The International Labour Organization is stepping up its global effort to eliminate child labour particularly in the supply chain of mining.
The UN agency is working to achieve that by substituting its Caring Gold Mining Project with a four-year Accelerated Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (ACCEL) project which is expected to run for four years.
The project which is funded by the Netherland government is targeted at significantly eliminating child labour in the mining supply chain on the African continent.
Key among the expectations are for the ACCEL Africa project to work closely with central and federal governments, communities and civil society organizations to develop and implement public policy and good governance, empowerment and representation as well as partnership and knowledge sharing among global supply chain actors working in Africa.
Artisanal and small scale mining, which regrettably has some children involved until 2017 was pervasive in Ghana, particularly in the mining regions of Ghana.
In 2017 government imposed an initial six months ban on all forms of small scale mining in a bid to protect what was left of rather destroyed forests and water sources.
There were also concerns that the small scale mining sector was sending the country into the abyss because of the haphazard manner in which it was being done.
Artisanal mining which started as a livelihood activity in Ghana has now taken the shape of a capital intensive venture which is regrettably usually done in an unsustainable manner.
Globally, it is estimated that some 4.5 million people are said to be engaged in Artisanal Small Scale Gold Mining, with some 150 million people benefiting indirectly from the industry.
Sadly, however, there are human rights violations in the sector as a good number of minors are either forced into the enterprise or gleefully allowed by industry players to participate in what should be a reserve for adults.
A good number of the minors who engage in the Artisanal Small Scale Gold Mining, end up abandoning school to prematurely start their adult lives.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
DAMC, Free Food Company, to distribute 10,000 packs of food to street kids
46 minutes -
Kwame Boafo Akuffo: Court ruling on re-collation flawed
1 hour -
Samuel Yaw Adusei: The strategist behind NDC’s electoral security in Ashanti region
1 hour -
I’m confident posterity will judge my performance well – Akufo-Addo
1 hour -
Syria’s minorities seek security as country charts new future
2 hours -
Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo re-appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana
2 hours -
German police probe market attack security and warnings
2 hours -
Grief and anger in Magdeburg after Christmas market attack
2 hours -
Baltasar Coin becomes first Ghanaian meme coin to hit DEX Screener at $100K market cap
3 hours -
EC blames re-collation of disputed results on widespread lawlessness by party supporters
3 hours -
Top 20 Ghanaian songs released in 2024
4 hours -
Beating Messi’s Inter Miami to MLS Cup feels amazing – Joseph Paintsil
4 hours -
NDC administration will reverse all ‘last-minute’ gov’t employee promotions – Asiedu Nketiah
4 hours -
Kudus sights ‘authority and kingship’ for elephant stool celebration
4 hours -
We’ll embrace cutting-edge technologies to address emerging healthcare needs – Prof. Antwi-Kusi
5 hours