“A child died in the dirt so your phone could charge,” was the opening statement of a video by Jermaine Fowlera public historian and NYT bestselling author, recounted the tragic events of September 2019 in Kamilombe, Congo, when a tunnel collapsed and swallowed small-time cobalt miners alive. As parents searched for their children in the dirt, they spoke of the dangerous nature of the industry, where nearly 40,000 child laborers are forced to work in the mines for $1 or $2 a day, “killing the child in them.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, located in the heart of Africa, is home to almost 70% of the world’s cobalt reserves and is expected to deliver 225,000 tons of cobalt by the end of 2025. Cobalt is also known as the “blood diamond of batteries”. Today, the Congo is hardly given any space in historical discourse: its fate is a result of collective global apathy towards the unequal Development Patterns that prioritized the global North over the South, bringing it to the brink of catastrophic poverty and exploitation.
Across the globe, global demand for rechargeable batteries for cell phones, laptops and tablets is driving the extraction of cobalt, a key ingredient in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Because the Democratic Republic of Congo is the leading supplier of this vital natural resource, it has become the linchpin Human rights abuses, Child labordangerous working conditions and environmental destruction associated with the brutal extraction of raw materials at the behest of the developed West.
Source: Al Jazeera
Despite the catastrophic crisis unfolding in this region, the mainstream media has failed to shed light on the issue, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is sinking ever deeper into an endless cycle of inequality and exploitation. Yet the world continues to watch the crisis, behind the comfort of screens lit because a child died while mining for the cobalt that could keep the operation running.
The silent crisis in the Congo
The Congo crisis is rooted in a complex web of corporate complicity, capitalism and the extraction of surplus resources in the postcolonial era. The demand for greener technology and cleaner fuel, which should lead to greater equality EcofeminismIn contrast, it had the opposite impact in the African nation, where the shift to cleaner energy boosted demand for the extraction of cobalt resources. Cobalt mining often exploits children and poses serious health risks, including outbreaks of Ebola, cholera and other infectious diseases, as well as several deadly types of cancer.
There are approximately 110,000 to 150,000 artisanal cobalt miners in the region who work with large industrial companies. Tech giants like Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and Dell are part of a larger global supply chain that often puts unsolicited pressure on populations and deprives the region of the benefits of equitable resource distribution and participatory, people-centered development. This system of forced labor, like highlighted by Terrence Collingswortha lawyer representing the affected families “allowed children to be mutilated and killed to get their cheap cobalt.”
Tech giants like Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and Dell are part of a larger global supply chain that often puts unsolicited pressure on populations and deprives the region of the benefits of equitable resource distribution and participatory, people-centered development.
The lawsuit says the children, some as young as six, were forced to leave school due to their families’ extreme poverty and work in cobalt mines owned by British and Swiss mining company Glencore, which had previously been accused of child labor.
Historical roots
The history of artisanal mining in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo dates back to the Second Congo War (1998–2003), when President Laurent Kabila encouraged people to dig for themselves due to the government’s inability to revive industrial mining. But even before that, the history of forced labor and displacement in the African heartland is linked to it cold-blooded rule of King Leopold II. of Belgium, For him, civilization was at the heart of his talk as he roamed and divided territories in what became known as the “Scramble of Africa.”
Source: Parents for Future
He founded his own colony called the Congo Free State and relied on forced labor to mine ivory, rubber and minerals. In one moving imageA man sat on the dismembered foot and hand of his five-year-old daughter, who was killed when her village failed to produce enough rubber. Colonial Administrators also abducted orphaned children from communities and transported them to “child colonies” to work or train as soldiers, killing nearly half of them.
Leopold also built the Africa Museum on the grounds of his palace in Tervuren, with a “human zoo” on the grounds in which 267 Congolese people are displayed as exhibits. Today, the genocidal pillage of the Congo has expanded into a search for cobalt in the rubble. The enormous extraction of mineral resources in the Congo by Belgium up to 1960 is due to the legacy of foreign mining companies such as the Union Minière du Haut Katanga, which further consolidated this exploitation by continuing to benefit from the DRC’s resources even after the country’s independence. The Rwandan genocide in the 1990s further destabilized the region, creating a power vacuum in which armed groups fought for control of resource-rich areas.
Exploitation and human rights violations
Chronic dust exposure Drugs containing cobalt can cause a potentially fatal lung disease called hard metal lung disease, in addition to “respiratory sensitization, asthma, shortness of breath, and decreased lung function,” and prolonged skin contact with cobalt can result in dermatitis. Yet the vast majority of miners who spend long hours each day mining cobalt do not have the most basic protective equipment such as gloves, work clothes or face masks. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mining Code (2002) and Mining Regulation (2003) do not provide guidance for artisanal miners regarding safety equipment or the handling of substances that may pose a risk to human health.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mining Code (2002) and Mining Regulation (2003) do not provide guidance for artisanal miners regarding safety equipment or the handling of substances that may pose a risk to human health.
In addition, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining regions are plagued by armed conflict, corruption and a lack of government oversight. Human Rights Watch has documented cases of sexual violence against women working in the mines and highlighted the connection between them gender-based abuse and patterns of systemic exclusion.
Source: Forbes
The current cruel model in Congo is based on dependency theory and ensures that the periphery is exploited by the core through the extraction of surplus resources, as set out in the dominant development paradigm, to meet the need for greater industrialization, urbanization and technological advancement. This was estimated by UNICEF in 2014 About 40,000 boys and girls work in all the mines in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, many of them working in cobalt mining. The children interviewed by the researchers described the physically demanding nature of their work, which lasted up to 12 hours. Other children reported working outdoors, in high temperatures, or in the rain. Several children reported being beaten by mining company security forces when they invaded their mining concessions. Security forces also demanded money from them.
The crisis also highlights the government’s inability to effectively monitor and evaluate protective measures. However, in 2014, the ministry only employed 20 inspectors for the entire mining region in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The government has been criticized by UN human rights monitoring bodies, ILO expert panels, NGOs and others for failing to establish an adequate labor inspection system, exempt children from the worst forms of child labor and prioritize primary school enrollment.
The World Bank estimates this in 2024The Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy grew by 6.5%, driven by a 12.8% expansion in the raw materials sector, particularly copper and cobalt production.
Similarly, corporate complicity in a system of global dependence on cobalt is also to blame. The World Bank estimates this in 2024The Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy grew by 6.5%, driven by a 12.8% expansion in the raw materials sector, particularly copper and cobalt production. Sustainable reforms and investment in non-mining sectors are critical to broader development outcomes.
Source: e360-Yale
The same network of capitalism and colonial policy that once plundered Africa now determines the outcome of life and death. Congo’s immense natural wealth has never translated into prosperity for its people, and its vast economic inequality and resource depletion represent an assault on human rights in the region. The transition to cleaner energy is itself a structurally flawed lever, to the point where it promotes the real picture of slowing progress in the resource-intensive region it controls capitalism and exploitation.
Nausheen is currently studying journalism at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. With a keen interest in feminism, geopolitics and social issues, her passions lie in research, writing and public speaking. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, drinking coffee and playing chess.
