{"id":43189,"date":"2021-05-04T17:12:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T17:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/?p=43189"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:30:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:30:26","slug":"the-impact-of-covid-19-on-child-labour-in-cobalt-mines-in-the-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-child-labour-in-cobalt-mines-in-the-drc\/","title":{"rendered":"The impact of Covid-19 on child labour in cobalt mines in the DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last year, after schools and businesses closed during the lockdown caused by the Covid-19<\/a> pandemic, remote working and learning via video-conferencing were increasingly relied on, even becoming the main means of communication. As a result there was a 26% hike in sales of electronic devices<\/a> such as smartphones, computers and tablets. The health crisis was also behind the unprecedented rise in sales of rechargeable electric and hybrid vehicles, according to figures published by the Association of European<\/a> Manufacturers (Szirniks, 2001).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithium-ion batteries are needed to make these electronic devices<\/a> work, and the batteries use rare mineral cobalt. This is a very precious mineral, with over 60% of world production originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo<\/a> where 20% of the mines are small-scale (Quioidbach, 2019). Currently, it is still estimated that in the DRC<\/a> some 40,000 children have to work in these mines to collect this mineral instead of going to school, playing or simply experiencing childhood (Kara, 2018; Courboulay, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Child labour in mines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is estimated that 20% of the mines in the DRC<\/a> are small-scale and use mostly child workers. These children, aged between 3 and 17, have to work<\/a> in appalling and dangerous conditions, usually barefoot. According to the International Labour Organisation \u201cchild labour unifies all the activities which deprive children of their childhood, potential and dignity, along with harming their schooling and physical and mental development\u201d<\/em> (UNICEF, n.d.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extreme poverty<\/a> means that working in the mines is a necessity for some Congolese families, who are left with no choice but to send their children to work<\/a> in mines without oversight. Other children work<\/a> there in order to be able to buy food and clothes or simply to pay for school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an Amnesty International report, children work<\/a> for at least 12 hours a day without protective equipment in deep underground shafts around 10 metres long, which they have often dug themselves. With no mask or helmet, they go down into the shafts unprotected and put their lives in danger<\/a> to bring mineral-encrusted rocks to the surface. Other children work sitting on the rocks at surface level \u2013 again without masks or gloves \u2013 collecting minerals that they find, sifting rocks and mine residue, sorting the minerals and then washing them to prepare them for transport (Amnesty International, 2016).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are only<\/a> paid 1 or 2 dollars a day and are exposed to many risks, for example: fatal<\/a> mine collapses, injuries caused by accidents, mercury poisoning and illnesses<\/a> such as lung infections (Kippenberg, 2016; Nyirabihogo, 2016). In the DRC the economic exploitation<\/a> of children is forbidden by law; they are not even allowed access to quarries. An action plan aimed at eradicating child labour was put together in 2011 but hasn\u2019t yet been made official by the state (International Labour Organisation, 2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there has been government action in recent years, and in 2017 the government formally committed to ending these practices by 2025, the reality is that the situation on the ground hasn\u2019t changed much (Amnesty International, 2017; Mottier, 2017).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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