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Gold mining undermines rights in Mali

5 October 2007

A report by French NGO International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on gold mining and human rights in Mali asserts that regulation drawn up under the influence of international donors neutralises the government’s capacity to protect the Malian people’s economic and social rights. Mali is the third largest gold producer in Africa. Following the Bank-supported revision of the mining code, the Malian government is now a minority shareholder of its goldmines alongside the large international corporations. FIDH urges IFIs and donors not to encourage the Malian state to set up investment-friendly provisions that infringe its international human rights obligations, and to adopt regulations to protect the environment and human rights.