American Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development Vol. 6, No. 3, 2021, pp. 94-106 http://www.aiscience.org/journal/ajesd * Corresponding author E-mail address: Human and Environmental Rights Vis-À-Vis the Impacts of Unregulated Artisanal Small-Scale Mining Isaac Eshun 1, * , Thomas Prehi Botchway 2 , Pamela Ekua Payne 3 1 Department of Social Studies Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana 2 Department of Political Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana 3 Centre for Conflict, Human Rights and Peace Studies, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana Abstract This study examines human and environmental rights issues in unregulated artisanal small-scale mining and its impact on the communities in the Mpohor District of the Western Region of Ghana. Mixed methods approach and descriptive survey design were employed in this study. Purposive and simple random techniques were employed to select 117 participants. Structured questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide were the instruments used for data collection. SPSS software was used to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Findings of this study were that unregulated mining activities polluted most of the water bodies within the district. This led to the destruction of most farmlands and removed the vegetation containing important species supporting mans’ survival. It also increased erosion and loss of viability for agricultural purposes, among other uses. Also, unregulated Artisanal Small-Scale Mining (ASM) denied residents the right to clean water, health, and arable land, displacing people from their natural residence and inflation occurring which negatively affect the wellbeing of the local population. Also, children engaged in mining and this deprive them of their education and spreading problems of psychological or behavioural nature such as alcoholism and prostitution. It is recommended that government should embark on education of the effects of unregulated ASM on the health, environment, and the livelihood of the indigenous populace, and its associated socio-economic impact on posterity. Also, the government can develop and invest in legalizing unregulated ASM and enforcing laws and policies to reduce the environmental hazards in the communities. Keywords Environmental Rights, Human Rights, Ghana, Mpohor District, Small-Scale Mining, Unregulated Mining Received: July 21, 2021 / Accepted: August 13, 2021 / Published online: September 15, 2021 @ 2021 The Authors. Published by American Institute of Science. This Open Access article is under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 1. Introduction Researchers and policymakers have long expressed concerns over the illicit activities of artisanal mining, yet efforts to tackle the somewhat irreversible impacts have inadvertently stalled [1]. It is mainly due to the multifaceted nature of small-scale mining. On the one hand, the environmental, social and economic cost cannot be underestimated whiles, on the other hand, systemic disparities in development evident in rural and urban regions to some extent justify such activities [2]. The adverse impact of mining, particularly artisanal mining (euphemistically called Galamsey) on sustainable development, has been well documented. A universal definition of ASM is not established yet [3]. The criteria for defining small scale mining differ from country to country. In Ghana small-scale mining refers to operations of individual Ghanaians or organized groups of Ghanaians (4-8