"Even though the war has ended, women still face immense aggression from the conflict of resources on our land, where an international mining company operated the largest open pit mine in the world. The Panguna mine has destroyed and polluted our land, forest, rivers and food sources, and seeps all profits away."
In Kenya, the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme, some 5,000 people are exposed to mercury pollution in artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites.
"Mercury is banned under the Minamata Convention, negotiated here at the UNEP. In the impoverished community that I'm working with they don't have much option. Mining gold and mixing it with mercury is the only knowledge they have and the main source of income," said Griffins Ochieng from the Centre for Environmental Justice and Development.
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