Project to Reduce Child Labor in Mining in Colombia

6th Meeting of the ICGLR-OECD-UN GoE Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains

Maria Laura BarretoChair, Alliance for Responsible Mining

GENERAL INFORMATION

DONOR • Department of Labor of the United States

PARTNERS• Fondo para la Acción Ambiental y la Niñez• Fundación Mi Sangre• Pact Inc• Alliance for Responsible Mining

TIMEFRAME • 4 years

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS

ANTIOQUIA

Four Municipalities El Bagre, Zaragoza, Remedios and Segovia

All traditional gold mining municipalities with high levels of production and informal artisanal mining.

STATISTICS ON CHILD LABOR ANTIOQUIA

Children registered in SIRTI(national database on child labor)

15.225

Child workers 2.066

Children in WFCL* 205

At risk of falling into WFCL 12.618

*WFCL = Worst Form of Child Labor

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS

BOYACÁ

Three MunicipalitiesSogamoso, Paipa and Topaga.

Selected for their high level of coal production and informal mining.

STATISTICS ON CHILD LABOR BOYACÁ

Children registered in SIRTI(national database on child labor)

28.893

Child workers 4.093

Children in WFCL 1.509

At risk of falling into WFCL 22.683

PROJECT APPROACH

1. Moving artisanal miners through the formalization process contributes significantly to increasing health and safety standards for miners and reduces the incidence of child labor in the mining sector.

2. A formalized mining sector with good health and safety standards presents a viable livelihood opportunity for educated young people.

3. Children kept in school are less likely to work and experience the negative impacts of child labor

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJECTIVE: To reduce child labor in the mining sector in Colombia

BY:1. Supporting the efforts of the Government of Colombia to formalize the

artisanal mining sector, with focus on implementing labor standards in order to improve working conditions.

2. Increasing the capacity of the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the National Agency of Mining to identify and address child labor and OSH concerns

3. Improving coordination between stakeholders at the national, provincial and municipal levels.

4. Identifying different levels of vulnerability, exposure and risk which the children face.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. Recommend policies to combat child labor and to improve Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in the mining sectora. Develop and advise child labor policiesb. Develop and implement OSH policiesc. Support the formalization of Artisanal and Small-scale

Mining (ASM)

2. Strengthen capacity to identify and address violations of child labor and Occupational, Safety and Health (OSH) laws in mining communitiesd. Identify and address child labor and OSH violationse. Promote inter-agency coordination

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

3. Increase livelihood opportunities for households of children involved in mining

• Increase income and livelihood security of ASM miners, households and youth

4. Expand education opportunities for children and youth in targeted ASM mining communities

• Improve access to education and education services

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

5. Share strategies with other countries to combat child labor and address OSH in mining with a particular focus on formalizing ASM miners

• Conduct study tours• Innovation fund

/www.communitymining.org (ASM)