Tackling Child Labor in Artisanal Gold Mines in Uganda
Excerpt from the 2020 State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector
Focus Area: Eradicate Child Labor and Create Decent Youth Employment
Case Study: Tackling Child Labor in Artisanal Gold Mines in Uganda
In Uganda, it is estimated that 12,000 children under 14 years old are engaged in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) (Schipper, de Haan, and van Drop 2015). These children undertake tasks such as digging in deep open pits, carrying stones to and operating grinding machines, and washing the ground ore (NRDO 2017). They also work in and around mines preparing and serving food and refreshments. Oftentimes boys and girls perform different tasks. This work in ASGM is considered by experts as a worst form of child labor (WFCL) due to the harsh working conditions, handling and exposure to toxic chemicals like mercury, and the vulnerability of young women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The subsistence level wages of ASM miners leave many families in a poverty-trap often relying on incomes brought in by children to support household expenditures (Hilson and Pardie, 2006). However, poverty is not the only driver for child labor, a lack of decent work for adults, and lack of and access to quality education are also contributing factors. It often results in both children and parents placing a low value on education and opting by choice or need for economic gains instead.
Additional Info
- Author(s)
- Y C Rivera
- Publication Year
- 2021
- Associated Partners
- Solidaridad, Fairphone, Philips, Fairtrade UK, Impact Facility, Hivos/Stop Child Labour Coalition, UNICEF
- Language
- English
- Publishing Institution Webpage
- https://www.delvedatabase.org
- Data Source Classification
- Global Report
- Research Type
- Both
- Research Methodology
- Primary - OBSERVATION, Secondary - PREVIOUS RESEARCH, Secondary - OFFICIAL STATISTICS
- Thematic Tags
- Social, Child Labor, Employment, Human Rights, Labor and Working Conditions, Livelihoods, Modern Slavery, 2020 State of Sector
- Country
- Uganda
- Last Updated
- July 1, 2021