A/HRC/18/30 C. Children in quarrying 63. In quarries, children dig out stones, transport them on their heads and backs and spend long hours crushing stones into smaller pieces to be used in the construction industry. In the coal-mining sector, some children start working from the age of 4 but the majority of child workers start between the ages of 12 and 14. The majority of these children, accompanied or unaccompanied, work between 7 and 9 hours a day. 64. Children who work above ground (carrying and breaking coal) are exposed to heatstroke and sunstroke. They also work longer hours than the children who work underground (cutting, digging and pulling trolleys of coal). For the children who get wages, the long hours are not reflected in their wages. According to the information received by the Special Rapporteur, children who ask for more pay are often verbally or physically threatened, punished by being beaten or left locked in mines. 65. The growth of children is often stunted as a result of carrying heavy loads of stones, sand and gravel. These children also complain of exhaustion and muscle pain in the arms, shoulders and legs. 66. Various reports site that children working in quarries are exposed to various accidents, such as head injuries or the loss or injury of fingers and toes, which reduces their physical abilities. D. The right to education 67. Some children try to combine working in the mines or quarries and going to school, as many of them need to work in order to assume the costs related to their education. However, these children are often tired, physically and mentally, and hence are often absent from class or lack the time to do their homework, rest in an adequate way or participate in recreational activities. This combination of factors results in their repeating classes, either a semester or a whole year. The school dropout rates increase drastically at 10 years old and is more pronounced at the secondary level of education, the majority of mining communities lacking secondary schools.23 68. Studies show that such child slavery not only has a negative impact on the health, well-being and education of the child, but also later has a negative economic impact on communities and countries. According to the findings of these studies, children who work are more likely to have children who will also work and not go to school. Consequently, the poverty gets passed on from one generation to another.24 E. The gender dimension 69. Both boys and girls are found working in artisanal mining and quarrying, but, as they grow up, they are attributed different tasks. 70. The boys are mainly found in underground and underwater extraction. They face the dangers of working inside the mines. Most of the girls are found above ground, breaking down the rocks and processing the minerals. 23 24 OIT-IPEC Sudamérica, Proyecto de Prevencion y Eradicacion del Trabajo Infantil el la Mineria Artesanal en Sudamérica, Qué Hacer para Liberar a los Ninos del Trabajo Infantil Minero, 2005. Gordon Betcherman et al., “Child Labor, Education and Children’s rights”, in Human Rights and Development: Towards Mutual Reinforcement, Philip Alston and Mary Robinson, eds., (OUP, 2005). 15