Artisanal Gold Mining in Niger’s Sahara: A Roundtable Tackles Security, Health, and Migration
This roundtable in Agadez confronts the dangerous intersection of securitization, migrant exploitation, and health crises in Niger's gold zones, where over 800,000 people work across 200 sites. The core tension is that government closures of mining sites—justified by security and revenue opacity—directly fuel the very migration and criminal exploitation they aim to stop, trapping vulnerable workers between hazardous labor and deadly migration routes. The project's unique value lies in using storytelling to dismantle harmful narratives and replace them with human rights-based discourse, recognizing that the real crisis is not migration itself but the predatory systems and environmental devastation surrounding artisanal mining. Ultimately, the discussion reveals that sustainable solutions require addressing the root causes—economic desperation, chemical poisoning, and exploitative labor practices—rather than merely policing borders or shutting down mines.
