List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There are reports that children as young as age 7 mine gold in Uganda. This practice is especially common in eastern Uganda and in the northeastern Karamoja region, where children typically work alongside family members. According to international organizations and the media, thousands of children abandon school to work in ASGM. One research study found approximately 1,000 children working in gold mines in central Uganda. Boys work in dangerous conditions in the mines, collecting soil from deep, open pits. Children mine gold in riverbeds, use toxic mercury to process gold ore, and carry water from long distances to sift and wash sediment.

Swahili Translation

There are reports that adults are forced to work in the mining of gold in Venezuela.  Research indicates that forced labor occurs throughout the Orinoco Mining Arc, a swath of land in Venezuela’s southern Bolivar state, where the majority of Venezuela’s gold is concentrated.  It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 500,000 gold miners in Venezuela.  Mines are largely run by armed and violent criminal groups, and research shows evidence that officials from the Government of Venezuela, including members of security forces and local authorities, have colluded with and allowed members of non-state armed groups to commit human rights violations and labor abuses.  Miners experience unsafe working conditions, unsafe and degrading living conditions, extortion and financial penalties, limited freedom of communication, and threats of violence and torture.

Spanish Translation

There are reports that children as young as 8 are engaged in the production of gold in Zimbabwe. Child labor occurs at unregulated artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites, including riverbeds in Mudzi and Mazowe. Sources estimated that thousands of children are working at gold mining sites and doing various work activities, including panning and sieving gold around riverbeds, digging and drilling in pit areas, and collecting and carrying gold ore. Children engaged in gold production in Zimbabwe work in hot climate conditions, lack proper protective equipment, and face exposure to dangerous chemicals, such as mercury. According to NGO reports, at least two children died during a mine shaft collapse.

There are reports that children ages 5 to 17 work in granite quarries in Burkina Faso. These children are primarily found in granite quarries located in Pissy and Yagma, on the outskirts of the capital, Ouagadougou. According to Government of Burkina Faso officials, NGOs, and the U.S. Department of State, numerous incidents of child labor have been reported in these granite quarries, including hundreds of children working in the Pissy quarry, and NGOs report that the problem is increasing. Children work for long hours breaking large rocks by hand and carrying heavy loads of dirt, rock, and gravel. Children in granite quarries are at high risk of physical injury, and are exposed to large quantities of dust and smoke, which can cause respiratory diseases. Some children also experience physical abuse in the quarries. 

French Translation

There are reports that children, mostly boys ages 4-17, are forced to quarry granite in Nigeria. Some children are abducted and trafficked from within Nigeria and from Benin to work in granite quarries and mines in the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Ogun, Oyo, and Osun. Reports from the United Nations (UN) and media indicate that between 5,000 and 6,000 children from Benin alone were forced to work in the granite quarries; multiple government rescue operations identified between 50 and 200 children engaged in this work at a time. The children are forced to work up to 16 hours a day, even when they are sick. Many are forced to work under threat of physical violence. Children are often forced to sleep outside and are denied food. Reports indicate that children frequently die while working, having been forced to work under extreme conditions.

There is evidence that children between the ages of 5 and 14 work in the harvesting and production of grapes in Colombia.  Based on an analysis of the Colombia Great Household Survey – Child Labor Module, an estimated 31,834 children under the minimum age for work are involved in child labor in the harvesting and production of grapes.  The release of this survey demonstrates the Government of Colombia’s commitment to addressing child labor and its acknowledgment that data collection is vital to the design and implementation of sound policies and programs.