By: Hannah Dadzie
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has described Ghana’s illegal mining crisis, popularly known as galamsey, as a “full-blown human rights emergency” threatening the country’s stability.
Concluding its four-day Promotion Mission to Ghana, the Commission said preliminary findings show that illegal mining is devastating water bodies, degrading land, endangering public health, and must be treated as a multi-sectoral crisis requiring urgent national action. It urged government to launch an independent anti-corruption investigation into powerful networks behind the practice and to consider declaring galamsey-affected areas as security zones.
Addressing the media, Commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie, the Commissioner responsible for the promotion of human rights in Ghana and Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa, together with Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso, Chairperson of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations, said stakeholder engagements revealed that illegal mining continues to endanger the rights to life, health, and personal security of communities.
They highlighted reports of widespread contamination of water sources, severe land degradation, and long-term health risks, including reproductive complications and birth defects.
The mission uncovered alarming evidence of galamsey’s toll on human health and dignity:
- Reproductive Health: Women are disproportionately affected, with reports of children born with deformities due to contaminated water consumption.
- Social Ills: Illegal mining has fueled child labour, human trafficking, and illicit activities involving women, alongside environmental destruction.
- Right to Life: Polluted water consumption undermines the right to life and personal security by compromising people’s health.
The Commission stressed that galamsey is not only an environmental disaster but also a driver of social instability. It warned that addressing the menace requires more than a security-focused approach, proposing instead a high-level inter-ministerial taskforce that includes civil society, traditional leaders, local government, and affected communities.
Commissioner Dersso further underscored the need to rehabilitate polluted rivers, restore degraded lands, and enforce environmental regulations. The delegation also called for an audit to assess the human cost of galamsey, particularly its impact on women, children, education, and public health, recommending targeted health interventions for affected populations.
While welcoming the government’s planned engagement with civil society led by the President, the Commission urged broader inclusion and sustained collaboration. “If allowed to persist, irrespective of blame, the consequences will be devastating for people and communities,” Commissioner Dersso cautioned.
The Commission acknowledged Ghana’s reputation as a stable democracy but warned that political involvement in illegal mining complicates the fight. It called for an independent probe into alleged collusion between political actors and mining operators.
“If unchecked, this crisis will undermine human rights and Ghana’s long-term stability,” the delegation warned, pledging to monitor the country’s commitments through its state reporting mechanisms.
The Commission further pressed government to reflect concrete anti-galamsey measures in its long-overdue periodic report to the African Union, expected later this year.
