Protesters in London's Parliament Square (November 1) sought to highlight human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic off Congo (DRC), linked to the mining and trade of coltan and cobalt used to manufacture components in laptops and smartphones.

Mineral rich DRC produces 30% of the world's supply of coltan and 60% of cobalt which has been implicated in the use of child labour, with children being as young as 6 years old employed in small-scale artisinal mines rinsing and sorting material. Teenage and adult workers mine by hand in dangerous conditions with little or no protective and safety equipment.

In 2019 a lawsuit was filed against Apple, Google, Tesla and Microsoft by the families of the Congolese children killed in cobalt mines who.

Amnesty International says much more can be done by global firms to push for ethical production of coltan.