Violation of children’s rights in the UAE

Working of children in mines cannot be justified by any logic. Unfortunately every now and then reports of such infringement in the world mines are received and now it is the turn of the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE is located in southwest Asia and in the east of Arabian Peninsula bordering with Qatar and Arabia to the south, Oman to the east and the Persian Gulf to the north. The UAE is a union of 7 small Sheikhdoms namely Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain which was shaped on December 2, 1971.

Dubai is one of the most populated sheikhdoms and after Abu Dhabi it is the biggest city of the UAE. This city has turned into a main hub of trading gold in the world so that about 40% of all gold transactions are carried out there.

But it is not just the glittering of gold which is eye-catching; it has rather a very bleak history behind its extraction and exploitation. Working in a gold mine has always been one of the most intolerable jobs. Although in the recent century attempts have been made for upgrading the security of miners, the working conditions in a mine are very dangerous and it is in need of much caution and consciousness. Nonetheless, working of children in mines cannot be justified by any logic.

Human Rights Watch research shows how neglect of child workers in the chain of gold production can affect their rights. The HRW shows how gold traders in Ghana buy gold from unauthorized mines and sell it to exporting companies with little protective mechanisms for the identification and safeguarding of the child labor in gold mines. Some of the Ghanaian companies export gold to big gold refinery companies in Dubai like Kaloti and Emirates Gold.

HRW researcher Juliane Kippenberg in her report says: Last month I visited an industrial mine in Ashanti region, Ghana. In the burning heat of sun, I saw "Isaac", a young boy who was digging deep in the stones along with other children and adults. This scene reminded me of an incident which had happened a few years ago in Ghana when the mine collapsed and 16 people lost their lives. Isaac told me that he has given up primary school because of his full time work in mine. He engaged in both digging and transferring heavy stones. He also served in gold processing with mercury which is very toxic especially for children. When I asked him about the dangers of working with toxic mercury he did not know anything.

Unauthorized mines are very hazardous and no child should be there. The small gold mines in Ghana employ about one million people without license and allocate to themselves about 40% of their products. Here children work beside their family members to meet their ends and most of them work for providing their school expenses. Thousands of children, mostly between the ages 15 to 17, work in Ghana's gold mines. Little children in illegal small mines comprise about one third of the workforce of the Ghanaian mining industry. These children are working under no supervision. They have to go to dark tunnels and push heavy loads even heavier than their weight.

Working in these mines can be very critical for children as they have to work with heavy equipment and deal with sharp tools such as shovel and pick and contact with toxic mercury. The working conditions of these children are unstable and they are exposed to disease and injury resulting from explosives and toxic chemicals. Child workers in these small mines are earning for survival.

Some of them are working underground as deep as 25 meters and some are engaged in processing gold with mercury, a toxic metal which can inflict irreparable harms on their health. Mercury which is used for exploitation of gold is available at gold shops and it is put at the disposal of miners who employ children in their mines.

However, the UAE is not the only country which has upgraded its gold industry as a result of employing children in gold mines. This is also seen in many other Asian and African countries. It is estimated that at least one million children work in small and stone mines all over the world. These children live in the worst imaginable conditions and they are exposed to risk of injury, chronic diseases or death. In stone mines of many parts of the world, children's health is at stake due to carrying heavy loads, smelling hazardous dust and using dangerous equipment and tools for breaking stones.

Despite the efforts made for improving conditions, there are many children who work in very tough conditions. In the past years, this situation did not improve and their number has reduced to two-third during 15 years.

Presently exploitation of children in Asia, Africa and Latin America is in the worst situation. These conditions are an alarm for Asian and African children. One out of every 11 Asian children is forced to work. Although the figure is less in Africa, the number of the children who work in mines is very high. This comes as working of children was supposed to be abolished by the year 2015.

However the individuals involved in gold industry should not let children work. Growth and development of gold industry cannot be a means for violating other rights of human beings. The owners of mines, traders of gold and jewelry and other dealers in gold industry should strive for materializing this important responsibility in gold mining places. They should be confident that in gold mines there exist certain principles and rules for supervising human rights of mine workers including preventing presence of children. The gold buying companies in Ghana should have double control over their gold supply chain and be sure that nowhere children are exploited.

FK/RM/EA