All African governments need to put in place quick, effective measures
to prevent their own citizens from suffering toxic mercury exposure.
ILLUSTRATION | JOHN NYANGAH
Across Africa, from Mali to Tanzania to Zimbabwe, millions of people, including children, work in small gold mines.
Artisanal
and small-scale gold mining is a vital source of income, but it is also
very dangerous because miners use toxic mercury to separate the gold
from the ore.
Mercury is a shiny liquid metal that
attacks the nervous system. Exposure can result in life-long disability,
and is particularly harmful to children. In higher doses, mercury can
kill. Its largest use globally is in small-scale gold mining.
In
Tanzania’s small-scale mines—in the informal as well as the formal
sector—we have seen miners mix the mercury into the ore with their bare
hands, create a gold-mercury amalgam, and then burn the amalgam over an
open flame. Even children do this, unaware of the risk.
Some children in mining areas are exposed to mercury from the moment of their birth.
One
of them was 12-year-old Erevu, who processed gold with mercury at a
mine in Tanzania’s Chunya district and said he suffered from dizziness
and headaches every day.
New treaty on mercury
Now,
the fight against global toxic pollution has reached a critical
milestone: A new treaty on mercury—the Minamata Convention on
Mercury—came into effect on August 16.
This week,
governments are coming together for the first conference of the parties
to the convention. African governments played an important role in
creating the treaty and should exercise strong leadership in putting it
into effect.
The treaty is named after the Japanese
fishing town of Minamata, where a chemical company caused mass mercury
poisoning several decades ago.
As a result, many people
died or were born with severe disabilities. The Japanese government has
compensated about 60,000 victims.
Under the treaty,
governments must protect their citizens from the harmful effects of
mercury and put controls in place on polluting industries.
For
mining, the convention obligates governments to promote mercury-free
gold processing methods; take special measures to protect vulnerable
populations from exposure, including children and women of child-bearing
age; and put an end to particularly harmful practices in gold
processing such as burning the mercury-gold amalgam in residential
areas.
Governments commit to improving health care for
populations affected by exposure to mercury. The treaty also regulates
mercury use in products and manufacturing processes, emissions from
coal-fired power plants, and other industries.
To help countries achieve these goals, governments can apply for funds to create mercury reduction programs.
New convention
African governments and nongovernmental organisations played an essential role in the process leading to this new convention.
The
Africa region strongly pushed for more stringent protections from
mercury during the multi-year negotiations. African groups gave a voice
to the victims and pressed for fast, effective measures to prevent
exposure and treat those already affected by mercury.
African
governments can also play a key role in making the convention a
success. It is encouraging that 20 African governments have ratified the
treaty since its adoption—among them gold producers Ghana, Mali, and
Madagascar.
But much more needs to be done to protect people from the harmful effects of mercury.
The
34 African governments that have not ratified the convention should do
so, and countries with ratification under way should quicken their pace.
East
Africa in particular is noticeably absent from the ratification effort.
The only country to have ratified there is Djibouti. Even countries
with important small-scale mining sectors, such as Tanzania and Sudan,
have not ratified.
All African governments need to put
in place quick, effective measures to prevent their own citizens from
suffering toxic mercury exposure.
Many governments that have ratified have yet to take concrete steps to put an end to mercury exposure.
For
starters, they should eliminate some of the most harmful uses of
mercury in mining and ensure that no child works with the dangerous
metal.
Those who are already suffering from mercury
poisoning need to be identified promptly and receive adequate medical
care. And most important, governments need to ensure that miners use
mercury-free gold processing methods.
If governments act now to end mercury use, they can make small-scale gold mining truly beneficial for local communities.
Haji
Rehani is an environmental activist and mining expert with Agenda, a
Tanzanian nongovernmental organisation. Juliane Kippenberg is a child
rights expert at Human Rights Watch who has conducted research in
artisanal mines in Tanzania, Mali, Ghana, and the Philippines
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