The path to reintegration for children in cobalt mines in the DRC
Recent news highlights a dark side of the cobalt industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where thousands of children were involved in the extraction of this mineral used in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars and electronic devices.
However, there is good news: more than 14,000 children have been removed from cobalt mines since 2019, thanks to a reintegration project supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba in the DRC were the main locations of intervention for this project.
The coordinator of the Project to Support the Alternative Well-being of Children and Young People Involved in the Cobalt Supply Chain (PABEA-COBALT), Alice Mirimo, highlighted the importance of this project in cleaning up the cobalt supply chain. supply of artisanal cobalt. Children who were forced to work in the mines are now supported for their education, physical and psychological health, and are officially registered with the authorities.
At the same time, the project also made it possible to identify more than 10,000 parents of these reintegrated children, who benefit from support to develop their entrepreneurship in the agribusiness sector, thanks to the Center for the Promotion and Entrepreneurship of young people (CEPEJAB).
The main objective of this project is to fight against family poverty, in order to prevent the exploitation of children and to promote their reintegration into a stable and fulfilling family environment. According to Alice Mirimo, it is crucial to retain children in their families to offer them more promising prospects for the future.
The national coordinator of the DRC Social Fund (FSRDC), Philippe Ngwala, welcomed the results obtained by this project. He stressed that the results for the 2023 financial year were satisfactory, with successful treatment of many children and a real improvement in their living conditions.
This initiative to reintegrate children in cobalt mines in the DRC is an important step towards the eradication of child labor and the promotion of the fundamental rights of these young people. However, much remains to be done to ensure lasting change and end this harmful practice. Awareness raising, increased monitoring and continued financial support are all necessary measures to ensure that children are no longer exploited in mines and can fully enjoy their rights to education and a childhood free from forced labor.
In conclusion, the reintegration of children into society is an essential process to offer them a better future.. Thanks to projects such as PABEA-COBALT in the DRC, thousands of children have been able to regain their freedom and start their lives again without being exploited in cobalt mines. This is an important step towards protecting the rights of children and building a more just and egalitarian world.