Note: The below is a collection of articles and additional resources regarding the lawsuit filed by Human Rights firm International Rights Advocates on 12/15/19.
From Annie Kelly, The Guardian 12/16/19
A landmark legal case has been launched against the world’s largest tech companies by Congolese families who say their children were killed or maimed while mining for cobalt used to power smartphones, laptops, and electric cars, the Guardian can reveal.
Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC by human rights firm International Rights Advocates on behalf of 14 parents and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The lawsuit accuses the companies of aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of children who they claim were working in cobalt mines in their supply chain.
Aerial view of the Kasulo neighborhood of Kolwezi. In the first picture, taken May 2016, there are just residential houses. By May 2019, Congo DongFang International Mining (a subsidiary of Chinese company Huayou Cobalt) have built a mining site, with a walled perimeter and processing buildings (in blue). The pink tarps cover tunnels used for mining.
Image courtesy of CNES/Airbus DS, produced by Earthrise.
An important note from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence regarding the salient points of cobalt in relation to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Very Related - From Volvo Cars: A November 2019 announcement introducing traceability in the cobalt supply chain utilizing blockchain - “The data in the blockchain include the cobalt’s origin, things such as weight and size, the chain of custody and information establishing that the behavior of each participant (think of mining companies, part makers, logistics firms) in the blockchain is consistent with ethical supply chain guidelines.”
Very Timely Article 12/17/19 - Less than 24 hours after initial lawsuit filed - “Automakers work to ensure cobalt for EV batteries isn't mined by children”