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Whenever a camera or security person or policeman appeared, the children were chased away. Officials in DRC denied there was child labor, but for the CBS News crew, it was plain to see. Even those too young to work, including dust-covered infants clinging to their mothers and playing on the dirty ground, spent much of the day breathing in toxic fumes, Patta found. The other defendants named in the case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.ĬBS News witnessed children barely 10 years old lugging heavy sacks of cobalt to be washed in rivers. 'As an active member of the Responsible Minerals Initiative, we work alongside our suppliers, other companies, and industry groups to drive efforts in and beyond the DRC.' 'We are committed to sourcing all materials ethically and eliminating child mining in global supply chains,' the spokesperson said.

#Cobalt mines i congo code#

'If a refiner is unable or unwilling to meet our standards, they will be removed from our supply chain,' Apple said, adding that it removed six cobalt refiners in 2019.Ī Google spokesperson called child labor and endangerment 'unacceptable' in a statement to CBS News, and said the company's supplier code of conduct 'strictly prohibits' it.

#Cobalt mines i congo full#

The company added that it is currently investigating the allegations, and that it has informed the Responsible Minerals Initiative as part of their grievance mechanism.Īpple told CBS News the company has 'led the industry by establishing the strictest standards for our suppliers and are constantly working to raise the bar for ourselves, and the industry.' The company added that since 2016, it has published a full list of cobalt refiners every year, all of which participate in third-party audits.

#Cobalt mines i congo trial#

The suit demands a trial by jury for the plaintiffs, who include maimed child miners and the families of others killed in the cobalt mines.ĭell Technologies told CBS News in a statement that it's committed to 'the responsible sourcing of minerals.' The company denied it ever 'knowingly sourced operations using any form of involuntary labor, fraudulent recruiting practices or child labor,' and that it works with suppliers to manage sourcing programs responsibly. The complaint accuses the tech giants of 'knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children in Democratic Republic of Congo ('DRC') to mine cobalt.' by the non-profit organization International Rights Advocates, on behalf of 13 anonymous plaintiffs from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The defendants named in the suit are Apple, Google parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, Dell and Tesla. Some of the biggest technology firms in the United States have been accused in a lawsuit of complicity in the death and maiming of hundreds, if not thousands of African children who mine cobalt, a mineral vital to the production of the lithium-ion batteries in everything from smartphones to electric cars. tech giants sued over deaths of child cobalt miners 03:34