Companies that use gold in their supply chains face legal and reputational risks due to the enormous amount of gold that is mined illegally. Research carried out by Verité shows that large amounts of gold exported by Latin American countries are linked to illegal mines and human trafficking.
The newly released paper, The Nexus of Illegal Gold Mining and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, shows that illegally mined gold is linked to labor abuses and human trafficking. Illegal mines are usually surrounded by armed and criminal groups that lay down the law, while government authorities are barely present.
Corrupted government official even assist in the laundering of illegally mined gold so that it can be exported to prominent refineries. These, in turn, supply some of the biggest electronics producers in the world.
Read the full summary of the report here.
The publication, Trade Unions of the World 2016, is available to order at www.ictur.org
