Despite global pressure, cobalt mining still tainted by forced child labor

Cobalt is a mineral mined mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It is critical to the battery technology used in things like electric vehicles and cell phones. But dubious ethics and exploitative labor practices, particularly the use of child labor, continue to haunt the sector according to an article in Wards 100. More must be done to keep children safe.

Children working like Gold Rush miners

Despite efforts to find a replacement for this controversial mineral, the demand for cobalt continues to increase. Analysts expect it to reach 222,000 tons by 2025, tripling the amount from 2010. In addition to DRC being the world’s leading supplier of cobalt, their main form of cobalt mining is artisanal mining which often involves children.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor:

 “Children routinely work in these mines, often under hazardous conditions. While mining is on the DRC’s list of hazardous activities for which children’s work is forbidden, the majority of cobalt mining in the DRC is done informally, where monitoring and enforcement are poor,”

Individuals, not machines, do most of the work in the artisanal mining sector. It is common to find children as young as 9 and 10 forced into hazardous labor in the mines, working to help out their parents. Like Gold Rush miners from the 1800s, children use simple, labor-intensive mining tools like a pick or shovel and a bucket. Moreover, they don’t use safety equipment. At best, the children who work at these mines give up their childhood; at worst, they sometimes give up their lives.

Tesla, Dell and Microsoft continue to act with impunity

The U.S. Labor Department has launched a new initiative titled “Combatting Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cobalt Industry (COTECCO)” to stop the use of child labor in the cobalt supply chain. The initiative aims to encourage key stakeholders to develop and implement strategies to reduce child labor and improve working conditions in artisanal and small-scale cobalt mines in the DRC and in the broader cobalt supply chain.

The Wards 100 article stated:

 “In response to government pressure, global automakers such as Tesla, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Hyundai and others, as well as their suppliers, have adopted policies prohibiting the use of child labor in the supply chains.”

Despite the new policies, an ongoing federal lawsuit found companies such as Tesla, Alphabet, Dell, and Microsoft using child labor in cobalt mining operations. The lawsuit accuses the five companies of joining suppliers in a “forced labor” venture by purchasing cobalt from artisanal mines in the DRC. The legal representative of five children killed in cobalt mining is one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Disappointingly, earlier this year the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that buying cobalt in the global supply chain does not amount to “participation in a forced labor venture” under a federal law protecting children and other victims of human trafficking and forced labor. However, the plaintiffs’ lawyers expect more litigation around the issue.

Freedom United stands with those calling for laws that will keep children safe and prevent them from working long hours in unsafe conditions wherever they live. Join us in the fight for corporate accountability and always putting people before profit.