Philippines: Children Risk Death to Dig and Dive For Gold
Enforce Child Labor, Health and Mining Laws
(Manila) – The Philippine government is failing to protect children who
dig and dive for gold in dangerous small-scale mines, Human Rights Watch
said today in a new report and video, released ahead of Children’s
Month in the Philippines.
dig and dive for gold in dangerous small-scale mines, Human Rights Watch
said today in a new report and video, released ahead of Children’s
Month in the Philippines.
The 39-page report, “What…if Something Went Wrong: Hazardous Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines”
documents how thousands of Filipino children – some just 9 years old –
work in illegal, small-scale gold mines, mostly financed by local
businessmen. Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits or underwater
along the coastal shore or in rivers, and process gold with mercury, a
toxic metal. In September 2014, a 17-year-old boy suffocated in an
underground mine because there was no machine providing oxygen. The
Philippine government should act on its public commitment to end child
labor in mining, Human Rights Watch said.
documents how thousands of Filipino children – some just 9 years old –
work in illegal, small-scale gold mines, mostly financed by local
businessmen. Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits or underwater
along the coastal shore or in rivers, and process gold with mercury, a
toxic metal. In September 2014, a 17-year-old boy suffocated in an
underground mine because there was no machine providing oxygen. The
Philippine government should act on its public commitment to end child
labor in mining, Human Rights Watch said.
