User:Emilysacker/Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Child Labour is the practice of using children as modes of manual labor, often leading to their exploitation. Within the Democratic Republic of Congo child labour is prevalent in mines, as there is a growing demand among minerals extracted. Minerals such as Gold, Coltan, and Cobalt, are heavily commodified leading to a need for workers in the mines. With a lack of regulation for labor in the mining industry, child miners are subject to working long hours, with low pay, and in dangerous conditions. Poverty in the region contributes to the influx of child laborers- leading to higher frequencies of school dropouts^[1].

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Child Miners

Child Labor in Coltan Mines

Coltan is a mineral often found in electronics such as laptops, cellphones, and tablets^[2]—mining the mineral contributes to the production of 5G devices. In 2019, 40% ^[3]of the world’s coltan mined was a product of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lacking regulation and transparency in the extraction production chain. Today,The Democratic Republic of Congo holds more than 60%^[4] of the world’s reserve of Coltan, a mineral only increasing in demand. While this contributes to much of Congo’s of economic output, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the most impoverished countries in Central Africa.

Over 40,000 children work in the mines of Congo extracting the mineral by hand.^[5] Working to extract the mineral without the technologies of tools and motor devices, children are subject to conditions of digging and washing the minerals.^[6] Washing the coltan consists of using water and sifting the mineral in pans, similar to the sifting of gold. When digging the coltan children's small and nimble hands are used to pick at the minerals while occasionally using shovels to extract. In addition to children being used as manual labor in the extraction process, children are utilized as distributors of coltan through illegal exchanges and even smuggling.^[7]

Occupational Hazards in Coltan Mines

As children laborers work long hours while exposed to the minerals in the mines without any protection, the coltan mines impose dangers on the children miners’ health. Although most of the researched health concerns specifically related to children working in coltan mines cover the fact that mining the mineral can lead to radioactive contamination, there are several other health concerns that have yet to be fully researched^[8]. As far as research suggests, the minerals in coltan consist of pegmatite rock, an element that contains levels of toxicity, coupled with the radioactivity in uranium can be a signifier for lung diseases and respiratory issues. While the health concerns directly correlated to children in the mining coltans field are centered around risks of lung cancer, other issues such as HIV infection and tuberculosis-related deaths from mining are plausible^[9]. Research hypothesis draws the inference that due to the fact that as the child laborers' hands are exposed in the soil while working transmission of blood contagious diseases like HIV, and close quarters in working conditions with exposure to particles can brew TB^[10].

Child Labor in Cobalt Mines

The extraction of cobalt may differ from coltan, though the dependency on young children for work is highly comparable. Like Coltan, the Democratic Republic of Congo holds a majority of the mineral compared to any other country in the world. It is estimated that over 70% of the extracted Cobalt is a product of the DRC^[11]. This means that the demand for Cobalt directly impacts the population and workforce of the DRC. While 70% of the cobalt mining takes place on Congo soil, the increased mining is an outcome of foreign-owned firms^[12]. Increased globalization has led to these firms that create rechargeable batteries, to extract from the DRC, in order to sell the final product across the world. Such a supply chain is highly complex and ambiguous as to whether or not the mineral is mined by child laborers or not.

Though child laborers are extremely common in the Cobalt mining process then mining performed by children is of smaller scaled operations, using their hands rather than tools- earning close to a few dollars a day^[13]. Cobalt extraction is often near bodies of water, or water is used throughout the process of collecting the mineral. In a CNN exposé of the Cobalt industry as well as its conditions for workers, the majority of workers consisting of children, the journalistic observational researchers reported that 12-hour days on behalf of workers were coupled with miners being knee-deep into rivers in order to sift and wash minerals.^[14] While the Cobalt industry consists of similar labor to Colton including sifting and retrieving minerals from mines, the labor force of children in the cobalt field is carried about mainly on land. It is estimated that over 40,000 children work in Cobalt mines alone^[15].

The Rise in Cobalt

Cobalt is modern-day gold, as digitized devices have made it a very valuable mineral in the production process, meaning there are new structures of economic growth for the regions of Central Africa. Due to the cobalt rush of the 21st century, residential communities are now becoming hotspots forming, as every local wants the valuable minerals and its fiscal imperative ^[16]. The copper belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo holds the majority of the world’s cobalt mines, creating a rich economic center for markets as well.

Political Topography in Cobalt Mining

As the rise of Cobalt continues, the local government of Congo’s Katanga region faces the influence of indirect government through companies^[17]. Because of this mining areas have become hosts for an overlap of the business and geopolitical sectors, as groups from a local level to a transnational level assert governance.^[18]

Investments made into the Democratic Republic of Congo are attributed to the extraction of such cash minerals. Countries of the West have not made the same investments in these mines as China has, which has subsequently sparked interest among the international community.^[19] Even though there is interest in the minerals, it is unclear whether these minerals and their value will have a trickle-down effect to help the impoverished.^[20] If Congo will truly benefit from any foreign involvement in their economic development, the contracts for miners must be held accountable as well as the behavior of any investor regardless.^[21]

Child Labor in Gold Mines

The mining industries of the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to lead competitively, in the international community^[22]. Through its production of gold, cobalt, coltan, and other natural resources, DRC is forced to meet the demand for products and labor. Due to the economic instability of DRC, from a variety of economic and political factors, DRC heavily depends on its youth population, as employers for many of the gold mining companies found throughout the country^[23]. With employment opportunities low, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, turn to the mining industries, as a means of income. Daily, families send their children, many under the age of ten years old, to extract gold from these mines ^[24]. Although child labor is illegal, in South Kivu, children are made to work under very poor conditions. Many of them work long hours, are compensated little to nothing for their labor, and work in high-risk environments, without proper equipment and protection ^[25]. High rates of unemployment and extreme poverty, most evidently in South Kivu, witness the use of child labor at a significant rate, in order to meet the global world’s needs. However, improved employment opportunities, are not on the rise in DRC, because of the need for cheap or free labor in these industries. NGO initiatives, such as “Justice For All”, work closely with the regions similar to South Kivu, to end the use of child labor in the mines^[26]. Further, efforts to educate families and local communities about the dangers and practices of these industries, are also being made to protect these children. The government of DRC however, has yet to concretely end child labor. Although child labor is illegal in DRC, enforcement of the law continues to be an area of concern for onlookers, waiting on DRC to take action. Apart from the criminalizing of child labor and DRC’s president stating, that primary education should be afforded to all children, the country has yet to take a stronger reactive approach to its statements^[27]. Nonetheless, DRC claims that they will end child labor by 2025, how this will be achieved is a question that is still left in the balance of the thousands of children who continue to work in the gold mines every day.

Safety and Health Concerns

Every day, millions of children around the world, provide their labor for hazardous service and product-based industries. A report done by World Vision, aimed to calculate how many child laborers there were around the world. World Vision’s Report emphasized, that nearly 115 million, out of the estimated 215 million, were children who worked in hazardous conditions that directly affected the health and safety of young workers^[28]. Daily exposure to elements such as mercury and uranium, were said to have long-lasting health effects, especially on the developing bodies of child miners ^[29]. However, the report received testimonials from child miners, specifically in the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, that supported the articles findings. Jean, an eight-year-old girl, spoke with World Vision, and affirmed, “Since working here, I have problems with my skin, body pains, and pain in my eyes ^[30].”Stories such as Jean’s are vocalized across the international community that employ the use of child labor for the sustainability of their labor demands but as a consequence, the lives of these miner children are potential. For instance, as per the article covered by World Vision, the authors maintained, that children’s bodies differ from that of the adult body because studies have shown that children have weaker immune systems. The body of an adolescent child can inhale more quantities of air, and at a faster rate than the adult body, which allows for the pathogens found in the air by these mining sites, to directly affect their lungs and other bodily functions ^[31]. Moreover, a child’s brain and enzymes in their system, absorb quickly but detoxify slower, because their bodies have yet to build up those agents needed to filter out toxins. Apart from the physical damages mining has on the body, a young developing child is at risk of grave danger, through the exposure of the mining areas without the proper safety equipment and technology^[32].

References

^ "As incremental efforts to end child labour by 2025 persist, Congo's child miners – exhausted and exploited – ask the world to "pray for us"". Equal Times. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ ISSAfrica.org (2021-10-18). "Child miners: the dark side of the DRC's coltan wealth". ISS Africa. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Why it's hard for Congo's coltan miners to abide by the law". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Environmental threats and respiratory health – Kivu | CEGEMI". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ ISSAfrica.org (2021-10-18). "Child miners: the dark side of the DRC's coltan wealth". ISS Africa. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ ISSAfrica.org (2021-10-18). "Child miners: the dark side of the DRC's coltan wealth". ISS Africa. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ ISSAfrica.org (2021-10-18). "Child miners: the dark side of the DRC's coltan wealth". ISS Africa. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Environmental threats and respiratory health – Kivu | CEGEMI". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Environmental threats and respiratory health – Kivu | CEGEMI". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Environmental threats and respiratory health – Kivu | CEGEMI". Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "The DRC Mining Industry: Child Labor and Formalization of Small-Scale Mining | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "The DRC Mining Industry: Child Labor and Formalization of Small-Scale Mining | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "The DRC Mining Industry: Child Labor and Formalization of Small-Scale Mining | Wilson Center". www.wilsoncenter.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Cobalt mining in Congo: Child labor still rife". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ Melville, James (2020-06-19). "From Stone to Phone: Modern Day Cobalt Slavery in Congo". Byline Times. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Cobalt mining in Congo: Child labor still rife". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Independence Day: Fifty Years after Lumumba Speech, DRC's Riches Still Not Benefiting her Children | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ Hönke, Jana. "New political topographies. Mining companies and indirect discharge in Southern Katanga (DRC)". Politique africaine. 120 (4). ISSN 0244-7827.
^ Kippin, Henry. "Copper & Controversy in the D. R. Congo". Review of African Political Economy. Vol. 35, No.117: 482–486. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
^ "Independence Day: Fifty Years after Lumumba Speech, DRC's Riches Still Not Benefiting her Children | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ Kippin, Henry. "Copper & controversy in the DR Congo". Review of African Political Economy. 35 (117): 482–486. doi:10.1080/03056240802411180. ISSN 0305-6244.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Children still working in gold mines in the DR Congo, human rights groups say". The Observers - France 24. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Child labor: Children reveal horror of working in mines". World Vision. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Child labor: Children reveal horror of working in mines". World Vision. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Child labor: Children reveal horror of working in mines". World Vision. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
^ "Child labor: Children reveal horror of working in mines". World Vision. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-12.