The Cursed Resource
A Qualitative Analysis of Crime and Violence in Peru’s Gold Mining Sector
Marissa Preston S1653148 Word count: 24827 The Hague 8th of June 2020 m. b. preston@umail.leidenuniv. nl
Acknowledgements
I would like to dedicate this thesis to the children of Peru who are lost within the system of corruption. I would also like to thank, Transparency international - Proetica, PromSex and El Comercio who took the time to speak with me personally regarding the work which they have been
doing to stimulate awareness of this topic in Peru. To add to this, I would like to share my appreciation from the support of Leiden University and my supervisors who have been patient and
Abstract
The Peruvian gold mining industry has been a part of their economy which has brought them riches and affluence for several centuries. However, the dark opaque side of these gold mining industries still face extreme violations. This paper aims to research and explore the underlining variables which
are enabling crime and violence to occur in Peru’s Gold mining industries. Moreover, this paper has chosen to focus on Madre de Dios a department in Peru which is responsible for a large proportion of
gold mining in the country, to portray how these mining activities exactly work and present a pure insight of the activities which occur here.
1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ... 4
1.1 SOCIETAL RELEVANCE ... 7
1.2 ACADEMIC RELEVANCE ... 8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ... 10
2.1 NATURAL RESOURCES ... 10
2.2 TRANSPARENCY ... 12
Transparency and Accountability ... 14
2.3 HUMAN RIGHTS... 17
Human rights abuses and corruption ... 19
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN ... 21
Hypothesis Generation ... 21
3.1 METHODOLOGY ... 22
Case study design ... 22
Justification of Case selection ... 25
Conceptualisation of concepts ... 26
Data Collection ... 29
Data and Method ... 33
3.2 LIMITATIONS ... 33
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS... 35
4.1 CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND ... 35
Human rights violations in South America ... 35
Features of Illegal and informal mining ... 38
4.2 WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE... 54
Peruvian Government ... 54
The International Council of Mining and Metals ... 56
Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative ... 58
Alliance for Responsible Mining Initiatives and Partnerships ... 62
2
Answering the Hypothesis ... 64
To prove the hypothesis assigned ... 65
Hypothesis 1... 66 Hypothesis 2... 70 Hypothesis 3... 73 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ... 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 80 APPENDIX ... 86 TABLE 1 EL COMERCIO ... 90 TABLE 2 PROMSEX ... 92
TABLE 3 INFORMAL GOLD MINE ... 93
TABLE 4 SANTA BARBARA CONSULTANTS... 94
TABLE 5 PAN AMERICAN SILVER ... 96
TABLE 6 TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL ... 97
TABLE 7 LEGALIA PERU... 99
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ... 102 INTERVIEW 1 ... 102 INTERVIEW 2 ... 106 INTERVIEW 3 ... 110 INTERVIEW 4 ... 113 INTERVIEW 5 ... 115 INTERVIEW 6 ... 117 INTERVIEW 7 ... 123
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4
Chapter 1: Introduction
Since the beginning of time men have travelled the world for gold and precious materials, sacrificing their lives to simply lay their hands on these beautiful wonders of the world. Gold has always held this association with fortune, success and wealth. Jesus was given gold at his birth by the three Wisemen, Shakespeare said “Gold, what can it not do and undo.” Ralph Waldo famously quoted, “The desire for gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.” Since birth children identify gold as ‘the best’, at school you would be awarded a golden star for good behaviour. If you received the golden ticket you would be able to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Gold has been a symbol for fortune and positivity. It has always been presented as the best one could possibly wish for. However, how is it that one natural resource which is found amongst dirt, has caused so much pain, blood and violence for centuries yet we still continue to sacrifice ourselves just for the chance to find this metal.
Hollywood succeeded in addressing the topic of the true cruelty which occurs in mining regions through the Leonardo DiCaprio award winning movie ‘Blood Diamond’. The term blood diamond has become a well-known global phenomenon. It is fair to say that light has been shed on the extractive industry for diamonds. Even though the extraction of gold is far from being an alien phenomenon and we are aware of its environmental damage, the social conflict that it creates is often overlooked and under-stated. This is particularly true in the context of South America, where the predominant focus has been the war on drugs ignoring the social destruction of entire communities and the consequent ‘detritus’ to the fabric of society entrapped within this vicious circle. Thus, it must be emphasised that crime and violence in mining has been a topic of neglect in South America as other subjects have deemed to be more ‘newsworthy’ in national and international media. However, the economic and social consequences of illegal gold mining in South America have been huge. So much so that the former head of the Colombian police Oscar Naranjo said it is worse than the wars on drugs.
5 The post-cold war era witnessed a significant amount of new forms of conflicts, which have been described by the term ‘new wars’ - a form of warfare characterised by violence between state and non-state networks (Kaldor 2013, n.p.). Resource wars became increasingly fought in this era across the developing southern hemisphere and the Soviet bloc, in which conflicts were fought not for territorial gain, but for commodities. While a substantial amount of literature has been published on commodity conflicts that occurred in the last part of the 20th century which predominantly focusses on diamonds, oil and water, a significant amount of scholarship has also been dedicated to mining and illegal gold mining. Interestingly, the majority of literature is dedicated to case studies from various African states and in one sense it is surprising therefore, that there tends to be a disregard to the enormous detrimental impact which illegal gold mining has had and continues to have on indigenous societies within South America. This, to a large extent, can be explained by the media’s over-arching focus on this region’s narcotic drug trafficking and organised crime due to the high production of the coca plant in particularly in Peru. This focus on the war on drugs has disguised and facilitated illegal gold mining. Ironically, illegal gold mining is a financial source that fuels drug trafficking.
Encouragingly, more attention has been placed upon the illegal trade of gold since the early 21st century when the price of gold rose exponentially on the world markets. This resulted in a rapid expansion of illegal mining in particular in South America a region notorious for weak governments, organised crime and poor political stability (G. I. Crime 2016, 4). Coinciding with the ‘Gold Rush’ in South America, between 2004-2005, an enormous amount of the Amazon had already been destroyed causing irreversible and unprecedented environmental disasters (G. I. Crime 2016, 25). In fact, while the Amazon has lost 170,000 hectares of land since the early 2000’s from illegal gold mining, other factors have also contributed to this, primarily illegal drug trafficking, narcotic deforestation and illegal logging. This has contributed to an epidemic of human rights violations that continue to occur from mining operations. With the increase in the price of gold and the success of U.S. Government to minimise drug trafficking, drug cartels and other parties to organised crime have engineered other ways to make money. Namely, by the illegal exploitation of gold or other rare materials. This has now
6 provided the avenue and the means to create illegal gold mines where the working conditions are bad, child exploitation occurs, money laundering is facilitated, and human rights violations are endemic.
Various initiatives have been established to prevent the illicit trade of gold in the hope that it can minimise human rights abuses in rural areas of Peru. A number of organisations developed schemes against the backdrop of ideas and practices undergirding the resource curse. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was introduced in 2003 to create a global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources. The EITI seeks to strengthen public and corporate governance, promote understanding of natural resource management and provide data to inform greater transparency in the extractive industry (EITI 2018). Since its establishment, there has been an increase in transparency throughout mining industries and higher awareness of extractive industries working conditions. However, there remains a lack of action in regards to human rights violations which occur within mining operations in EITI member countries. Although there has been a rise in awareness about human rights violations in mining communities, these industries remain culpable for enabling these violations to persist, creating further crime and violence throughout the country. Moreover, in the case of Peru there have been several initiatives which have been established to prevent this form of mining activity. Similarly, there has been several cases of police intervention in mining areas over the last two years. With this in mind, the research question to be addressed - is; Why
has crime and violence continued to persist in gold mining industries in Peru since the gold rush in 2004? With a specific case study on the region of Madre de Dios.
Sub Questions
Other Questions of interest:
1. Has transparency improved human rights violations in these areas?
2. Does transparency in the chain production of gold reduce corruption or increase it? 3. How has organised crime contributed to illegal gold mines?
4. How have illegal gold mines contributed to transnational organised crime within South America?
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1.1 Societal relevance
Over the course of recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in awareness of scrutiny that occurs around commodities. Specifically, diamonds and cobalt have dominated the global arena with the cruel and exploitative measures by which they are extracted, in combination with the lack of transparency in their chain production. Only recently, gold has begun to receive more traction and awareness of the human rights violations which occur through the extraction process and within mining communities. In general, social risks of high-profile commodities have begun to receive higher attention. Additionally, according to several datasets such as seen in figure 2, a correlation can be found between gold producing countries registering increasingly high levels of social risk.
Fig 1. Key Gold Producers Register High Levels of Social Risk
Source: (Sabo-Wals 2019)
The human and environmental cost of the expansion of illegal/informal gold mining is becoming worse. It is a common feature in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), to use mercury to extract gold from the mixed sediments and soil which have covered it. This procedure is commonly used in ASGM’s and illegal gold mines, as they lack the modern technologies. However, the use of mercury in these mines means that miners and people residing in nearby locations are being exposed to mercury. Due to
8 the lack of technologies or innovation mechanisms, the mercury which is used in the mines is dumped into rivers and lakes in the Amazon generating extreme risks to women and children health (T. G. Crime 2017, 2). If mercury levels exceed the authorised limit, this could lead to serious child deformities, miscarriages, brain damage, and other diseases.
In addition to this, the use of child labour has become increasingly worse since 2014. Around 1.65 million children are working in exploitative labour conditions and the majority occurs in the informal sector, particularly mining (State, Peru 2017 Human Rights Report 2017, 25). Children and women from impoverished rural areas are often falsely offered jobs in mining communities and trafficked from various parts of Perú and neighbouring countries. The majority of these women and children are forced to work in brothels, with little or no pay, and separated from their families (T. G. Crime 2017, 2). The mining industry is now becoming one of, if not the major sources of human trafficking within Peru. Subsequently, due to the large amounts of corruption amongst governing officials and police, bribery offers are often accepted and these mining operations continue with no improvements (State, Peru 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report 2018, 346). The majority of these mines are located in rural indigenous areas. Therefore, the people who are affected by these issues tend to be members of indigenous communities who are often ignored on databases. Furthermore, due to their lack of proficiency in Spanish, their ability to voice their concerns is greatly reduced. Overall, mining operations of gold are facilitating organised crime, causing environmental damage, affecting local communities, and therefore neglecting human rights.
1.2 Academic Relevance
This topic holds relevance to the academic field because it aims to analyse the different variables that continue to occur in Peru, which are enabling the trade of contraband gold and facilitating increased crime and violence. Natural materials such as diamonds and gold still hold much opacity in their production, and this is largely due to their location. In this paper, it will be argued that the lack of trust in the authorities and the corruption which the country is riddled by facilitates the obstruction of the law and regulations. Subsequently, the issue of illegal gold mining has been at the forefront of
9 government policies for several years, but solely from an environmental perspective concerning climate change. There has been limited action taken in regards to the social conflicts and human rights violations which are directly connected to these mining activities which has furthermore led to a lack of literature, particularly in the case of Peru. Therefore, it is of academic relevance to bring to light these industries in order to explore what factors are contributing to the crime and violence which continues to persist and to identify the main actors involved in the process. Additionally, mining is an area that is vital to environmental security as it is accountable for rainforest deforestation, and releases an abundance of toxins and poisonous gases into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the scope of this topic is much wider than this. Areas where there is an abundance of resources such as Peru, are victims to other forms of crime and violence which continue to persist primarily due to the lack of infrastructure within these countries.
This paper aims to demonstrate that corruption is at the core of the problem and that its source points squarely at central and regional government. Organised crime continues to function through alternative methods, increasing violence and encouraging human rights violations. It is important to consider Peru’s geography and its history of terrorism and violence, as this situation still persists in remote regions. In light of this, this research should be thoroughly explored, as it is critical to several security issues. It crosses over several themes of security studies and is an area which deserves further attention. If this topic continues to be neglected or understudied, the safety and security of humanity is largely in the hands of the environment and the continuation of future resource wars. This topic needs be dealt with effectively and through various lenses, otherwise it may lead to the destruction of culture, displacement of people and large-scale violence. It is important to point out that 60% of Peruvian GDP is derived from informal gold mining, the majority of which occurs in Madre de Dios. This is directly fed into the national economy and sold by millions on the global market. Within Madre de Dios alone, 3% of the mines located there are legal, the other 97% are illegal or informal (Alternativo 2012, 16).
This has brought a migration of an estimated 30,000 people from areas within Peru to work in the mines
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Natural Resources
The term ‘resource’ within this paper refers specifically to natural resources, raw materials and primary commodities. The etymology behind the word resource conveys a sense of empowerment and opportunity but also dependency and vulnerability (Billon 2014, 2). There are various ways in which people have referred to what defines a resource or a natural good but for the purpose of this paper, when referring to the word resources, explicitly refers to materials which are extracted from nature. Materials which are bi-products from nature such as biodiesel, do not fit into this framework. The subject of this paper are materials which come from nature and comprise an inherent complex value which can produce socio-natural processes (Billon 2014, 2).
Richard Auty first coined the theory ‘the resource curse’ in 1993. He established the resource curse thesis under the assumptions that a growing body of evidence suggests that a favourable natural resource endowment may be less beneficial to countries at low and mid-income levels of development than the conventional wisdom might suppose (Auty 1993, 1). ‘The new evidence suggests that not only may resource rich countries fail to benefit from a favourable endowment, they could actually perform worse than less endowed countries, this counter intuitive outcome is the basis of the resource curse’ (Auty 1993, n.p.) Since this theory was first applied it began to be used as the answer to understand and explain why so many resource rich countries faced so many maladies. Michael Ross argues that there are several examples which emphasise the strength of this theory yet, he believes it is continuing to evolve with globalisation, which causes the theory to have gaps. He states that there is one form of resource wealth – petroleum - which still justifies the theory of the resource curse (Ross 2015, 240). Ross notes that the only resource which has been fully correlated with less democracy and poor institutions is petroleum. Ross attempts to analyse the vast range of studies which have been covered on the resource curse and why minerals and other raw material are linked with civil conflict. Through
11 his work he tries to analyse various independent variables which link and correlate together to come to a verifiable conclusion as to why these materials lead to such chaos in resource rich countries.
During the 90’s the resource curse theory became a popular explanation for the outbreaks of new conflicts throughout the global developing south, and the former Soviet Union. However, over more recent years it has become a theory which is highly contested by many. Ross questions if it is all an illusion we choose to believe in, as its platform logically makes sense. Others now study other observations to refute the resource curse thesis. Sachs and Warner observe in their regression analysis that there is enough data to prove that high resource intensity tends to correlate with slow growth (Sachs and Warner 2001, 828). Yet, Sachs and Warner delve into a variety of previous empirical studies and various regression analyses to prove that there is indeed a correlation between countries with an abundance of natural resources and their slow economic growth. Their argument also highlights that there are other variables which have often been ignored in various empirical studies which validate the ‘curse’. They state that there are few alternative exercises which can measure resource abundance. Their research claims that there is a lack of evidence that omitted geographical or climate variables to explain the curse (Sachs and Warner 2001, 837). In addition, they hold the assumption that there is a strong bias in the existing studies which have covered the resource curse as there are areas which have been unobserved due to lack of data.
There are substantial causal links between competition of natural resources and violent conflicts. The term resource wars became popularised in the 1980’s as a geopolitical device to both explain and exacerbate renewed tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over the control of fuel and minerals in disputed peripheries (Billon 2014, 4). The term dominated many neo-liberal reforms as the term referred to struggles of large-scale resource exploitation (Billon 2014, 4). Since the emergence of the phrase, many geopoliticians have employed the term in regards to the pursuit of possession of critical materials (Billon 2014, 4). Billon, states that resource wars are to some extent the result of lack of imagination, knowledge and capacity to find alternative means, and rather one goes to war over resources, which suggests that ‘they’ have the incapacity to acquire ‘resources’ through other means (Billon 2014, 4). However, by still referring to ‘resource wars’ continues to cause confusion.
12 As the phrase resource wars covers an endless list of categories, the term has been difficult to define. Humphreys suggests that resources of high politics such as water and oil should be associated with resource wars. However other conflicts linked to resources should be referred to as commodity conflicts, meaning resources controlled by the market value of materials such as gold, diamonds and tea (Humphreys 2012, 1070). Humphreys differentiates between various different types of natural materials and separates them into various different categories according to their purpose, affiliation with politics or society. Moreover, Humphrey’s proposes that resources and commodities have become increasingly securitised and therefore criminalised (2012, 1081). He notes that governments find it harder to tackle crime rather than conflicts and therefore the public perception sees neglect from the government which enables organised crime of natural materials to prevail (2012, 1082). Subsequently, various other scholars have dedicated their research to explore the relationship between environmental security and resources. Thomas Homer Dixon focusses his research on environmental conflicts: he distinguishes between conflict theory and environmental change to try and create a regression analysis to explain why environmental conflict occurs in certain areas of the developing south (Dixon 1991, 77). Leading on from this brings the literature to discuss the notion of transparency in regards to resources.
2.2 Transparency
Resources have been associated with corruption for decades and continue to be. The issue of transparency in this area began to gain traction at the turn of the century due to the rise in resource conflicts, and the opacity in their extraction. Resource extraction has always been an area of limited transparency, principally as a result of where it is located, which has enabled corruption from all areas within society to occur. The majority of literature concerning natural resources and corruption in the early part of the millennium, focuses on the need for increased transparency to curb corruption. Additionally, during this period, transparency was at the forefront of combating corruption. A rise in organisations dedicated to increasing transparency throughout all sectors of society began to emerge. In the early 21st Century, it is clear that the core component of all organisations dealing with the
extractive industry is dominated by initiating further transparency within their programmes. Truelove emphasises the rise of transparency in the supply chain of resource extraction, which largely began to
13 be a trend in the early part of the 21st Century (2003, 212). Elements such as corporate transparency became popular for several parties involved in the supply chains of resources. The argument is that once governments become accountable to their people, corruption may still occur but can be identified and prevented (2003, 212).
David-Barret and Okamura agree with the assumption that transparency emerged in the early 21st Century as a norm to combat corruption. Transparency International was founded by the World Bank to promote transparency in order to reduce corruption. Thus, from here the focus on transparency became the international norm through TI and other influential NGOs. Transparency in the extractive industry has been driven by entrepreneur NGOs such as Global Witness, EITI, and KP. Publish What You Pay (PWYP) emerged as a way to urge companies to be aware of the supply side of corruption, seen as supplying bribes in exchange for business (David-Barrett and Okamura 2016, 229). Effectively, this was intended to shame governments and corporations, and create transparency throughout their supply chains to explain how they spent their money, and thereby increase awareness and mitigate against the funding of illegal activities.
David-Barrett and Okamura argue, however, that transparency is irrelevant in countries who do not care about their reputation on the global scale (2016, 243). While transparency has emerged as an international norm in a relatively short period in the extractive industry, natural resource management and natural resource transparency have become intertwined with one another. Transparency has offered an appropriate solution in regards to natural resource management and various dysfunctions which occur around natural resources. The norm of transparency and the creation of mechanisms for encouraging this norm has played a huge role in resource rich countries that value their reputation. Nevertheless, this cannot suffice as the only solution to this endemic societal problem. Transparency in natural resource management is necessary but if countries do not abide by it, then it is irrelevant. Building upon Barrett’s argument, transparency has polarised the extractive industry, yet if countries do not wish to change their management of the resource, transparency is irrelevant.
14
Transparency and Accountability
The absence of transparency in regards to natural resources exacerbates problems associated with corruption, conflicts and human rights violations. Furthermore, the absence of transparency facilitates corruption, undermines democracy, facilitates rent capturing, and enforces problems between citizens and government (Williams 2011, 490). Williams argues that the lack of transparency in resource rich countries has significantly affected economic growth. It is generally understood that where there is transparency and accountability, resources are a blessing (Williams 2011, 491). Yet, what Williams argues is that where there is a lack in accountability, resources tend to be a curse as there is no effective mechanism to measure the actions of the government. If there is no accountability, transparency is therefore inefficient. These two elements must complement one another. There seems to be a common denominator, according to Williams: the lack of transparency in resource rich countries appears to be a direct result of their lack of accountability.
The notion of transparent management and natural resources has been a common theme which emerged around the turn of the century, as a mechanism to tackle development and the resource curse (Acosta 2013, 91). The rise in commodity prices since the early 2000s produced an increase in government revenues for both traditional and emerging resource rich countries. With this new found wealth in natural resources, many countries were unable to monitor and regulate the activities of extractive industries, which led to further corruption, slow development growth, and increase human rights violations. Additionally, although there have been several initiatives set up to identify and prohibit the exploitation of natural resources, rise of commodity prices has brought other security issues where these initiatives lacked the appropriate measures to tackle (2013, 91). Acosta highlights the fundamental importance of transparency and accountability (T&A) for extractive natural resources since the commodity boom in the early 2000s. He states that there has been a neglect of T and A efforts when it comes to natural resources. The enforcement of T and A needs to be at the forefront of all organisations dealing with extractive natural resources. The promotion of transparency has enabled
15 timely disclosure of government information and monitoring bodies of extractive materials. Acosta identifies that natural resources have been a common theme within transparent management, and several initiatives have been involved in prohibiting exploitation of resources. With the sudden commodity boom, these initiatives proved ineffective and lacked appropriate methods to ensure transparency and full accountability within these sectors. Thus, transparency has been neglected which has left a gap for exploitation and ambiguity within these governments and sectors of society.
The works of Kolstad and Wiig, suggest that transparency is the key factor in reducing corruption and other dysfunctions in natural resource rich countries (Kolstad and Wiig 2009, 521). Kolstad and Wiig, underpin the correlation between transparency and corruption and the effects of this. They state that a lack of transparency enabled corruption to become attractive, harder for public officials to monitor and act upon effectively and made sustainability and development more difficult (2009, 522). Overall, they argue that it is not always the case in the resource curse theory, that transparency is the answer that needs prioritising. In fact, the immediate role should be improving and constituting accountable institutions, that constrain rent-seeking, which is the key to avoiding detrimental resource rents (2009, 529). Transparency, although a fundamental factor in regards to eliminating several factors, should not be prioritised, as other areas need further attention. Several organisations which deal with natural resources have prioritised transparency as the main component to alleviate the resource curse within these countries. However, the area which is most detrimental according to Kolstad and Wiig, is the need to curb corruption in these localities. Transparency has been the dominant tool implemented by various organisations and this has led to a neglect in further initiatives being explored to eliminate the resource curse.
Haufler identifies that in the last decade, different international frameworks have been created to address the conflict impact of foreign tradeand the exploitation of natural resources (Haufler 2010, 403) The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was established with its primary aim to end corruption and create transparency. It is the global standard to promote the open and accountable management of oil, gas and mineral resources (EITI, EITI Who We Are 2018). The EITI launched in 2003, focussed on the demand side of corruption, forcing governments to disclose the revenues which
16 they earned from extractive operations (David-Barrett and Okamura 2016, 230). Subsequently, any foreign companies operating within their countries were now obliged to publish what they paid to the government. The EITI operates on the principle of having free, fully independent and active assessments on the ways in which extractive companies impact local communities, and their role within governments (Sovacool and Andrews 2015, 185). Sovacool and Andrews explore the impact of EITI within Azerbaijan and Liberia, and if transparency has been the main factor for improvement. Sovacool and Andrews highlight that EITI only looks at revenues from the extractive industry, which creates a narrow view of transparency as this is only a small portion of the public sector revenues. Another fundamental area which causes much ambiguity within EITI data, is that they do not monitor illicit financial flows going to elite or public officials instead of the public. Thus, although EITI may be improving transparency in the extractive industry, they do not necessarily influence the extent of resource revenue, which is pocketed illegitimately for private benefit (2015, 186). The most fundamental failure that has become noted amongst several scholars, is that transparency fails if civil society institutions are weak. Sovacool recognises that transparency is fundamental in regards to resource rich countries yet it is only one of the many things which resource rich countries should prioritise in order to ensure equitable production (2015, 191). In other words, the EITI cannot solely enforce sustainable development and good governance.
In agreement with Sovacool, Corrigan states that at the centre of the resource curse lies the importance of the role of institutions. Weak institutions at both the national and local level restrict and suppress economic growth and enable weak governance. Corrigan suggests that maintenance and establishment of strong institutions are detrimental for resource rich countries (Corrigan 2014, 19). Corrigan, concludes in her analysis of the EITI that an international initiative to combat the resource curse in these countries is not the only solution, as there is a lack in implementing transparency and accountability in other domains of a country (2014, 29).
The literature then expands to analyse the notion of human rights abuses and increases in crime and violence in resource rich countries. As resources represent an important source of income and power, it is little surprise that internal conflicts, crime and violence ensue from these strong competing
17 forces. Douglas and Alfie, have highlighted the influence between high-value resources on sustainable development, and conflict and security (Alfie 2014, 271). They identify that the majority of high-profile armed conflicts that have occurred from the 1950’s until now, have taken place directly within areas with high biodiversity which, by definition, have resources (2014, 272) Throughout their article, they analyse the mechanisms which contribute to high value resources and social conflict. These being, (a) resource capture, (b) grievance-based conflicts, and, (c) undermining of economic performance and environmental governance (Alfie 2014, 273). They hold the perspective that natural resource wealth catalyses social conflict creating barriers to progressive policies and security (2014, 275). These perspectives allow the literature to analyse how human rights have been presented in regards to natural resources.
2.3 Human rights
The United Nations has been the father of identifying and representing the global body for human rights since its declaration in 1948. The UN defines human rights as rights inherent to all human beings regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language or religion (United Nations 2019). The United Nations embarked on a series of human rights policies after the declaration in 1948. A series of international treaties and other instruments have been adopted since, which have expanded the body of international human rights law. Every UN body and specialised agency has to be involved in some degree in regards to Human Rights abuses. Thus, according to UN law, their member states must also uphold these standards. International Human Rights law lays down the obligations as to how governments must act and refrain from certain actions. However, what constitutes human rights continues to evolve and its definitions are constantly expanding as the world is continuously becoming more globalised. Thus, the UN has expanded its scope to address the specific standard for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable groups (United Nations 2019). There are several variations as to what forms of human rights occur and how to identify these. This in itself is
18 problematic as every country has its own understanding and interpretation of these rights due to their history, culture and legacy.
Over the course of the last decade, there has been a huge shift in world politics, which has contributed to how human rights are addressed. Following the end of WW2 human rights became a priority on a global level. Villalba focusses on the human rights of prisoners in South America and describes the several initiatives and human rights laws and treaties that have been implemented. The Organisation of American States (OAS) was founded in 1948 and as a result has developed several mechanisms in regards to the protection and promotion of human rights. The Inter American Human Rights System and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights were developed to constitute a source of international obligations from all OAS members (Villalba 2017, 20). However, the problematic area is that not all OAS members have proven to successfully abide by these laws. Although Villalba explores human rights from a prisoner perspective, it is important to note that he argues that this is not solely a problem in prisons but spreads throughout the entire social structure of the continent. In parallel with Villalba, Sikkink explores the transition from authoritarian regimes to democracies throughout South America and suggests that the human rights violations which occurred throughout this time were never dealt with accordingly by any judicial proceedings (Sikkink 1993, 427). Sikkink acknowledges various international human rights networks, and how effective they have been in dealing with human rights violations throughout South America. In other works of hers, she describes the human rights courts which have been established throughout South America to recognise human rights, and agrees with Villalba that although there are mechanisms and structures implemented, they are not fully abided by or understood. Large proportions of the populations remain unaware of their legal rights.
Cleary argues in his book that after the end of the cold war the region experienced an era of great repression and even after military dictatorships were abolished, the region was left with legacies of authoritarian rule (Cleary 2016, 8). Cleary’s book on mobilizing human rights in Latin America paints a picture of how Latin American countries are poisoned by human rights violations. And as a result of these legacies, the memory of human rights violations which persisted throughout the cold war era, remain. In several countries where violence and political instability is now over, the traumatic
19 experience of the past remains a not so distant memory. Elements of denial, corruption, political instability remain within these countries, enabling organised crime and illegal activity to persist. Thus, this denial of human rights is a core component facilitating this ‘illusion’. Stanley Cohen further explores the connection between state denial of crime and human rights violations. He states that historic state crimes are difficult to justify as the event brings back memories to victims whose memory and identity have been distorted due to this denial (Cohen 1995, 45). Cohen’s argument is categoric in its conclusion: State denial of crime encourages human rights to persist or become avoided and thus gives space for human rights violations to carry on within society. Disfiguring a course of history through encouraging denial of criminal activities, contributes to neglect in the way governments deal with these issues in the future. It is not unfamiliar for governments to deny or hide human rights abuses from the past. It has happened numerous times throughout history. However, since the popularisation of human rights in the 70s, governments have shifted from this trend to address crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, several countries in the developing world due to religious or cultural boundaries have not been so accommodating to this trend. Welch and Moore explore why governments or international actors chose to repress their populations. They analyse various examples of the behavioural characteristics of governments and how they vary in regards to illegitimate measures, which are forced onto them (Welch and Moore 2015, n.p.). This has often been the case through military regimes in South America during the cold war, which has encouraged these violations to continue to the present day and which affect the future development of these countries.
Human rights abuses and corruption
There is a direct correlation between human rights abuses and high levels of corruption. James Thuo Gathii analyses the connection between these two phenomena. Gathii has argued that there has been limited research on understanding the driving connection between high levels of corruption and human rights abuses. He states that corruption has an effect on nearly every aspect of human rights. He furthers his argument by addressing how corruption has been tackled in the past by various governing bodies and how human rights have been a separate issue. Here is why corruption continues to occur as human rights have been dealt with on a separate platform. He concludes in his findings that corruption
20 destabilises a state from meeting obligations to respect, fulfil, and protect the human rights of its citizens (Gathii 2009, 197). Gathii, analyses what efforts have been taken to defeat corruption and concludes that human rights are increasingly more complex. Therefore, an increase in human rights initiatives can be used in reducing corruption.
Hun Joon Kim and J.C. Sharman, like Gathii, address the correlation of corruption and human rights abuses as an understudied area of research. They analyse how the neoliberal era saw an increase in states and international organisations passing laws and adopting treaties, institutionalising accountability for corruption and human rights crimes (Hun Joon Kim 2014, 419). The increase in international treaties and bodies such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), empowering such international bodies to bring charges against a corrupt leader or other individuals for human rights violations outside of their own country, has limited the principle of sovereignty and sovereign immunity (2014, 149). In addition to this, the shift in world politics that has occurred over the last century, has had a huge effect on the way in which we tackle corruption and human rights.
It is reasonable to conclude that after analysing the literature that despite the increased focus on human rights and human rights violations, the institutions created to oversee to protect and police this issue are ineffective. This is particularly concerning as these institutions have been established since World War 2. Furthermore, the workings and responsibilities of these institutions which have been developed throughout South America have not been functioning to their full potential. In order therefore, to bring this literature into further perspective, the research design and question will be presented in the following section.
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Chapter 3: Research Design
Hypothesis Generation
There are two key drivers highlighted from the literature review, which determine the outcome of the high levels of crime and violence occurring in gold mining areas. The two drivers, in this case, are corruption and accountability. These have been decided as the core drivers, which contribute to the outcome of the problem. The assumption is that by proving these hypotheses are true, it allows the research question to be explored. However, it must be noted that when researching corruption, there is a lack of reliable data. The most appropriate form of data collection is via the use of perspectives which, in the case of this paper has been gathered through conducting numerous interviews.
The three hypotheses derived from this literature are the following:
1. High levels of corruption has enabled a lack of transparency in gold mining industries
2. Government authorities neglecting their accountability has enabled corruption in gold mining region
3. High levels of corruption have enabled informal and illegal gold mines to commit human rights violations
Subsequently, transparency and accountability must act together, if there are high levels of transparency but low levels of accountability, corruption can still occur and thereby human rights abuses will be present. The same goes for high levels of accountability but low levels of transparency. From the literature discussed, it has become apparent that there is a significant lack of transparency in regards to resource extraction which has facilitated corruption and human rights violation to persist in mining operations. In compliance with this, it has widely been agreed that there is a lack of accountability in governing institutions which enable weak governance, and thus has contributed to corruption and therefore human rights are not dealt with effectively. Acknowledging these trends has enabled these hypotheses to be formed, and therefore analysed and tested to prove that human rights violations continue to occur in gold mining operations due to the lack of transparency and accountability. Due to
22 low levels of transparency and accountability corruption continues to escalate, to neglect from governments and organisations to address the importance of human rights in these areas.
The key themes which have emerged from the literature, all relate back to the lack of transparency and accountability to work together to combat exploitation of natural resources which has led to conflicts and wars. Thus, this thesis holds the theory that due to the lack of transparency and accountability in all sectors of society has in fact facilitated corruption and therefore lead to increased levels of crime and violence. Furthermore, these forms of crime and violence are affecting human rights and enabling human rights violations to persist due to the nature of their actions. The literature presented and the notion of the resource curse theory, this paper will aim to demonstrate the relationship between gold and the environment surrounding it. Thus, to justify this theory the hypothesis presented will be used as a theoretical mechanism to answer the research question. The lack of transparency in resources, in this case gold, has enabled corruption and human rights violations to persist throughout the gold mining sectors polluting all sectors of society.
3.1 Methodology
Case study design
This paper will set out to answer the research question by making use of the case study design, as it aims to demonstrate the connection of the empirical data for the study back to the research question and ultimately to its conclusions. Robert Yin who can be described as one of the fathers of case study, defines case studies as “an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (Yin 2009, 14). Yin established a table which identifies five key strategies of research, which can be seen bellow in Figure 2.
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Fig 2. Yins different forms of methods
Source: (Yin 2009, 8)
The case study seems most applicable, as it is the preferred choice of strategy when taking a how /why question and focussing on contemporary events. As seen in Figure 2, the first three strategies (Experiment, Survey and Archival) presented are easily ruled out for this research, which leaves only the overlap between histories and case studies, which are very similar in their application. However, as the research explored is contemporary and a current problem, it is also an area which is understudied and rare, yet presents national importance making the case study significant.
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Figure 3 map of Peru, Highlighted in Red the department of Madre de Dios.
Source: (Huhunqu 2010)
The ongoing crime and violence that occur in areas where there is an abundance of gold, provides the overall context of this research. Within this general observation, I have chosen to analyse one specific region in Peru – Madre de Dios - The Department of Madre de Dios - where informal or illegal mining is endemic and the consequential effects result in crime, violence and human rights abuses. To fully appreciate the area where so much crime and violence occur as a result of illegal and informal gold mining, Madre de Dios covers an area of
85,300.54 km
2 which is larger than the land mass of the entire Benelux countries. Moreover, Madre de Dios is responsible for the majority of gold extracted in the country which makes it a location worth investigating. Analysing the human rights abuses, crime and violence, which continues to be prevalent in Peru, will enable me to answer my25 research question as to how and why these abuses continue to occur in gold mining regions and to identify the key influences that enable such violations to persist. The advantage of using a case study technique for this paper is that it is an investigative tool which explores a contemporary phenomenon in depth within real-life context, especially when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clear (Yin 2009, 18).
Justification of Case selection
There is a general growing trend that advanced research is more effective through iterative or collaborative methods (Bennett 2004, 19) and in order to facilitate an extraction of data that would enable this thesis to explore and answer its research question, a single case study approach will be implemented. The advantage of choosing this method is that it is a suitable application in identifying new or omitted variables and developing historical explanations (Bennett 2004, 19). Furthermore, the importance of being able to identify new hypotheses through methods of deduction and induction which is most effectively achieved through a case study method (Bennett 2004, 19). According to Yin a single case study is an intensive study of a single unit which is observed and explored. Several scholars debate the various forms of research which can be applied through case study research. Single units of analysis also very often have sub units of analysis which is what Yin refers to as embedded case studies (2009, 18). For this paper it makes most sense to apply the single case study method as it represents the critical case in testing a well-formulated theory. A single case can be used and applied to a case which has already been tested several times, or a phenomenon which is understood but reflecting upon it from a smaller lens. The purpose of this is to build upon the theory which has already been discussed. By focussing on one specific region in Peru allows this paper to place a microscope on this region to uncover other factors which are exacerbating the problem at heart. Implementing a single case study for this research can confirm, challenge and bring new perspectives to it. Moreover, this form of study can help refocus future investigations in a field.
This form of single case study research is embedded as there are several other sub units of analysis which supply further insights to the research. In the case of illegal gold mining in Madre de
26 Dios, there is more than one unit of analysis, thus attention is also given to other pressing factors. For example, while the region of Madre de Dios is the primary focus of this paper, other outcomes and elements of analysis are also present, which require attention as this research is still exploratory.
Additionally, a single case study is an appropriate option to execute this thesis, as it is particularly useful when it comes to observing a specific phenomenon. As such, the research of this paper will be analysing why crime and violence persists in Peru, with a narrower focus on the region of Madre de Dios. The single case study approach is a useful tool of research as it will enable this paper to build upon already known information and highlight areas which are ‘known unknowns.’ Mining and resources are a broad area of research, illegal and informal mining is a well-known issue, but is widely understudied. Thus, to help us understand a much bigger phenomenon it is beneficial to apply a single case study with a very specific focus to exemplify the problem at large.
Furthermore, by employing a single case analysis enables this paper to explore other independent variables, which can be researched to see a variety of causes and effects which facilitate illegal or informal gold mining operations within Peru. Employing this method enables the research to explore why and how these mining operations work and how they contribute to crime, violence and human rights abuses.
Conceptualisation of concepts
For the purpose of this thesis, there are several concepts which need to be defined to understand in what context they are being referred to. The concept of extractive industry will employ EITI’s definition of extractive industries being oil, gas and minerals (EITI Glossary 2019). Minerals here include bronze, coal, copper, diamonds, gold, iron, ore, silver, uranium and zinc. It is important to note that references to natural resource conflicts will specifically relate to mining. In this context, Humphrey’s definition of resource wars, i.e. excluding wars of high politics such as water or oil – does not apply in as much to wars or conflicts linked to resources whose value is controlled by the market must be acknowledged as commodity conflicts (Humphreys 2012, 1070).
27 This thesis will apply Transparency International's definition of corruption. TI defines corruption as the abuse of power for private gain (International 2019). Using the TI definition of corruption is also beneficial for this thesis as TI’s corruption perception index will be the main tool when measuring levels of corruption in Peru. In addition to this, it is also important to mention that TI also incorporate a sub heading solely to define political corruption as the manipulation of policies, institutions, and rules of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political decision makers, who abuse their position to sustain power and wealth (Transparency International 2018).
It is necessary to define how this paper views transparency as this is one of the core drivers to understanding why corruption and human rights violations persist in mining communities. Incorporating TI’s definition establishes a coherent understanding as to how transparency will be understood in the context of this research. TI define transparency as characteristics of governments, companies and individuals of being open in the clear disclosure of information, rules, plans, processes and actions (Transparency International 2018).
As transparency and corruption are closely intertwined with accountability, it is therefore important to grasp the concept of accountability. Accountability in this essence must be applied not solely from a governance perspective but incorporating all sectors of society. TI’s definition of accountability therefore provides the most accurate means to conceptualise this concept. TI define accountability, as the notion that individuals, agencies and organisations (public, private and civil society) are responsible for reporting their activities and executing their powers properly (Transparency International 2018). Indeed, this definition seemed most appropriate as it envisages not solely government but all society. Thus, when referring to mining operations it is important to acknowledge that all sectors of society are involved within these industries. The World Bank define accountability from a government perspective alone, thus their definition was too narrow to be applicable and appropriate for this thesis.
Human rights violations have been defined by several institutions and organisations. The concept is broad and difficult to narrow down to one universally accepted definition. The most logical
28 definition to apply is that defined by the UN. The UN define Human rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore, when any state or non-state actor disregards these rights it is seen as a human rights violation. This paper will take a UN perspective in regards to human rights violations. Additionally, as crime and violence occurring in mining activities comprises a large part of this paper, this will be associated with the same concept as for human rights violations. Although not all criminal activities are necessarily human rights violations, in this case when referring to crime or criminal activity it is assumed that the consequences of these activities does indeed constitute human rights violations.
To be able to operationalise this thesis and bring this data to light, transparency and corruption will be measured largely through perspectives. Transparency is easy to be visible when there is a high presence of corruption. Due to the nature of this research, it has been easiest to measure corruption through perspectives taken from interviews. Thus, this has also given the ability to assume that where this is corruption present will coincidentally lead to very little transparency present. Similarly, it is easy to see that corruption has an increasingly large impact on preventing any chances or transparency. Similarly, increasing transparency has proven to have impact on reducing corruption. We also know that because of the lack of transparency has made corruption an attractive option to partake in. Similarly, it has been made evident that is a lack of access to transparency in these industries because of the opaqueness of their makeup. Geography is one element, but also lack of awareness, opportunity and employment have allowed a lack of transparency to persist.
To know that there is government negligence and little accountability which has impacted the mining environments resulting increasing human rights violations and persistence of crime and violence. Through researching what efforts have been put in place and the government influence regarding this topic has all proven through interviewees and data collected that there is a huge negligence in regional government activities preventing these areas to improve and prevent any forms of violations occurring in the region. It is also largely accepted in these forms of industries and the activities occurring around them, are naturally connected to violence and crime due to its nature.
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Data Collection
By following Yin’s principles, a major strength of a case study data collection is the opportunity to use many different sources of evidence (Yin 2009, 115). Additionally, to use multiple sources of evidence when undertaking case study research allows the paper to investigate a broader range of historical and behavioural issues. Subsequently, an invaluable advantage of case study data collection is the development of converging lines of inquiry through a process of triangulation which encourages one to collect information from multiple sources yet aimed at corroborating the same fact or phenomenon (2009, 116). Thus, by executing the data collection through triangulation creates multiple sources as part of the same study addressing the same facts. This form of ‘triangulation’ data collection can be otherwise perceived as convergence of Evidence. Figure 4 portrays a diagram which describes the convergence of evidence by Yin. This form of data collection has enabled the research to apply a variety of sources to answer the research question. Thus, the data collected comes from a variety of sources, but all refer back to the same fact that will provide the empirical data to test the hypothesis, and relay back to the research question.
Fig 4. Yin’s Triangulation Method
30 Due to the complex nature of resource wars/commodity wars and human rights violations, it is imperative to gather knowledge and information as efficiently as possible. A qualitative research technique using Interviews will be one of the most prominent forms of data collection acquired and utilised to support this thesis. This form of data collection permits the research to explore various perspectives, ideas and opinions on a specific topic. This has proven highly beneficial to further the investigation whilst understanding the situation from people directly in the field. Especially as indicated this exploratory qualitative research will enable this paper to apply various mediums of literature, data sets, interviews, and secondary documents and analyse them in depth. Qualitative research as part of the data collection allows the research to apply content and analysis to evaluate literature, documents and data sets. Sale and Thielke define qualitative research as an investigative process that focuses on interpretation and meaning to explore social or human problems (Sale and Thielke 2018, 128). Applying both single case analysis and qualitative research analysis seems most suitable for this study as it enables the research to discover the causal contributions or various conditions to the outcome of interest which is being analysed.
The data collected shall be analysed, observed and evaluated to reassure that it is relevant for this research. The data shall be collected first from national data sets to establish an overall perspective of the evaluated country. Collecting a large amount of data at the national level as well as data from the sub national level, increases the reliability which will allow this paper to answer the research question comprehensively.
The main data which has been obtained to prove the hypotheses and answer the research questions are a set of interviews which were conducted in Peru in November 2019. Whilst spending time in Peru in November for research, five in depth interviews were conducted with people from different backgrounds who are involved in the topic of illegal mining in Madre de Dios. All the Interviewees which participated in this research, consented to using their name, occupation, location and information which they provided. All the information which they provided has been used to help answer the hypothesis and research question. Some of the interviews have been performed in the field whilst doing research in Peru in November and others have been over the phone. For the purpose of privacy, the only
31 interviewee which chose to refrain his surname was Ivan the owner of an informal mine. Unlike the other interviewees, he himself is a victim of corruption which occurs from these industries.
The interviewees were:
❖ Economic Journalist specialised in mining in Madre de Dios at El Comercio (a leading Peruvian national newspaper),
❖ NGO PromSex, a feminist organisation that aims to create awareness to people who are not able to access sexual and reproductive health, justice, and human security. They aim to promote, contribute and strengthen people affected but human rights violations throughout Peru. They currently work on a project solely focusing on sexual abuse in Madre de Dios due to illegal gold mining.
❖ An owner of an illegal gold mine now based in Atiquipa.
❖ Security Consultant for Society and Environmental Effects of Mining at Santa Barbara Consultants,
❖ Commercial Manager at Pan American Silver
❖ Consultant for Anti-Corruption in mining Transparency International ❖ Lawyer specialised in mining right and legislation
The purpose of these interviews was to explore the interviewees’ perspectives, views and understanding of the effects which illegal and informal mining have within the country. The way in which these interviews were executed was in a semi-structured format, which is a form of interview structure where the interviewer has some discretion about the questions or topics which are to be asked, but the questions are generalised to give the interviewee more freedom. This form of interview process was favourable as it permitted the interviews to be more conversational and collect more in-depth information. Moreover, having semi-structured interviews facilitates different perspectives to be spoken about which was essential for this research. Subsequently, as the people who were being interviewed all work in industries which are dangerous, having semi-structured interviews allowed the respondent
32 to be more comfortable speaking about certain topics and enabled them to personalise the interviews which made the data much more valuable.
All the interviews held four main themes: corruption, human rights abuses, transparency and accountability. For each theme there were a set of sub questions which were listed. However, often the interviewees would elaborate further on certain topics or areas they were more familiar with. This can be seen in the Appendix.
To collect data on human rights, this paper has obtained various documents and reports released from various Peruvian Government ministries. The ministries which were used to gain the majority of this information were the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable people, Ministry of Mining and Energy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Environment. Furthermore, this research also evaluated reports open to the public from local government municipalities, which were located in gold mining provinces that provide detailed records of activity and crime that occurs in these regions. Additionally, each province has their own regional government which provides open access information and data bases recording activity and information on an individual level. However, there is a limitation with this data as not all regional governments monitor and record all the instances that occur in their regions, thus making it hard to establish accurate data where gold mining operations occur. Consequently, interviews have been the best source of data to generate more personal perspectives.
In addition, using several intergovernmental and non-government reports, databases and observatories has provided this paper with valuable data to further explore the topic. As a result, all the data collected has allowed this thesis to comprehensively explore, evaluate, and determine why gold mining operations are prone to crime, violence, corruption and human rights abuses. Scrutinising the data collected enables this paper to test its hypothesis and sufficiently answer its research question.
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Data and Method
The analysis of this thesis will be centred on the recurring patterns and trends which are playing a role in exacerbating the crime and violence in mining regions. As the data collected is qualitative, the most commonly used method to analyse this is to identify recurring patterns and trends across several different platforms. For this case a thematic analysis will be applied as a deductive approach to identify and analyse the data collected. There are several interpretations of thematic analysis, but the main advantage of this method of analysis is its flexibility. Thematic analysis can be applied to a spectrum of frameworks and is the best format when analysing interviews. As the topic at hand is of exploratory nature it is of use to apply a method which enables other factors to be discovered and find new lines of thought. Although thematic analysis is used in several different fields, the steps in carrying out the process remain the same. Applying the steps outlined by Clarke and Braun, help to create a clear map of how to use thematic analysis to evaluate one’s data (2006, 87).
1. Familiarising 2. Coding
3. Searching for themes 4. Reviewing themes
5. Defining and naming themes
6. Writing up, contextualising the analysing in relation to the literature
3.2 Limitations
As the research for this paper is primarily explorative the presumption must be made that the research will not be conclusive. This is simply inevitable due to the lack of literature and attention which focus on crimes and violence in gold mining regions. And, more importantly the current relevance of the topic is only just becoming a popular phenomenon for the Government to tackle. Moreover, as the purpose of this research is to discover and uncover various new lines of thoughts and philosophise over problems which have lacked attention, this will lead to inconclusive research. Similarly, as the data applied to establish the research is predominantly qualitative, suggests that there is a bias in the data
34 and thus a question mark over its reliability. Additionally, the data collected mainly has been through secondary sources, observations and interviews which also produce a bias perspective. However, when dealing with such a topic, involving corruption and illegal activity, the best way to investigate this topic is through perspectives, interviews, observations and focus groups.
As the topic of this research is covering the mining industry operating in geographically remote areas, a lack of internet, telecommunications, and locations are difficult to access by any form of transport. These ‘barriers’ contribute to the industry being very opaque and therefore the data is not always accessible or trustworthy. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that Peru continues to be a heavily corrupt country and as a result, this has prevented access and availability to several data sets which could have been of value to this thesis. Furthermore, if accessible and available, the data can be exposed to bias.
