Congo communities forcibly uprooted to make way for mines critical to EVs, Amnesty report says

By TAIWO ADEBAYO
Associated Press

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. That’s according to a report Tuesday from Amnesty International and another rights group. Congo is by the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. It’s also Africa’s top producer of copper. Rights groups and U.S. officials have long criticized the trade of Congo’s cobalt, copper and other minerals due to abusive labor and the risk of violence. In the report, the groups detail how the search for the minerals has forcibly uprooted people from their homes and farmland, often without compensation.