A Mining site in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Apple, Samsung, Sony and others are failing to ensure
minerals used in their products are not mined by children, according to
human rights group Amnesty International. Children as
young as 7 are working in mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo in
Africa, the organization, which is focused on tackling injustice in
society, said in a report Tuesday, January 19, 2016. The children are mining for cobalt, a
vital component of the lithium ion batteries found inside smartphones
and other devices.
"Millions of people enjoy the
benefits of new technologies but rarely ask how they are made," said
Mark Dummett, business and human rights researcher at Amnesty, in a
press release. "It is high time the big brands took some responsibility
for the mining of the raw materials that make their lucrative products."
The full list of companies under fire in the report also includes
Microsoft, LG Chem, Huawei, Dell, HP, ZTE, Vodafone and Daimler.
Apple, Samsung and Sony said they have a zero-tolerance policy toward
child labor and conduct what they believe are rigorous and frequent
checks on suppliers. Fierce competition in the
international electronics market has led brands to rely on
manufacturers, components and raw materials from every part of the
globe. Amnesty's report, however, suggests their efforts to eliminate
poor practices haven't gone far enough. And that kind of accusation can
hurt big-name brands, as Nike learned with its child-labor problem in
the 1990s.
Apple has come under fire in the past for poor working conditions at the Foxconn plant in China where iPhones are made. Ultimately, no part of the supply chain is immune from scrutiny.The companies are not investigating their suppliers. Their claim is simply not credible. Mark Dummett, Amnesty International. The Amnesty report focuses in particular on
the problems in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces half of
the world's cobalt. About 40,000 children work in mines in the southern
part of the country, UNICEF estimates. The conditions are dangerous,
with 80 miners dying between September 2014 and December 2015. Those who
survive face a cramped and inhospitable working environment and risk
lifelong health problems. Children interviewed for the report said they
worked for up to 12 hours a day in the mines, carrying heavy loads to
earn between $1 and $2 per day.
Amnesty International's
primary complaint is that none of the major tech companies it spoke to
had traced the origin of the cobalt in their lithium-ion batteries. "Many of these multinationals say they have a zero-tolerance policy for
child labor," said Dummett. "But this promise is not worth the paper it
is written [on] when the companies are not investigating their
suppliers. Their claim is simply not credible." Panasonic, a large battery supplier, is absent from the list.
Companies respond
Apple, Samsung and Sony each outlined their processes for dealing with
suppliers found to be exploiting child labor, and explained what they
were doing to investigate claims made in the report.
"If a
violation of child labor is found, contracts with suppliers who use
child labor will be immediately terminated," Samsung said. It added that
it prohibits the use of minerals from conflict zones, such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, but that due to suppliers' non-disclosure
agreements it was "impossible" to determine whether cobalt used in its
products originated from there. "Underage labor is
never tolerated in our supply chain, and we are proud to have led the
industry in pioneering new safeguards," Apple said in a statement.
Instead of focusing on punishing the supplier, Apple tries to ensure
that any children who have been exploited are adequately compensated by
the supplier. It requires the supplier to fund the worker's safe return
home, fully finance their education at a school chosen by them and their
family, continue to pay their wages and offer them a job when they
reach the legal age.
"We are currently evaluating dozens of
different materials, including cobalt, in order to identify labor and
environmental risks as well as opportunities for Apple to bring about
effective, scalable and sustainable change," it said. Sony takes
its ethical responsibility towards minimising the risk of child labor
being used in its supply chain very seriously, it said in a statement.
"With respect to cobalt supply chain and human rights abuses mentioned
in your letter, we take this issue seriously and have been conducting a
fact-finding process," Sony said. "So far, we could not find obvious
results that our products contain the cobalt originated from Katanga in
the Democratic Republic of Congo. We will continue the assessment and
pay close attention to this matter."
Microsoft too said that despite the "stringent practices" it used to
eliminate child labor from its supply chain, it could not say with
"absolute assurance" that its cobalt had not originated in the mines in
question. "We have not traced the cobalt used in Microsoft products
through our supply chain to the smelter level due to the complexity and
resources required," the company said in a statement.
Amnesty
criticized nondisclosure agreements that allowed suppliers to shield the
origins of minerals used in products from the prying eyes of
multinationals, saying they let companies off the hook too easily.
"Without laws that require companies to check and publicly disclose
information about where they source minerals and their suppliers,
companies can continue to benefit from human rights abuses," Dummett
said. "Governments must put an end to this lack of transparency, which
allows companies to profit from misery."
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