Amnesty, a human rights organization has claimed that Samsung, Apple, Sony and many other smartphone manufacturers failed to commit to the fact that the minerals used in their products were not obtained via child labor.
The report by the organization has stated that children as young as the age of seven were found to labor at cobalt mines located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, cobalt being one of the main chemical elements need to produce lithium batteries.
The accused companies have all released statements regarding the report against them. In the statements, these companies claim to have zero tolerance towards child labor and will carry out contract suspensions on any organization linked to such acts. However, this isn’t the first time where smartphone manufacturers are being accused for alleged child labor or unethical labor issues. According to Amnesty, these companies have the means to do more than they are right now in preventing child labor.
African organization Afrewatch (Africa Resources Watch) states that these companies should be held responsible for such actions and should apply more aggressive approaches to combat child labor. In a statement by the organization’s executive director, Emmanuel Umpula, he said that some of the world’s richest and innovative companies are able to market incredibly sophisticated devices without the requirement to show their source of raw materials for their components. He also stated that consumers have no idea about the labor conditions workers have to go through to produce these components, namely in the mines, factories and assembly lines.
Issues involving human rights and child labor are usually covered up by mega rich smartphone companies. Do you think they should carry out more aggresive measures? Let us know in the comments section below.
Source: Android Authority Picture credits: 9to5Google
