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Labour-trafficking in ASGM: Assessing risks in the Sahara-Sahel goldfields

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Alice Fereday

Summary

This report assesses risks of exploitation and labour trafficking in gold-mining areas in northern Niger and northern Mali. It examines the modalities of recruitment and employment, the risks they pose to workers and the structural factors that contribute to the vulnerability of gold miners. The report also identifies key opportunities for policy makers to address these risks while recognising the crucial role of gold mining for local livelihoods and stability.

Recommendations

Support efforts to formalise gold mining in a way that allows ASGM to be sustained alongside industrial mining while providing guarantees for workers:

  • Include safe labour standards in mining regulations;

  • Adjust formalisation procedures to support independent gold miners and reduce corruption and clientelist risks;

  • Promote dialogue around challenges and opportunities for ASGM in the Sahara–Sahel;

  • Invest resources in the deployment of state services and security at goldfields.

Support roles for civil society to reduce risks in ASGM alongside national formalisation drives:

  • Raise awareness of labour-trafficking risks in ASGM;

  • Encourage and provide frameworks for the creation of gold-mining unions and cooperatives.