Those steps include companies asking their suppliers to trace where the cobalt comes
from, Seema Joshi, Amnesty's head of business and human rights, told a group of tech and auto company leaders attending a roundtable discussion on the matter in San Francisco.
"When you look at the leaders of these companies, they're still not disclosing this critical information needed to evaluate what they're doing is actually effective in identifying and protecting human rights abuses," Joshi said. "Were children involved in collecting cobalt? We know the problem still exists."
Cobalt is important for the lithium-ion batteries found in phones, laptops and tablets. About 60 percent of the world's cobalt supply comes from the Congo, and about 20 percent of it is mined by hand, said the organization, which first called attention to problems in a January 2016 report.
Amnesty's latest report commended Apple for being the first company to publish the names of its cobalt suppliers and dubbed it the industry leader in responsible cobalt sourcing. The tech giant is working closely with China-based cobalt supplier Huayou Cobalt to address child labor in its supply chain.
"We're proud of the progress we've made and we know our work is never done," Apple said in a statement Tuesday. "We will continue to drive our standards throughout our supply chain and do all that we can to ensure that everyone is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve."
Apple began investigating risks surrounding cobalt in late 2014 and in 2015 began mapping its cobalt supply chain down to the mine level, it said in its 2017 supplier responsibility report. In March, Apple said it would stop buying cobalt mined by hand in the Congo following reports of child labor and dangerous work conditions. https://www.cnet.com/news/tech-companies-apple-dell-amnesty-international-cobalt-mining/
