International Coalition Against Modern Slavery

From 1885 to 1908, the Congo was under the private control of Belgium's King Leopold II, and later became an official colony of Belgium. The decades were characterized by extractivism, violence, and forced labor in which an estimated 10 million were killed. Those who refused to harvest their own country’s rubber, ivory, and minerals to enrich Belgium were mutilated or outright murdered. The colonial government also sewed divisions between different ethnic groups in the Congo, further working to destabilize the region.

The Congo remained under European colonial rule until 1960. Patrice Lumumba, a leader in the Congo’s liberation movement and Pan-African thinker, became the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent Congo. Belgian businesses – who continued to extract the Congo’s wealth – worried Lumumba would nationalize the Congo’s mines. Lumumba was later ousted by a coup, was assassinated, and replaced with a dictator.

The legacy of imperialist history and extraction continues today in the Congo, as multinational corporations grow richer off the extraction of the DRC’s immense mineral wealth. The extraction of cobalt, coltan, and copper by tech and energy sectors comes at a cost. Extreme human rights violations, including forced labor, child labor, and deadly working conditions are pervasive across the mining industry.

Today, multinational corporations grow even richer off the DRC’s immense mineral wealth, including cobalt, coltan, and copper. This extraction, especially prevalent in the tech and energy sector, comes as a cost, as extreme human rights violations, including forced labor, child labor, and deadly working conditions are pervasive across the mining industry.

The link between imperialism, extractivism, and human rights abuses remains undeniable - if we are to address the root causes of modern slavery in the Congo, we must dismantle exploitative systems and demand accountability for the corporations knowingly profiting off of forced labor, justice for the people of the Congo.

For the next three months, Friends of the Congo and The International Coalition Against Modern Slavery will be working on a joint campaign to educate on the issue of forced labor in the Congo, advocate for accountability and labor protections, and spotlight the efforts of Congolese activists.

Actions you can take

Help educate your community about what is happening in DRC

Donate to trusted organizations that deliver essential services to those impacted by forced labor in

Advocate for and push for stronger international laws that require companies to conduct due diligen

Lobby for international accountability with policy makers

US: Talk to your elected officials about supporting immigrant rights. This can include calling the congressional switchboard at (202) 224 - 3121 and asking for your representative or senators. Or speak up in your local community to educate others on this topic

Support local organizations in DRC who are actively working to protect rights of workers

Pact: Collaborate with artisanal and small scale mining communities to enhance livelihoods and reduce child labour. Their initiatives aim to formalize and improve mining practices while keeping people safe from human right abuses.

Fair Cobalt Alliance: Unites stakeholders across cobalt supply chain to mobilize investments to strengthen and professionalize the artisanal cobalt mining sector. Their goals are to improvise working conditions, protect child rights, and promote income diversification within mining communities.

AIDPROFEN: A Congolese non-profit organization that promotes and defends women's and children’s rights in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.