Activists have accused foreign mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo of abusing the rights of workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The country is a major source of minerals, supplying about 70% of the world’s cobalt which is critical for rechargeable batteries.
The rights groups say workers have been told to stay on site 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, or lose their jobs.
In six mines, they have been confined for the past two months.
Photos show crowded dormitories where it is impossible for workers to keep at a safe distance from each other.
Poor sanitation poses another threat of coronavirus infection.
The abuse of the Congolese by foreigners stretches far back in history; they were sold as slaves by the Europeans, then rounded up to work in slave-like conditions in the mines and rubber plantations during the brutal colonial rule of the Belgian king, Leopold II.
