A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

Artisanal miners who have been assigned a particular shaft sometimes hire others to work
for them. They are considered “owners” of the shaft. Several artisanal miners in the
Kéniéba region explained that they had to give two out of three bags of ore to the “owner”
of the shaft. 29
In some areas, miners have set up cooperatives or economic interest groups to invest
together in equipment, improve efficiency of the work process, and increase income. 30
Child Labor and Migration in West Africa
Child labor is very common in Mali and other parts of West Africa. In the context of poverty,
child labor is a common strategy to increase household income. Mali’s official figures state
that about two-thirds of children in Mali work, and about 40 percent of all children
between the ages of five and fourteen perform hazardous labor. In absolute figures, an
estimated 2.4 million children are doing work that is considered harmful. 31 Child labor puts
children at a disadvantage in accessing an education and the wider labor market, and
exposes children to a range of human rights abuses, including labor exploitation, violence,
and trafficking. 32
The majority of children in Mali work in agriculture. Other sectors include domestic work—
almost entirely performed by girls— husbandry, fishery, handicraft, commerce, and artisanal
mining, including artisanal gold mining and quarrying. Another form of child labor is the
forced begging by pupils of Quranic schools (talibés) who are exploited by their teachers. 33
There is a long history of child migration in West Africa. 34 Younger children are often sent to
live with relatives, a practice called confiage (child fostering). 35 For adolescents—older
29 Human Rights Watch interview with Tiémoko K., 15, Baroya, April 3, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with Yacouba C., 16,
Baroya, April 3, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with village chief and community leaders, Baroya, April 3, 2011. The practice
is also identified by Seydou Keita, “Etude,” p. 16.
30 Seydou Keita, “Etude,” pp. 16-17; Email communication from Sidiki Coulibaly, ONG Réseau d’Appui et de Conseils (RAC),
May 23, 2011.
31 Ministère du Travail et de la Fonction Publique, “Plan d’action national pour l’élimination du travail des enfants au
Mali,” April 2010, p. 10.
32 Understanding Child’s Work (ILO/UNICEF/World Bank Group), “Comprendre le travail des enfants au Mali”, Rome, May
2009, pp. i-iii.
33 ILO/IPEC Mali, “Etude CAP. Travail des enfants au Mali,” Bamako, September 2008, pp. 29-33; Understanding Child’s
Work, “Comprendre le travail des enfants au Mali,” pp. 25-30; US Department of Labor, “2009 Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor,” 2010, http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/pdf/2009OCFTreport.pdf (accessed August 9, 2011), pp. 417-
425. On forced begging, see also Human Rights Watch, Off the Backs Of the Children: Forced Begging and Other Abuses
Against Talibés in Senegal, April 2010, http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/04/15/backs-children-0.
34 Loretta E. Bass, Child Labor in Sub-Saharan Africa, (Boulder: Lynn Rienner 2004); Morten Bøås and Anne Hatløy, “Child
Labour in West Africa: Different Work – Different Vulnerabilities,” International Migration, vol. 46 (3), 2008, pp. 3-25.
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