1/15/2024 0 Comments Cobalt mines and iphones![]() Asia-Pacific region harbours the largest number of child workers estimating 127.3 million, while sub-Saharan Africa has an estimated 48 million child workers.Īn internally displaced girl makes bricks to build her shelter at Abu Shouk IDP’s camp in Al Fasher, northern Darfur April 14, 2010. Scores are forced into trafficking, debt bondage and slavery. Of this, nearly 70% work in hazardous conditions involving chemicals, pesticides or dangerous machinery. Millions of children are engaged in extreme forms of labour, defined by UN as work which is unacceptable for children. Titled ‘ Child Labour: Global Estimates 2020, Trends and the Road Forward’, the report points out that a s economies grapple with COVID-19, increased unemployment and rising poverty are expected to push millions more into child labour. If you do not look at us, you cannot see us, for THERE ARE NO CHILD LABOURERS IN THE MINES.”Ī joint report released on Jby ILO and UNICEF, the co-custodians of Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, warns that child labour has risen to 160 million, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide – an increase of 8.4 million children in the last four years. “We are the child labourers of the iron ore mines with red iron in our lungs… We are fourteen, we are eight, we are also five and four, and our metallurgical skills start from the time we crawl. Excerpts of a fact finding report point out this glaring reality: As mines are located in remote places, child labour remains proverbially ‘hidden’. Participation of children in mining is recognised as one of the worst forms of labour. Horrifyingly, this is because their hands are small enough to fit into the crevices where mica is found. Mica mines employ children, reportedly, as young as five years old. The ingredient that makes our skin products and nail polishes glisten is mica. Children in gold mines get exposed to mercury which is highly toxic. They undergo exploitation and are exposed to life-threatening chemicals and gases. ![]() UNICEF estimates that approximately 20% of mine workers are children. The working hours are long the breaks are rare.Īccording to ILO, around one million children work in various mines throughout the world. They inhale harmful dust making them prone to lung disorders. Whether going into the precarious holes or sifting through rubble, often without protective gear, children get laceration and injuries. It is reported by Amnesty International that c hildren handpick cobalt ore and carry them on their backs as they risk their way out of narrow, collapse-prone, dark tunnels. The toxic dust of the mines is lost in the dazzle and shimmer of the swanky shops that sell these goods. According to UNICEF, m ore than 40,000 children work in mines extracting cobalt that powers the batteries of mobile phones and other electronic devices. ![]()
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