Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to investigate the use of child labour in cobalt mines in Congo.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by continued reports of children working in the artisanal mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UK is fully committed to seeing an end to such practices by 2030 as laid out in the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

UK officials monitor trends in child labour in mining in DRC, including by working closely with partners such as the UN Joint Human Rights Organisation who report human rights abuses in DRC and raise concerns regularly with the DRC Government. As an active member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative, which promotes responsible practice, the UK has met the DRC Government and local actors in the mining sector to press for adherence to the Voluntary Principles, with a view to eventual membership of DRC.