ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The mining of minerals critical to electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies in Congo has led to human rights abuses, including forced evictions and physical assault, according to a new report from Amnesty International and another rights group. Congo is by far the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and other products, and it is also Africa’s top producer of copper, which is used in EVs, renew
and other green technologies in Congo has led to human rights abuses, including forced evictions and physical assault, according to a new report from Amnesty International and another rights group.
The report released Tuesday by Amnesty International and the Congo-based Initiative for Good Governance and Human Rights, or IBGDH, details how the search for the minerals has forcibly uprooted people from their homes and farmland, often without compensation or adequate resettlement. In one case, Congolese soldiers burned down the Mukunbi settlement in the southern province of Lualaba in November 2016 to make way for cobalt and copper mining by Dubai-based Chemaf Resources.
Chemaf denied any wrongdoing, liability or involvement in the destruction of Mukumbi or directing military forces to destroy it, the company told Amnesty International. Those who were forced out said they were not adequately consulted, while COMMUS said it aimed to improve its communications, according to the report.