Distress in Disguise: Cobalt Mining in the DRC and Child Abuse

“When I wake up every morning, I feel terrible knowing I have to come back here again; everything hurts!” – cries Richard, an eleven-year-old boy, exploited in the treacherous mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”). Imagine getting down a dark, seemingly endless tunnel, trying to break bread for at least one meal; this is the life of tens of thousands of children like Richard. In the transition from conventional to clean and green energy, the world has drifted towards the usage of electrically powered machinery. This skyrocketed the demand for ‘Cobalt’, which is prominently used in modern-day lithium-ion batteries. The DRC, accounting for more than 70% of Cobalt’s global supply, attracts plundering MNCs to carry out intense mining by exploiting the natives for their cheap labour. Inside such mines, an estimated 40,000 children drain their blood to charge up the batteries of those machines. This study serves as an investigation into the continued exploitation of child labour in the mines of the DRC; also emphasising the role of international players and policies in giving a way forward to the issue. This empirical study utilises the 2024 ILO’s “GALAB” news report on Child labour in the DRC. Our analyses are guided by an international framework provided by relevant global stakeholders through books and reports. It is hoped that this study will sensitise everyone to initiate a revamp, after making them realise that one such blood battery might be powering the devices that they use on a day-to-day basis.