UN: Ban children working in mines and quarries

The UN labour agency today urged a ban on child labour in small-scale mines and quarries, which are among the world’s most dangerous workplaces, within the next 10 years.

The International Labour Organisation called on governments, unions and employers to provide economic help to the small, family-operated mines to make them less dependent on inexpensive help from children.

“It is too dangerous, and children are in fact losing their lives as we speak,” said Guy Thijs, who heads the organisation’s department for the elimination of child labour. “It’s one of the most horrendous forms of child labour.”

The agency estimates that at least one million children aged five to 17 currently work in small, unregistered mines and quarries around the world.

At least 14 countries – including Brazil, Ghana, Nicaragua, Pakistan and the Philippines – have signed an accord committing to eliminate child labour within five to 10 years.

“This is an extreme form of hazardous work, and we are convinced that with a concerted effort among our constituents we can relegate child labour in mining and quarrying to the dustbin of history,” Thijs said.

These countries, however, were only taking “a first step by saying this is a problem”, and such projects will require financial support from governments and international donors, the organisation said.

Pilot projects in Mongolia, Tanzania, Niger and South America have shown that increased investment in rural communities helps improve safety standards and minimum age regulations, as well as offering training and schooling alternatives for children, the agency said.

Child mining is prevalent in mineral rich countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, and children in the developing world also work breaking rocks to make gravel and build roads.

Most mines with child labourers are located in remote and poor areas and run by families or communities that offer few employment alternatives, while also giving authorities little access to the children.

“These are places without pay-cheques where children scratch around in the ground for a bit of silver,” said the labour organisation’s spokesman, David St John.

Besides keeping children out of school, small-scale mining and quarrying poses a huge risk to a child’s overall health ranging from chronic diseases to potentially fatal accidents. The ILO also said children working in mining often ended up trading drugs and alcohol.