforce mining and environmental laws and regulations. But when officials try to enforce the rules, they run into problems. An official from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), part of the DENR, told Human Rights Watch, "Our problem is... the PNP (Philippine National Police) should be the one to crack down on it." [89] [89]

Recommendations

To the Government of the Philippines

Government officials comment that politicians and local government themselves are often involved in mining operations. [90] As a result, they have little interest in regulation.
- For example, in September 2014, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau issued a suspension order for small-scale gold mining operations in Malaya, Camarines Norte, citing environmental and labor hazards as the main reason. [91] [91] However, local authorities and police did not take steps to enforce the ban. [92]
- Despite its commitment to protecting people and the environment from this toxic substance, government action on mercury has also been inadequate. The Philippines strongly supports the development of a new UN treaty on mercury and signed the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which was adopted in 2013. [93] [93] The Philippines is currently undergoing an assessment of its legal framework and mercury emissions, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme, but has not yet ratified the treaty. [94]
- The government has developed the National Strategic Plan for the Phasing Out of Mercury in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining 2011-2021, whose goals are broadly aligned with those of the Minamata Convention.[95] The plan sets targets of reducing mercury emissions by 25% in 2014 and 45% in 2017, eliminating harmful practices such as total ore amalgamation and amalgam incineration in residential areas, and introducing mercury-free alternatives.[95] The government is involved in some implementation activities, which are led by a local nongovernmental group, Ban Toxics, with financial support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). [For example, Ban Toxics and the Ministry of Health have begun training health workers on mercury.[98] However, four years after its launch, there is no clear mechanism to monitor the implementation of the action plan. The government has also not assessed whether the 2014 target of a 25% reduction in mercury use has been achieved. [99]
- To strengthen control over small-scale gold mining, the government has been banning harmful mining methods while simultaneously accelerating the formal mining process. In March 2015, the government adopted an executive order reviewing and clarifying the process for obtaining licenses and declaring people's mining areas.[100] The executive order also bans the use of mercury and compressor mining.[100] [101] Prior to this executive order, the use of mercury was permitted for mining, and compressor mining was prohibited only by local ordinance.[102]
- If these measures help strengthen government regulations and comply with environmental and mining laws, it is a step in the right direction. However, by June 2015, three months after the adoption of the measure, illegal mercury mining and underwater operations continued unabated. [103] Government officials at the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), part of the DENR, whom Human Rights Watch inquired about the executive order, were unaware of its existence and subsequently told Human Rights Watch that the MGB was responsible for implementation. The government has developed a "National Strategic Plan for the Phase-Out of Mercury in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining 2011-2021," whose goals are broadly aligned with those of the Minamata Convention.[95] The plan includes targets to reduce mercury emissions by 25% in 2014 and 45% in 2017, eliminate harmful practices such as total ore amalgamation and amalgam incineration in residential areas, and introduce mercury-free alternatives.[95] While the government is involved in some implementation activities, they are led by a local nongovernmental group, Ban Toxics, with financial support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). [For example, Ban Toxics and the Ministry of Health have begun training health workers on mercury.[98]However, four years after its launch, there is no clear mechanism to monitor the implementation of the action plan. The government has also not evaluated whether the 2014 target of a 25% reduction in mercury use has been achieved.[99]
- To strengthen the control of small-scale gold mining, the government is banning harmful mining methods while simultaneously accelerating the formal mining process. In March 2015, the government adopted an executive order reviewing and clarifying the process for obtaining licenses and declaring people's mining areas.[100] This executive order also bans the use of mercury and compressor mining.[100][101] Prior to this executive order, the use of mercury was permitted for mining, and compressor mining was prohibited only by local ordinance.[102]
- If these measures help strengthen government regulation and compliance with environmental and mining laws, it is a step in the right direction. However, by June 2015, three months after the measure was adopted, illegal mining and underwater operations using mercury continued unabated.[103] Government officials at the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), part of the DENR, whom Human Rights Watch inquired about the executive order, were unaware of its existence and subsequently told Human Rights Watch that the MGB was responsible for implementation. The government has developed a National Strategic Plan for the Phasing Out of Mercury in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining 2011-2021, whose goals are broadly aligned with those of the Minamata Convention.[95] The plan includes goals of reducing mercury emissions by 25 percent in 2014 and 45 percent in 2017, eliminating harmful practices such as total ore amalgamation and amalgam incineration in residential areas, and introducing mercury-free alternatives.[95] [96] The government is involved in some implementation activities, led by a local non-governmental group, Ban Toxics, with financial support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). [For example, Ban Toxics and the Ministry of Health have begun training health workers on mercury. [98] However, four years after its launch, there is no clear mechanism to monitor the implementation of the action plan. The government has also not assessed whether the 2014 target of a 25% reduction in mercury use has been achieved. [99]
- To strengthen control over small-scale gold mining, the government is banning harmful mining methods while simultaneously accelerating the formal mining process. In March 2015, the government adopted an executive order to review and clarify the process for obtaining licenses and declaring people's mining areas. [100] The executive order also bans the use of mercury and compressor mining. [101] Prior to this executive order, mercury use was permitted for mining, and compressor mining was only prohibited by local ordinance. [102]
- If these measures help strengthen government regulations and compliance with environmental and mining laws, it is a step in the right direction. However, by June 2015, three months after the measure was adopted, illegal mercury mining and underwater operations continued unabated. [103] Government officials at the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), part of the DENR, whom Human Rights Watch inquired about the executive order, were unaware of its existence and subsequently told Human Rights Watch that the MGB was responsible for implementation.
- Under Philippine law, traders sell gold to buying stations established by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for that purpose.[104] The buying stations are located in the country's major mining areas.[105] But the bank has no safeguards to ensure it does not profit from child labor. A Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official told Human Rights Watch:
To Donors and UN Agencies
- We don't ask questions about how the gold is mined. It's part of the agreement. There are no rules on child labor. It's up to the Department of Labor to address child labor.[106]
  - As set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, all businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights. This means avoiding causing or contributing to human rights violations through their own activities and addressing violations that occur. It also means preventing or mitigating human rights violations directly linked to their operations, even if they were not complicit in the violations. [107]
  - For companies involved in gold mining in the Philippines, this responsibility means ensuring that their operations are not complicit in child labor, including by allowing child labor into their supply chains. Companies are responsible for putting in place effective human rights due diligence mechanisms to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for their adverse human rights impacts. [The central bank of the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, has a special responsibility as a government agency not to contribute to human rights violations and should be instructed to conduct human rights due diligence, including due diligence on children's rights. [109]
  - Develop a strategy to address child labor in mining and include it in the new Child Labor Program, which will replace the Philippine Child Labor Program. As part of this strategy,
  - investigate and monitor child labor in small-scale gold mining, place labor and mining inspectors near mining areas, and give them the authority and resources to conduct regular inspections;
  - improve the availability of social workers with the capacity to guide and assist children in leaving child labor;
  To International Gold Traders and Refiners
  - direct the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to participate in the National Child Labor Committee and be directly involved in addressing child labor;
  Illegal gold miners remove equipment and escape crackdown in Amazonas
  
  Improve access to education for children working in small mines. This includes follo w-up of students who frequently absent or drop out of schools, provide a bridging program to return to school, and support children who are weak in mining areas. Includes the use of target protection means;
  
  Provides the opportunity of appropriate youth par t-time employment to youth between the ages of 15 and 17, which does not hinder compulsory education.
  The administrative order in March 2015, which prohibits the use of mercury and compressor mining; Introducing a gold processing method that does not use mercury and implementing a "national strategy plan for stepping on mercury in small craftsmanship", including the abolition of the use of mercury by children;
  Ratification of the Minamata Treaty on Mercury and implements the provisions;
  
  Ratify the Minamata Treaty of Mercury and carry out the provisions. We carry out b i-monitoring in small mining areas, evaluate the level of mercury exposure in the local community, and provide treatment to the necessary people;
  
  Improve access to medical care for mines for mining health, including mercury exposure.
  
  Providing the Filipino government to provide support to ensure the above recommendations, especially in the following fields:
  
  Surveillance of child labor and escape from child labor;
  
  Support activities for no n-school children
  
  Dredges are hidden in the forest until the dust settles
  
  Employment of appropriate youth
  
  Bi o-monitoring of children's mercury in the mining area;
  
  Introduction of gold processing methods that do not use mercury.
  Human rights policy, complete documentation of chain of custody, regular monitoring and testing, contracts with suppliers who prohibit child labor, qualified thir d-party monitoring, public reports, etc. Introducing a thorough duployment procedure to identify child labor and other human rights risks in supply chains.
  Region is among the most violent in Amazonia
  
  This article is part of the Amazon Underwork project c o-survey by InfoAmazonia, La Liga Contra El Silencio, and Armando. info. The purpose of this project is to map the actions of the Armed Group in the Amazon. The full text will be announced in July.
  
  Barça is discovered during a joint operation for maintaining security in Mega Galinpo, which is close to the border with Colombia
  
  Author: Bram Evas, Rodrigo Pedroso
  
  May 26, 2023 15:00 (updated August 3, 2023 18:34)
  
  According to satellite images, the color of the river changed quickly due to the interruption of gold mining. Operators on a dredge, which cost up to 1. 4 million dollars, said they would return to the area after the government's mining operation.
  
  In Amazonas, Brazil, near the border with Colombia, a joint operation has been held along a remote river in recent days, and at least 29 dredged boats have been burned. The video flowing to the mining worker's WhatsApp group shows a flam e-wrapped equipment. According to some sources, explosives were used to make it unusable.
  
  Satellite shows immediate effect of dredges’ departure
  
  Amazon Underworld visited the area in February this year and counted more than 80 dredging ships along the 394 km lon g-length Pullue River (140 miles).
  
  The crackdown, called the Agata Who Arrangement Operation Operation, involves the army, the Federal Environment Agency Ibama, the Indigenous Agency FUNAI, and other government agencies. The targets are the Juami River and the Pullue River. Infoa Mazonia, Liga Contra El Silencio (Colombia), Armando. In the 226 km (14 0-mile) section of the 394 km lon g-length Pullue river between the Pulseeno community, which is a small mine settlement consisting of a floating prostitution, we counted more than 80 dredging ships.
  
  At that time, mining workers, government officials, and Japura's gold traffickers had about 150 dredging boats along the Puru River and their tributaries, and Juami near the federal reserve, Juami Japura Economy. It was estimated that there were about 150 dredged boats along the river. In other words, the incineration of a dredged ship that was held this month is less than 10 % of the number of dredging boats operated in this area.
  
  Credit: Laura Kurtzberg/InfoAmazonia
  
  It was rumored that many of the illegal minions called Garin payo may have government investigations in this area, despite the larg e-scale crackdown by multiple ministries and agencies. It may be because you left the river. At least one miner said that he was scared to see a small airplane flying over the area. In response to this, some of the miters tried to move dredging ships or hide in plants growing in nearby rivers and lakes.
  
  Another miner headed to Tefe, the largest city in the region before the attack. The owner of the dredge he worked decided to hide a dredge in a village along the river. But that effort failed. "It was found by security forces and was burned," said mining workers.
  
  Long-running cat-and-mouse game in Amazonia
  
  In one video, the mineral throws water with a bucket towards the burning dredge. In another video, a speed boat full of police officers is approaching the dredger, as the photographer says, "It will not take that long until they get our dredging ship."
  
  A person shooting a dredged ship approaching a dredger --Reprodução/Whatsapp
  
  The japura area is one of the most dangerous and violent areas in Amazon because of illegal mining.
  
  In a remarkable place, Purue does not attract any poor workers, despite the danger of an offshore money mining. Along the river, everything is traded, from day labor to soft drinks and sexual labor. As a result, mining workers are prey for pirates. In particular, on a long trip to Japura, the closest to the town of the mining area, mining workers purchase supplies and sell precious metals.
  
  The Brazilian environmental institution Ibama estimates the cost of construction of dredged boats to about $ 1. 4 million from $ 150, 000. It also estimates that 29 dredged boats that have been destroyed may have produced illegal gold of $ 4. 6 million a month. According to the Brazilian Navy, the operation has seized 7. 3 kg of mercury (toxic substances that have been used for gold extraction and have a serious adverse effect on the environment), and also seized weapons and ammunition.
  
  An illegal and illegal dredging ship of an industrial size that started in February. The dredged boat has been operating 24 hours a day, and it is said that about 300 dredged boats were running on the Puru River and the Juemi River. Photo Andres Cardona/InfoAmazonia
  The dredged ship is also operating in Pullue National Park on the Colombian side. In 2020, the number of mining in the area after the Ranger abandoned the park due to the threat to the opposition group of the Colombian Revolutionary Army (FARC).
  
  Border hopping is escape strategy
  
  The following year, the Brazilian army developed a strategy against FARC guerrilla, which had robbed a gold nugget from a Brazilian mining worker across the borders. The Columbians were in the distant Japura town.
  
  The impact of the dredgers on the river is so intense that satellite images show the rapid change in the color of the water in just a few days as mining stops and miners leave. On the left, from May 3, the amount of sediment stirred up by the dredgers makes the Plué look like coffee with cream (café com leite in Portuguese). On the right, from May 17, a few days before operations began, the river's color is closer to its natural black.
  
  On May 3 (left), the sediment stirred up by mining makes the Plué look like coffee with cream. On the right, from May 17, after mining operations had stopped.
  The mining dredgers used in the region, called dragas in Spanish and Portuguese, are huge machines with an improvised appearance. They are often multi-layered and very powerful. The lower deck is usually filled with machinery, while the miners, workers, and sometimes their families live on the upper deck, which may have the comforts of city life such as Wi-Fi and satellite TV.
  
  The dredgers' noise is deafening, between giant generators, powerful motors, and thousands or millions of gallons of water flowing over huge sluice gates. Huge hoses suck up mud from the riverbed and let it flow over the sluice gates. Miners mix it with mercury and combine it with gold to make nuggets. The nuggets are then heated in a broker to evaporate the mercury, leaving behind the gold nuggets.
  
  Some gold nuggets contain mercury like this. Photo: Bram Ebus/InfoAmazonia
  
  This mining takes a toll on the environment, filling rivers with silt, changing their course, and destroying or dramatically altering aquatic habitats. Mercury, which causes neurological damage, is dumped into the rivers and accumulates in the food chain, especially in larger fish and the animals that eat them (including humans). The risk is especially high for indigenous people and people living in riverine communities who rely on fish as their main source of protein.
  
  Miners do their best to stay one step ahead of government security forces. In February, one garimpeiro, who started working in Plué in the 1980s, when mining in the area was just beginning, described decades of dealing with illegal miners and law enforcement. "I started working here 30 years ago, when the first draga came," he said. "I worked there the first year, then I started working on other rivers. When there were raids, the police closed the site and we moved to another site." But even the risk of losing their dredger in a raid doesn't deter the miners. No other profession, except drug trafficking, promises such high rewards, and miners can recoup the cost of a destroyed dredger in a few months of illegal mining. A miner waiting for a raid in Tefe said he had no intention of giving up his illegal trade, which brings him an average of 50 grams of gold a week (worth about US$2, 800 at current prices in Japra gold shops). But he was frustrated.
  
  “They only do this to miners, they don’t do anything to the drug dealers,” he said of the security forces’ crackdown. “I worked as a locksmith for seven years and couldn’t buy land. I went to work in the mines and bought a house in one year.” Asked if he would return to the mines, he said, “I don’t know, but I want to. I want to finish my house.”
  
  I worked as a locksmith for seven years and couldn’t buy land. I went to work in the mining industry and bought a house in one year.
  
  Elim Poon - Journalist, Creative Writer
  Last modified: 27.08.2024
  
  Goal: Reduce child labor and improve working conditions in artisanal and small-scale gold mining is wrong with small-scale mining. A study conducted by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) () in Camarines "What if something went wrong? hazardous child labour in small- scale gold mining in. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities are associated with numerous health hazards among children, including exposure to dangerous.

Play

accepted

What if Something Went Wrong Hazardous Child Labor in SmallScale Gold Mining in the Philippines HRW

Summary

Methodology

I. Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mines

Underwater Mining

Mining in Underground Pits

Carrying Heavy Loads

Processing Gold with Mercury

Panning in Water

Impact on Schooling

II. Government Response

Child Labor and Education

Mining and Mercury Exposure

Responsibilities of Gold Trading Companies

Recommendations

To the Government of the Philippines

To Donors and UN Agencies

To International Gold Traders and Refiners

Illegal gold miners remove equipment and escape crackdown in Amazonas

Dredges are hidden in the forest until the dust settles

Region is among the most violent in Amazonia

Satellite shows immediate effect of dredges’ departure

Long-running cat-and-mouse game in Amazonia

Border hopping is escape strategy