Child Labor
Pact’s efforts focus on stemming what the International Labour Organization considers one of the Worst Forms of Child Labor: child labor at mine sites, which exposes kids to dangerous conditions, physical injury, mental stress, disease and disenfranchisement.
With projects in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, Pact has worked for more than a decade to address child labor in mining. Using a systemic, integrated approach that is tailored to each community, we begin by conducting research into what factors are contributing to child labor. Then we work in partnership with communities, governments, the private sector and miners themselves to address those factors. Along the way, we build the capacity of local institutions, including schools, health and social service agencies and child protection organizations.
In Colombia, in the gold mining regions of Boyacá and Antioquia, we’re strengthening educational opportunities for youth, applying local health and safety standards, bolstering child protection policies, helping families to increase their income, and working to formalize the small-scale mining sector.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, we’re raising awareness about the dangers of child labor, increasing families’ economic stability and improving enforcement of child labor bans. Our efforts have significantly reduced child labor at mine sites where we work.
And in countries across Africa and Asia, we’re helping parents and caregivers boost their income – a main driver in keeping children in school and out of the labor force.
Our work in mining communities
Read our new Children out of Mining report and Breaking the Chain, which explore factors contributing to child labor in the DRC.