No more child miners: we demand an ecological transition free from abuse and exploitation
No more child miners: we demand an ecological transition free from abuse and exploitation
The Issue
To: Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti
Cobalt is an essential metal in the creation of lithium-ion batteries, found in many cell phones, computers, cars and electric bicycles.
The European Union has called it a "critical raw material," fundamental for the energy transition, with projections of a 5-fold increase in demand by 2030, and a 15-fold increase by 2050.
Between 50 to 70 percent of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly the southeastern part of the country.
Here, tens of thousands of children spend their days mining and cleaning cobalt, earning an average of $1 to $2 a day.
No human, child or environmental rights are respected: lives are at stake every day, exposure to cobalt dust leads to serious respiratory problems, and the harassment that adults and children endure is constant.
Moreover, working in the mines entails a series of exploitation-related abuses, including mutilation and prostitution (leading to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and abortions). In addition, children risk their health every day, as they are exposed to skin infections, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, waterborne diseases and physical underdevelopment.
How is it possible that in 2022 large hi-tech corporations still continue to turn a blind eye to their supply chain, stained with the blood, sweat and pain of tens of thousands of children?
The law allows this. Right now, those who sell cobalt-containing electronics in Europe are only required to submit a list of their suppliers to access the market.
We must and can do better.
A new European directive on corporate due diligence is being debated in the European Parliament, and then negotiated by economic development ministers in the Council of the European Union. This directive will set minimum standards that each Member State will have to transpose into national legislation.
We ask that this directive, and its implementation into Italian law, include:
- The integration of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence into the activities of companies and their value chains, including all steps from mining to product sale. European citizens who purchase a final product containing this metal must be assured that minimum human rights and environmental standards have been met throughout the supply chain.
- We demand that independent, impartial and external authorities monitor companies' implementation of due diligence standards. In case of non-compliance, authorities should require the company to comply, and if it does not, they should prohibit companies that do not meet minimum standards from selling within the EU market.
The ecological transition is critical to ensuring a sustainable future for all of us, but this future cannot be built by sacrificing the most basic human rights of thousands of children.
Sign the petition now!
#StopTheAbuses #DueDiligenceNow
UPDATES
In 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a European Directive on corporate due diligence to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Following various negotiations and consultations, including with civil society, in June 2023, the European Parliament approved its own proposal, which was more progressive than that of the Commission and the Council, although it still had some shortcomings. As Still I Rise, we have presented our positions on due diligence in the cobalt extraction sector to combat child labor exploitation.
The text adopted by the European Parliament incorporates the two main requests made by Still I Rise: on the one hand, the mandatory integration of corporate due diligence on human rights and the environment throughout the value chain of businesses; on the other hand, the obligation for member states to establish an independent external authority to oversee the operations of companies.
This progress represents a significant achievement, not only for us but also for you and all those who have signed our petition and support this cause. However, the directive is currently in the negotiation phase between the Parliament, the Commission, and the Council of the European Union, and the results achieved could be reconsidered. Therefore, it is crucial to continue spreading the word and signing this petition to remind the Italian government that it must commit to ensuring that this progress is fully realized and brings lasting benefits to everyone.
Join us in making a difference, sign and share the petition!
#StopTheAbuses #DueDiligenceNow
—-
Follow us on social media to keep updated on this campaign:
45,377
The Issue
To: Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti
Cobalt is an essential metal in the creation of lithium-ion batteries, found in many cell phones, computers, cars and electric bicycles.
The European Union has called it a "critical raw material," fundamental for the energy transition, with projections of a 5-fold increase in demand by 2030, and a 15-fold increase by 2050.
Between 50 to 70 percent of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly the southeastern part of the country.
Here, tens of thousands of children spend their days mining and cleaning cobalt, earning an average of $1 to $2 a day.
No human, child or environmental rights are respected: lives are at stake every day, exposure to cobalt dust leads to serious respiratory problems, and the harassment that adults and children endure is constant.
Moreover, working in the mines entails a series of exploitation-related abuses, including mutilation and prostitution (leading to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and abortions). In addition, children risk their health every day, as they are exposed to skin infections, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, waterborne diseases and physical underdevelopment.
How is it possible that in 2022 large hi-tech corporations still continue to turn a blind eye to their supply chain, stained with the blood, sweat and pain of tens of thousands of children?
The law allows this. Right now, those who sell cobalt-containing electronics in Europe are only required to submit a list of their suppliers to access the market.
We must and can do better.
A new European directive on corporate due diligence is being debated in the European Parliament, and then negotiated by economic development ministers in the Council of the European Union. This directive will set minimum standards that each Member State will have to transpose into national legislation.
We ask that this directive, and its implementation into Italian law, include:
- The integration of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence into the activities of companies and their value chains, including all steps from mining to product sale. European citizens who purchase a final product containing this metal must be assured that minimum human rights and environmental standards have been met throughout the supply chain.
- We demand that independent, impartial and external authorities monitor companies' implementation of due diligence standards. In case of non-compliance, authorities should require the company to comply, and if it does not, they should prohibit companies that do not meet minimum standards from selling within the EU market.
The ecological transition is critical to ensuring a sustainable future for all of us, but this future cannot be built by sacrificing the most basic human rights of thousands of children.
Sign the petition now!
#StopTheAbuses #DueDiligenceNow
UPDATES
In 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a European Directive on corporate due diligence to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Following various negotiations and consultations, including with civil society, in June 2023, the European Parliament approved its own proposal, which was more progressive than that of the Commission and the Council, although it still had some shortcomings. As Still I Rise, we have presented our positions on due diligence in the cobalt extraction sector to combat child labor exploitation.
The text adopted by the European Parliament incorporates the two main requests made by Still I Rise: on the one hand, the mandatory integration of corporate due diligence on human rights and the environment throughout the value chain of businesses; on the other hand, the obligation for member states to establish an independent external authority to oversee the operations of companies.
This progress represents a significant achievement, not only for us but also for you and all those who have signed our petition and support this cause. However, the directive is currently in the negotiation phase between the Parliament, the Commission, and the Council of the European Union, and the results achieved could be reconsidered. Therefore, it is crucial to continue spreading the word and signing this petition to remind the Italian government that it must commit to ensuring that this progress is fully realized and brings lasting benefits to everyone.
Join us in making a difference, sign and share the petition!
#StopTheAbuses #DueDiligenceNow
—-
Follow us on social media to keep updated on this campaign:
45,377
Petition created on November 30, 2022