A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

Conclusion
Child labor in Mali’s artisanal gold mines exposes children to grave health hazards and
often prevents them from getting an education. Child miners also sometimes suffer
economic exploitation, coercion, trafficking, and physical and sexual abuse.
Children are sent into child labor to increase the family income; in addition, child labor is
socially accepted and viewed as useful educative experience. Many parents of child
laborers are artisanal miners living in poverty and who only earn a fraction of the gold they
mine, as they have to pay fees to traditional or local authorities and to miners who hire
them as workforce or who rent out machines.
The government of Mali has failed to address child labor in artisanal gold mining
effectively. While it has taken some important measures to protect children’s rights, it has
not put its full political weight behind these efforts. Existing initiatives tend to be isolated
and lack full political and financial support. In addition, central government policies have
sometimes been undermined by the laissez-faire attitude of local government officials. In
the context of decentralization, the central government has relegated much responsibility
for crucial areas such as education, health, and artisanal mining to local authorities, but
these authorities have not done enough to address child labor and children’s poor access
to education and healthcare.
Child labor policies have not fully been implemented and lack teeth. There have been
hardly any inspections of child labor in artisanal gold mines, and the law on child labor is
not being enforced.
The government’s education policies have failed to benefit child laborers, including those
in artisanal mining areas, and failed to adapt to their needs. School fees, lack of school
infrastructure, and poor quality of education deter many parents from sending their
children to school. The government has largely failed to make education accessible and
available for vulnerable children such as child laborers.
Mining policies focus on industrial mining, carried out by international companies, and
have largely neglected problems related to artisanal mining, including child labor. The
government tends to support powerful, wealthy miners and traders in the sector, and
benefits financially from artisanal mines at the local level, but is providing virtually no
support for ordinary artisanal miners.
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