ACCRA (ILO News): Key stakeholders in Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASGM) operations in Ghana have reinforced their commitment to take effective action towards the elimination of child labour and improving working conditions in the mining sub-sector.

At the launch of this year’s World Day against Child Labour commemorative event, held in Accra on Thursday 6^th June 2019, the Ghana National Association for Small-scale Miners (GNASSM), Child Labour and Responsible Mining Network (CLaRM) and Adansi-North Local Government Authority signed a “Call to Action” (CtA) against child labour and poor working conditions in ASGM. The occasion was part of a media sensitization event organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), with support from the ILO Caring Gold Mining Project.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), Bright Wereku Brobbey, expressed how unacceptable the current situation of child labour in Ghana is. He emphasized the need to remain resolute in the fight against the menace, working hard to ensure its elimination by 2025, the target date set under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Dep. Minister acknowledged the role of civil society, especially the Media, in collaborating with government to raise awareness on the harmful effects of child labour.

The coordinator of the Government’s Multilateral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) Dr. Karikari the lead Executive of the Child Labour and Responsible Mining Network (CLaRM-Net), who was chair of the occasion, underscored the importance of taking concrete action to walk the talk towards the elimination of child labour. He stressed the importance of effective action by key stakeholders to ensure that child labour in small-scale mining was effectively addressed.

The “CtA” provides a collaborative framework to facilitate the formalization of ASGM operations, create and sustain synergies to enhance data and plug knowledge gaps, support the legal and policy framework on ASGM to address issues in collective bargaining and freedom of association, transparency in the governance of ASGM operations and promote policies to prevent conflicts between mining and agriculture.

The CtA is a follow-up to recommendations made at the recent Inter-Regional Knowledge Sharing Meeting of Experts in Child Labour and ASGM held in Manila, Philippines from the 28^th to 30 May 2019. It was attended by global experts from countries including Ghana, Guyana, Mongolia, Colombia, La Cote dÍvoire, Mali, Nigeria and representatives from Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD), Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) and the United States Department of Labour (USDoL); under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).