Do the smartphones we hold in our hands every day generate human carnage? There Democratic Republic of Congo accuses the giant Apple of illegally exploiting cobalt mines to manufacture its phones. And in these mines, NGOs note the presence of children.
Beyond Apple, more than half of the cobalt mined in the world comes from the DRC. “Cobalt is a mineral that is now widely used, especially in batteries, because it is used to store a large quantity of energy while maintaining them at a stable temperature,” explains Madalena Neglia, director, on RTL. from the human rights office to the international NGO FIDH.
Cobalt extraction has particularly serious consequences on the environment. “Part of it is extracted in legal mines,” explains the specialist, who mentions processes that need a lot of water and generate “a lot of waste going into the water”.
Apple, like all companies that Source cobalt, has the responsibility and even the obligation to have a certain vigilance over its supply chain.
Madalena Neglia, director of the human rights office at the international NGO FIDH, on RTL
But part is extracted illegally, “through artisanal mines”. These, according to Maddalena Neglia, are “often businesses, but informal, for example by armed groups, which fuel the conflict in part of the country.”
And in these illegal mines, minors, aged 7 for the youngest, work. “Unfortunately, there are a large proportion of children, she confirms. They estimate more or less 40,000 children who work in illegal, artisanal mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Extraction is done by hand, It is therefore easier for children to enter the mines, to be able to work and manage to take the mineral.”
“Apple, like all companies that Source cobalt, has the responsibility and even the obligation to have a certain vigilance over its supply chain,” believes Maddalena Neglia. When we Source a material like cobalt, we suspect that it may come from places where, in particular, there are armed conflicts. The company must exercise increased vigilance, it is said, on the origin of this material.”
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