It is the communities in the areas where gold is produced illegally who are the victims of these abuses. The UN investigators stress the responsibility of buyers, who cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the disastrous consequences of such practices. As the hub of this trade, Switzerland is the country through which around two-thirds of the world’s gold volume passes.
Marcos Orellana is UN Special Rapporteur on Toxic Substances and has investigated human rights violations in small-scale mining operations. He explains:
“Switzerland does not have an adequate traceability system that would oblige refineries to know where the gold comes from and how it was extracted… Switzerland’s traceability system stops at the intermediate country. This loophole is exploited by criminal organizations and drug cartels trafficking in mercury and gold.”
In his opinion, Switzerland should do more to combat this practice, because “while the gold industry makes profits, human rights suffer.”
A well-documented and fascinating article analyzing legal and illegal gold mining in Peru, its consequences and all its ramifications, leading all the way to Switzerland, where most of the world’s gold transits. Following a report implicating Metalor in illegal gold mining, one of Switzerland’s largest refineries has decided to halt imports from Peru and cease all relations with artisanal miners and South American traders.
According to criminal law professor Mark Pieth, rather than cease all commercial relations, refiners should engage with artisanal miners to produce gold sustainably, as the costs of auditing traceability are derisory for these companies.
