,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #eca  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,july #cj1 #bjai,mr4
 ,castro of ,texas 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,fortenberry7 submitted the following  
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in 
addition to the ,committee on ,ways and 
,means1 for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the ,speaker1 in each case
 for consideration of such provisions as
 fall within the jurisdiction of the    
committee concerned  ,,resolution       
,expressing concern over the prevalence 
of hazardous working conditions for     
children1 especially the worst forms of 
child labor in the mining of cobalt and 
other minerals in the ,democratic       
,republic of the ,congo4  ,whereas the  
,department of ,labor has reported that 
the worst forms of child labor have been
 exploited in the extraction and        
processing of cobalt ore in the         
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo     
7,,drc7 and these activities are in     

violation of international standards2   
,whereas the ,united ,nations           
,children's ,fund 7,,unicef7 estimated  
that #dj1jjj children work in mines in  
the former ,province of ,katanga1 ,,drc1
 including in the cobalt sector2        
,whereas the ,,drc continues to be the  
world's leading source of mined cobalt1 
supplying more than #fd percent of      
global cobalt production in #bjah2      
,whereas for their economic survival1   
families often encourage children to    
work1 including in the mining sector2   
,whereas cobalt is a strategic and      
critical mineral used in numerous       
diverse commercial1 industrial1 and     
military applications1 for which demand 
is growing2 ,whereas ,amnesty           
,international found major electronics  
and electric vehicle companies are still
 not doing enough to stop human rights  
abuses entering their cobalt supply     
chains2 ,whereas key stakeholders1      
especially industry groups1 trade       
associations1 and private companies1    

have an individual responsibility to    
identify1 prevent1 and take action to   
halt hazardous and working conditions in
 their cobalt supply chains1 and to     
conduct due diligence with the aim of   
reducing child labor and improving      
working conditions in artisanal mines   
and in the broader cobalt supply chain1 
thereby respecting human rights1        
avoiding contributions to conflict1 and 
advancing sustainable development2      
,whereas1 in ,august #bjag1 the         
,government of the ,,drc issued a       
strategy on child labor in which it     
pledged to end child mining by #bjbe2   
and ,whereas countries and companies    
that utilize cobalt have a              
responsibility to work with the         
,government of the ,,drc and actors in  
their supply chains to support actions  
to raise awareness1 build enforcement   
capacity1 and improve monitoring and    
remediation at the national1 provincial1
 and local levels with the aim of       
enhancing the capacity of private and   

public sector entities to eliminate the 
worst forms of child mining by #bjbe and
 preventing the extraction1 supply1 and 
trade of minerals from exploiting       
children or contributing to other human 
rights abuses3 ,now1 therefore1 be it   
,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 expresses concern over the         
prevalence of the hazardous1 and        
especially the worst forms of1 child    
labor in the mining of cobalt and other 
minerals in the ,democratic ,republic of
 the ,congo 7,,drc72  7#b7 urges the    
,secretary of ,state1 the ,administrator
 of the ,united ,states ,agency for     
,international ,development1 and the    
,secretary of ,labor to identify1       
assess1 and evaluate the ,united ,states
 commercial recipients of cobalt derived
 through child labor and for-profit or  
nonprofit entities that benefit         
indirectly or directly from the         
commercial use or trade of such cobalt2 
7#c7 calls on the ,secretary of ,state1 
the ,administrator of the ,united       

,states ,agency for ,international      
,development1 and the ,secretary of     
,labor to coordinate with key           
stakeholders1 particularly industries   
which utilize or trade in cobalt1 and   
engage private multinational            
corporations1 multilateral              
organizations1 and the nongovernmental  
organization community to jointly       
establish an entity or other association
 with the ,government of the ,,drc1 such
 as the ,public-,private ,alliance for  
,responsible ,minerals ,trade1 to       
partner in developing and implementing  
plans to reduce child labor and improve 
working conditions in cobalt mining in  
the ,,drc2  7#d7 calls on the ,secretary
 of ,state1 the ,administrator of the   
,united ,states ,agency for             
,international ,development1 and the    
,secretary of ,labor to develop a       
strategy and action plan1 such as in the
 ,harkin-,engel ,protocol for the       
,growing and ,processing of ,cocoa      
,beans1 in partnership with the         

,government of the ,,drc and the entity 
or other association outlined above in  
paragraph 7#c7 to take steps to end the 
worst forms of child labor in cobalt    
mining by #bjbe by--  7,a7 removing     
child labor in the extraction of cobalt1
 including in artisanal and small-scale 
mining1 and replacing exploitive        
artisanal mining with other forms of    
sustainable1 productive economic        
activity to address local needs and     
support their reintegration into their  
community2  7,b7 ensuring that no       
minerals1 including cobalt1 that are    
produced with the use of the worst forms
 of child labor1 in whole or in part1   
are utilized in any aspect of any       
company's business operations1 products1
 or supply chain1 and mitigating and    
eliminating the presence of any         
child-labor-linked minerals that        
companies detect in their supply chains 
or business operations2  7,c7 conducting
 due diligence on the source and custody
 of such cobalt1 in accordance with the 

#e-step due diligence process outlined  
in the ,organization for ,economic      
,co-operation and ,development's ,due   
,diligence ,guidance for ,responsible   
,supply ,chains of ,minerals from       
,conflict-,affected and ,high-,risk     
,areas2  7,d7 recommending actions to   
ensure that sources of cobalt are       
compliant with restrictions on the worst
 forms of child labor laws2  7,e7       
ensuring that efforts to end child      
participation in cobalt mining are      
properly developed1 robust1 fully       
implemented1 and monitored1 and that    
training is provided to those           
responsible for executing these         
activities and to those enforcing labor 
laws in mining areas for the ,government
 of the ,,drc2  7,f7 supporting the     
entity or other association outlined    
above in paragraph 7#c7 in partnering   
with the ,government of the ,,drc to    
create a public-private system for      
routine inspections of artisanal mines2 
7,g7 reporting to government regulatory 

or law enforcement authorities1 as      
applicable1 all cases1 instances1 or    
information indicating a reasonable risk
 of linkages between child labor and the
 production1 sale1 or use of minerals2  
and  7,h7 making publicly available     
findings based on a joint assessment of 
the ,government of the ,,drc and        
third-party organizations outlined in   
this paragraph2 and  7#e7 encourages the
 ,united ,states ,trade ,representative 
to assess developments in the cobalt and
 other extractive sectors of the ,,drc  
when conducting annual reviews mandated 
under the ,africa ,growth and           
,opportunity ,act and the ,generalized  
,system of ,preferences 7,,gsp7 program4