This bill requires the Department of State to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere, with a focus on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), a form of mining typified by labor-intensive techniques, dangerous working conditions, and limited regulation.
The required strategy shall include policies, programs, and initiatives to (1) interrupt the linkages between ASM and illicit actors such as drug traffickers and foreign terrorist organizations; (2) deter ASM in protected indigenous lands and environmentally protected areas; (3) build the capacity of foreign civilian law enforcement to counter linkages between illicit gold mining and money laundering, forced labor, sex work, child labor, and hazardous material trafficking; and (4) support efforts by foreign governments to increase regulation of the ASM sector.
This bill also requires the U.S. Agency for International Development to coordinate with democratically elected governments in the region to establish a public-private partnership to improve transparency and traceability in the international gold trade.
