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Wednesday, 30 September 2015
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  • Philippines: Children Risk Death to Dig and Dive For Gold

    Feature
    Duration : 7m 15s
    (Manila, September 30, 2015) – The Philippine government is failing to protect children who dig and dive for gold in dangerous small-scale mines, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report and video, released ahead of Children’s Month in the Philippines.
    The 39-page report, “What If Something Goes Wrong?” documents how thousands of Filipino children—some just 9-years-old—work in illegal, small-scale gold mines, mostly financed by local businessmen. Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits or underwater along the coastal shore or in rivers, and process gold with mercury, a toxic metal.  In September 2014, a 17-year-old boy suffocated in an underground mine because there was no machine providing oxygen. The Philippine government should act on its public commitment to end child labor in mining, Human Rights Watch said.
    Videos (1)
    Philippines Child Mining CLIPREEL
    Photos (13)
    HRW camarines norte mzs-1459
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo03
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    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo09
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    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo10
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo13
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo22
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo19
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo08
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo14
    2015CRD PHILIPPINES CHILD MINING photo01
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