by John Brown

Created on: September 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 22, 2009

Who should take a stand against abusive child labor, period? Everyone should, that's who! Every man and woman in the developed world with a conscience, with any passing thought for others. Anyone with concerns for the welfare and safety of children. Anyone who thinks that exploitation of the weak and vulnerable for gain is wrong. The silent majority of decent law-abiding folk going about their daily lives, but oblivious of the cruelty and avarice and despair which consumer goods have introduced by stealth. That's who.

Coltan is a name which is constructed from the common African name for the mineral columbite, termed tantalite, hence the name coltan. Coltan contains the important elements niobium and tantalum, the latter of which is an important constituent in consumer electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, DVDs and others which the developed world have come to rely on. So there is great demand for the mineral which is present in mineral deposits in one of the most conflict-ridden regions of equatorial Africa. The eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has these mineral deposits, and it is the money from the mining and export of these minerals that is fuelling much of the conflict and human rights abuses in that country. The wars that have raged in DRC are estimated to have killed over five million people since 1998, and aid agencies have stated that the mining of coltan is helping to sustain these conflicts.

It is mostly children who dig for coltan, as well as wolfarmite and cassiterite, then sieve the silt for the rare minerals. Thousands of children, aged between 3 and 10 years provide child labor for the precious "black gold" minerals. They are often forced into labor by the controlling militia groups in DRC. It is estimated that over 2 million children have died from mining accidents in the last 10 years. In 2006 the U.S. Department of Labor described the Congo as the region with the worst forms of child labor. Indeed the U.S.Government recently committed US $16 million to the region in an effort to try to eradicate child labor. It is clear that the financial rewards of extracting this mineral outweigh any humanitarian considerations in that region, where the value of the lives of small children are almost worthless compared to what they can extract from the mines.

In the developed world, it is generally considered to be inappropriate or a criminal act to employ children below a certain age, with 14 or 16 years of age being the minimum. In the U.S., Child Labor laws prevent the employment of children without restrictions and also without parental consent below 16 years. So what can be done to prevent the exploitation of children in the developing world? We must voice our protests against this exploitation, and persuade the government to force manufacturers of electronic components containing these minerals into more ethical trading, ensuring that minerals extracted without the use of child labor is the only source for consumer electronic products.

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