Children are one of the most vulnerable stakeholder groups in extractive industries. From the initial exploration through to the construction, operation and closure of a mine, they are often the worst affected by the impacts of labour migration. While human rights policies are adopted by most international extractives companies, children’s rights are rarely explicitly addressed, except to forbid child labour. So what can be done to make children’s rights a priority in the industry? And how can extractives companies combat the distinct and acute impacts on children of in-migration?
The starting point is to identify how children are affected. UNICEF has kicked off this process with its recently published reports, Children’s Rights in the Mining Sector, and the Oil & Gas Scoping Study. This follows the publication of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles in 2012. The reports reveal impacts on children to be wide ranging - from limited access to healthcare to exposure to sexual exploitation and drug abuse.
Many of the changes to children’s lives are brought about by the migration of workers to mining communities. The most labour-intensive phase of mining activities is construction, which is where the sudden surge in population occurs. During this one to five year time span, thousands of workers will come into the area to build transport, employee housing and facilities.
Children in communities that are both sending and receiving workers face problems in access to education. Juliane Kippenberg, a senior researcher for the children’s rights division of Human Rights Watch, explains that migrant children face restrictions with registering at schools. She gives Mali as an example. Here migrant children must provide official documentation to join a school, which many don’t have. Kippenberg says: “The government should simplify the registration for children that come through migration.”
However, even if school places are made available, there are other factors impacting children’s education. Children who remain in the sending area (after adult migrants leave for work) may need to supplement household income for a single parent family, or may find themselves the head of a household. Migrating male mine employees may send money back to their families, however this arrangement can be unreliable. Samantha Hargreaves, coordinator for women, gender and extractives regional programme, International Alliance on National Resources in Africa (IANRA), explains that male migrants often move between the mining region and their rural families over an extended period. She adds that can lead to abandoned families in the sending area, particularly if men strike up relationships with women in the mining community.
High numbers of single-parent households means there are significant numbers of single female migrants who need to make up for the income shortfall. These women migrants flock to mining areas to work in informal employment, such as selling food to miners. Children may be left behind while mothers send back money to child-headed households.
Children that must work are more vulnerable to violence. Often girls make money by selling food to mine workers. Kippenberg has found girls in this position are constantly harrassed. She says that, in some cases, it can lead to rape or sexual exploitation. Subsequently, sexually transmitted infections and child pregnancies become more widespread.
Additionally, children’s rights can be overlooked during land negotiations between corporations and local authorities. Companies’ human rights due diligence has largely delegated the rights of children to their caregivers. But caregivers are typically women who often have little influence within traditional authorities and may lack official rights to land or natural resources.
Another impact of in-migration is the collapse of social norms. The traditional structures of family life are disrupted, which can encourage social pathologies such as substance abuse. If parents become addicted to drugs or alcohol they are less likely to be able to provide for their children.
Addressing the impacts
There are significant challenges to alleviating each of these impacts and international extractives companies - including those that participated in UNICEF’s study - are looking for, and beginning to implement, solutions.
A 2013 report (pdf) published in the Journal of World Energy Law and Business, found most publicly listed companies in the oil and gas sector have a human rights policy. But often the only child-specific agenda in these policies is to forbid child labour. As the UNICEF reports explain, the potential impacts on children are much more far reaching.
UNICEF recommends an explicit commitment in human rights policies to protecting the rights of children. Its tool, Children’s Rights in Policies and Code of Conduct, can help with developing this.
Anglo American was one of the companies involved in the UNICEF study. Laura Brooks, a social performance manager at the company, explains that its human rights policy commits to paying special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups. It identifies such groups in the business’ area of influence with its Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT) (pdf).
Brooks says: “We engage with these groups to identify any potential risks or adverse impacts as well as opportunities for empowerment. SEAT was developed in collaboration with our NGO partners and provides specific guidance on women and children, as well as other vulnerable groups”.
Meanwhile, Andrew Hocking, group manager community excellence, MMG, says “Like many companies in our sector, we want to strive to identify any potential human rights impacts, most particularly on vulnerable elements of the community (including children)”. MMG has implemented a wide-range of programs, which affect children as stakeholders at Kinsevere Mine (in the Democratic Republic of Congo). Among these are providing mother and child health services throughout mining areas, building schools and funding teachers at several locations.
When companies settle on an area for mine construction they will enter into negotiations with local authorities. There are challenges in including the concerns of women and children since many traditional local authorities are all-male. Businesses should find ways to overcome the barriers of including stakeholders that represent children. They must also overcome cultural discriminations that keep women out of community decision-making structures. UNICEF’s tool, Engaging Stakeholders on Children’s Rights, outlines how companies can engage stakeholders on children’s rights and provides guidance for companies that plan to consult children directly.
Brooks explains Anglo American’s methods: “We require each of our sites to develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) that is updated annually”. This includes taking into account any gender bias within the community, she adds.
In addition to this, companies should carry out regular social and human rights impact assessments of their business enterprises, addressing the particular impacts on women and children. Impacts on children can be measured using UNICEF’s child vulnerability matrix, which can be found in UNICEF’s report, Children’s Rights in the Mining Sector.
Ambatovy also participated in the UNICEF study. It has added the Children’s Rights and Business Principles to its human rights policy. A spokesperson at Ambatovy explains how the organisation follows these principles: “We have processes in place to address children’s rights in our code of conduct; training of staff, contractors and sub-contractors; contractual requirements; risk assessments processes; and community engagement and development initiatives.” It aims to have a positive impact on children by building schools, training educators and social development programs targeted at children.
Children and families, and groups or NGOs working on behalf of children, should be able to take part in companies’ grievance mechanisms. Brooks comments on Anglo American’s grievance procedures. She says: “Each is designed in a way to be culturally appropriate”. Often the companies’ complaint boxes are placed around the local community, which anyone can drop a note into. The complaints data is then relayed to the most senior figures at Anglo American. The Operational Level Grievance Mechanisms: IPIECA Good Practice Survey is a useful resource for extractives companies looking to develop their complaints processes.
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