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Sierra Leone

‘Exemplary’ support for post-conflict workers

Public World contributed to what an independent review described as an “exemplary project” to support artisanal diamond miners in post-conflict Sierra Leone and improve regulation of the industry.

The project was financed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by Adam Smith International, which called in Public World to support the collective organisation of ‘grass roots diggers’.

We supported the efforts of the United Mineworkers Union (UMU) to help the artisanal miners strengthen their negotiating power with dealers and landowners, while preventing smuggling and other activities linked to conflict.

The project’s independent review commented that “some components of the work”, including “the critical area of regulation and support for Artisanal and Small Scale Miners”, should be “disseminated as examples of good practice internationally".