Child labor in APPLE

Child labor could be behind Apple devices

Amnesty International (AI) has asked Apple to clarify whether their products contain cobalt extracted under conditions that violate human rights, including child labor. AI made the request through www.actuaconamnistia.org occasion of the recent presentation of the new products of the company.

Not investigate the supply chain is a corporate embarrassment, "laments Amnesty International (AI). Similarly, AI insists that if the company does not have this information must take appropriate steps to obtain it and" not look away, as if this matter is not your responsibility. "

In case it is found that there are violations of human rights in the supply chain, AI requires the company to take steps to repair the damage suffered. In addition, Amnesty International has called on Apple to provide the names of the suppliers of cobalt involved in its supply chain, including much information as possible about the place and cobalt extraction conditions.

Exploitation in the mines of cobalt Such as remember the organization, mobiles, laptops or tablets have rechargeable batteries are made with a mineral called cobalt. More than half of this mineral used in the world comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and one of the largest processors of ore in the country is Congo Dongfang Mining (CDM), wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese giant trade Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt mineral Ltd (Huayou Cobalt).

According to Amnesty International, the miners working in areas where CDM purchase cobalt explains, are at risk for long-term health and a high risk of fatal accidents, and most happens daily long hours working with cobalt without equipment most basic protection, such as gloves, work clothes or masks to prevent disease lung or skin.

The US company Apple. Similarly, children working in the mine work up to 24 hours a day, carrying heavy loads, to win between one and two dollars a day, they said minors in interviews with the organization. In 2014 there were about 40,000 children working in mines around the southern DRC, many of cobalt, as noted by the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF). In this sense, as reported by AI, at least 80 artisanal miners were killed in the tunnels in the southern DRC between September 2014 and December 2015. Instead, it says the true figure is unknown because many accidents are not recorded and the bodies buried under rocks left.

An investigation by the organization recently revealed that its subsidiary Huayou Cobalt and cobalt CDM process before selling three battery components manufacturers in China and South Korea. They sell, in turn, to battery manufacturers to ensure supply and automotive technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Daimler and Volkswagen.

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