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Apple and Google named in US lawsuit over Congolese child cobalt mining deaths

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, which is the result of field research conducted by

anti$-$slavery economist Siddharth Kara, 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.

The families and injured children are seeking damages for forced labour and further compensation for

unjust enrichment, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Cobalt is essential to power the rechargeable lithium batteries used in millions of products sold by Apple,

Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla every year. The insatiable demand for cobalt, driven by desire for

cheap handheld technology, has tripled in the past five years and is expected to double again by the end

of $2020.$ More than $60\%$ of cobalt originates in DRC$,$ one of the poorest and most unstable countries in

the world.

The extraction of cobalt from DRC has been linked to human rights abuses, corruption, environmental

destruction and child labour. The lawsuit argues that Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla all aided

and abetted the mining companies that profited from the labour of children who were forced to work in

dangerous conditions $$ conditions that ultimately led to death and serious injury.

The families argue in the claim that their children were working illegally at mines owned by UK mining

company Glencore. The court papers allege that cobalt from the Glencore$-$owned mines is sold to

Umicore, a Brussels$-$based metal and mining trader, which then sells battery$-$grade cobalt to Apple,

Google, Tesla, Microsoft and Dell.

In the court documents, the Congolese families describe how their children were driven by extreme

poverty to seek work in large mining sites, where they claim they were paid as little as $$2(1\mathrm{.}50)$ a day

for backbreaking and dangerous work digging for cobalt rocks with primitive tools in dark, underground

tunnels.

The families claim that some of the children were killed in tunnel collapses while others were paralysed or

suffered life$-$changing injuries from accidents.

One plaintiff $$ named Jane Doe $1$ says in the court papers that her nephew was forced to seek work in

the cobalt mines when he was a small child after the family could not continue to pay his $$6$ monthly

school fee. The lawsuit claims that in April last year he was working in a mine operated by Kamoto

Copper Company, which is owned and controlled by Glencore. He was working underground in a tunnel,

digging for cobalt rocks, when the tunnel collapsed and he was buried alive. His family say they have

never recovered his body.

Another child, referred to as John Doe $1,$ says that he started working in the mines when he was nine.

The lawsuit claims that earlier this year, he was working as a human mule for Kamoto Copper Company,

carrying bags of cobalt rocks for $$0\mathrm{.}75$ a day, when he fell into a tunnel. After he was dragged out of the

tunnel by fellow workers, he says he was left alone on the ground at the mining site until his parents

heard about the accident and arrived to help him. He is now paralysed from the chest down and will never

walk again.

Other families included in the claim say that their children were killed in tunnel collapses or suffered

serious injuries such as smashed limbs and broken spines while crawling through tunnels or carrying

heavy loads. The families say that none were paid any compensation for the deaths and injuries.

One of the central allegations in the lawsuit is that Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla were aware

and had $$specific knowledge$$ that the cobalt they use in their products is linked to child labour performed

in hazardous conditions, and were complicit in the forced labour of the children.

Apple said: $$Apple is deeply committed to the responsible sourcing of materials that go into our products.

We$$ve led the industry by establishing the strictest standards for our suppliers and are constantly working

to raise the bar for ourselves, and the industry. Dell said: $$Dell Technologies is committed to the

responsible sourcing of minerals, which includes upholding the human rights of workers at any tier of our

supply chain and treating them with dignity and respect. Microsoft did not respond to a requ