Thread by @ACLatAm

STARTING NOW: Join @ACLatAm for a timely discussion on an often overlooked consequence of #Venezuela's political & economic crises - the surge in illegal mining activity - and its implications for #Security, #HumanRights and the #Environment. Tune in here: atlanticcouncil.org/event/venezuel…

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF What do we know already, asks @jmarczak? We know that in the last few years, transnational organizations have descended upon the Orinoco Mining Arc, including groups of FARC dissidents and ELN who are operating with the overt consent of the Venezuelan National Guard #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF Disadvantaged groups that have no choice but eke out a living via illicit gold mining in the Orinoco Mining Arc are exposed to terrible working conditions, which has negative impacts upon their health, says Venezuelan investigative reporter w/@RunRunesWeb @boonbar #ACVenezuela

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb This is because many of the groups active in Orinoco are artisanal miners, and therefore rely upon crude and underdeveloped practices that expose those working the mines - and their surrounding environment - to toxic chemicals such as mercury, explains @boonbar #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb To make matters worse, artisanal miners and their communities are highly exposed to diseases like malaria, and are without the necessary resources - such as medicine, adequate food and potable water - to mitigate such serious conditions says @RunRunesWeb's @boonbar #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb The use of toxic metals, namely mercury, is integral to the full cycle of extraction and refining processes employed by artisanal miners, and that increases these miners' risk of developing diseases from poisoning, notes @boonbar #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb Interpersonal violence, including homicides, are also prevalent among these vulnerable communities in the Orinoco Mining Arc, exacerbating the already precarious conditions in which artisanal miners and their communities live, says @boonbar #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb How have other countries - such as the DRC and Sierra Leone - dealt with conflict minerals and illegal mining activity @NTN24's @EmilianaMolinaF asks? There have been three major responses to the conflict minerals trade in the DRC, explains @SashaLezh #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 The first response has been legislative. For instance, a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill requires companies US-listed companies to report on where they're sourcing their minerals from, says @SashaLezh #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 Secondly, leading companies that purchase minerals - like Apple, Intel and other electronics companies - have set up innovative systems to audit their minerals supply chains, says @EnoughProject's @SashaLezh #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 @EnoughProject And thirdly, governments of the region have established a certification process. And while the aforementioned legislative and corporate efforts have been the most effective, the certification process is nonetheless an important initiative, says @SashaLezh #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 @EnoughProject And there are some notable similarities between Venezuela's illicit gold mining activities and the blood diamond activities seen in some African countries, says @SashaLezh #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 @EnoughProject For one, they both bring together some of the worst elements of criminal economies: child labor, prostitution, slavery and massive environmental degradation, points out @farah_douglas, President of IBI Consultants #ACVenezuela.

@AtlanticCouncil @boonbar @jmarczak @farah_douglas @SashaLezh @EmilianaMolinaF @RunRunesWeb @NTN24 @EnoughProject You also see the profits from these illicit activities go to the worst elements of the local regimes. You have the Maduro regime, the Daniel Ortega regime, you have Dési Bouterse in Suriname all profiting from this complex and vile trade, explains
@farah_douglas
#ACVenezuela.