Women‘s Perspectives on the Impact of Mining on the Right to Food

A new report by FIAN International Women‘s Perspectives on the Impact of Mining on the Right to Food highlights the precarious situation of women and children of communities affected by mining and displacement in Essakane, Burkina Faso, in relation to their human right to adequate food and nutrition.

In 2009, as a result of the expanding mining activities of the Canadian mining company IAMGOLD, 13 communities located in Essakane in the North of Burkina Faso were displaced and resettled in other areas outside the perimeters of the mining grounds. Since then, FIAN International and FIAN Burkina Faso have accompanied the displaced communities in their efforts to demand their human right to adequate food and nutrition. With the aim of continuing to support the Essakane communities’ efforts to demand their human rights and hold the government of Burkina Faso accountable for its human rights obligations, FIAN sought to document the perspectives of women regarding the impact of mining and displacement on their communities’ right to adequate food and nutrition, in particular on potential human rights threats and violations related to the malnutrition of children. Throughout 2014, focus group discussions and individual surveys were carried out with women in Essakane to explore (1) women’s sexual and reproductive rights; (2) women’s right to natural and productive resources; (3) children’s right to education; (4) children’s right to health; (5) women’s right to be free from gender-based violence; and (6) women’s right to recourse and accountability mechanisms.

 

The findings of this work demonstrate the precarious situation of women’s rights in Essakane, which can have a significant impact on the right to adequate food and nutrition of children in these communities. The impact of these human rights threats and violations is further exacerbated by the abandonment of the men of the household who leave in search of work in other mining sites and often do not come back as well as by the patriarchal society in which these women find themselves. Based on this work, a number of recommendations to both the State of Burkina Faso and broader civil society are made at the end of the report. Furthermore, the report’s findings build upon over five years of work with the affected communities in Essakane during which FIAN gathered information about human rights violations from a broad range of sources, including through field investigations, meetings and correspondence with community leaders, government officials, and company representatives.

The findings are now available in a report published by FIAN International and FIAN Burkina Faso, with the financial support of terre des hommes Germany.