Amnesty International has blamed tech bigwigs of a failure to check the prevalence of child labor in the cobalt mine of Central Africa. The indicted firms included Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY), SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F) (ADR) (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), and HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ). These companies were blamed since lithium-ion batteries were used in smartphones, tablets, and laptops as the cobalt was used in the battery.
Not Involved Directly
None of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY), SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F) (ADR) (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), and HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) were blamed directly for hiring the child labor. Amnesty International’s human rights and business researcher, Mark Dummett, said that there was no doubt that everyone enjoys the fruits of the new technologies. However, he pointed out that no one was interested in knowing how they were made. The cobalt was dug from the mine in the Republic of the Congo where adults and children were employed in dangerous conditions.
The researcher wanted big brands like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) to take up the responsibility for the raw materials mining. It was because of that, these brands were able to manufacture their lucrative and premium products. The report narrated how the child labor was used in the Central Africa and the way cobalt was sold to Congo Dongfang Mining, which was a fully-owned unit of the China-based mineral firm, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd.
MNCs Deny
Though some of the MNCs denied procuring cobalt from Huayou Cobalt, Amnesty pointed out that no one has offered sufficient information to verify independently from where they get cobalt. Afrewatch, which is Africa Resources Watch, ED, Emmanuel Umpula, said that it was a pity that even big innovative firms were not able to showcase from where they source their raw materials.
The human rights body concluded the report by asking the MNCs, who use lithium-ion batteries, to conduct due diligence on human rights before procuring cobalt. The companies included Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Lenovo Group Limited (ADR) (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) and others. Amnesty particularly wanted these firms to investigate whether child labor was involved from the sourcing point.
