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The mining of metals for the production of electric cars and devices, especially cobalt and copper, has gained prominence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where slavery, human rights violations, and child exploitation are also recurrent. However, the US aims to catch up with China and may pardon an Israeli billionaire, sanctioned for corruption, to secure a share of the market and increase domestic production of rechargeable batteries.
The energy transition and the gradual replacement of fossil fuels have pushed major economic powers into a race for raw materials essential for a more electric future. At the starting line for many of these powers is the DRC.
According to the “New York Times” this Friday, the United States is considering lifting sanctions imposed three years ago against Dan Gertler, an Israeli billionaire linked to the mining industry and suspected of corrupt practices in the DRC. The goal, they explain, is to free the business from this stain by exonerating the businessman and thus increasing investment from various companies in the country. As a result, it could boost battery production in the US and counteract Chinese influence on the African continent.
The newspaper explains that thanks to years of investment and the growth in the number of mines, the businessman has become one of the major holders of mining rights in Congo. In April 2023, he was the target of several corruption complaints, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accusing him of enriching himself at the expense of one of the planet’s poorest populations.
The proposed agreement would allow Gertler to sell his shares in three copper companies and a cobalt mine in Congo, and the White House hopes the electric car market will grow in the US. The reversal of sanctions would fit into the environmental policy of Joe Biden, which has been marked by a greater commitment to renewable solutions over fossil fuels.
Moreover, the US wants to grow in a market dominated by China, which began investing financially and politically in Central Africa several years ago. According to the agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Chinese companies hold shares in 18 of the 26 cobalt producers in the DRC.
However, as many NGOs, the State and Treasury departments have warned about the risk of cleaning up the image of Dan Gertler and his companies in the territory. The case illustrates, according to various activists, what the more developed countries are willing to do (or ignore) when their economic interests are at stake—a criticism that is also extended to American and European investments in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, for example.
Western World Depends on Congo’s Cobalt, Which Remains in Poverty
NGOs have warned of the humanitarian crisis resulting from the mining of materials used to produce electric batteries. At a time when many call for climate justice, it is the poorest Congolese who manufacture the batteries that power the energy transition of the rest of the planet.
The country holds the world’s largest reserves of cobalt, a metal fundamental for lithium batteries used in electric vehicles and other devices, as well as a strong presence of copper, gold, and many other metals. According to data from the US International Trade Administration and the UN environmental agency, nearly 70% of all the world’s cobalt is in the DRC.
Yet, despite vast reserves of natural resources, the DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world and is fourth on Forbes’ list of poverty risk. About 62% of Congolese live on less than two euros a day, and the country has extremely high levels of malnutrition, illiteracy, and lack of access to healthcare, among other problems.
In a September 2023 report, Amnesty International reported on evictions and forced displacements of Congolese communities, destruction of homes and villages, and “shocking human rights abuses, including sexual assault, arson, and physical assaults,” due to the increase and intensification of mining exploitation—which relies on children for hazardous work.
“Amnesty International recognizes the vital role of rechargeable batteries in the transition from fossil fuels. But climate justice demands a just transition. Decarbonizing the global economy cannot lead to more human rights violations,” the organization stated. In a statement, Amnesty’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, added that “the people of the DRC have endured significant exploitation and abuses during the colonial and post-colonial era, and their rights continue to be sacrificed as wealth is extracted from around them.”
In December 2022, 16 entities, including four former mine workers in the DRC and representatives of Congolese children killed and injured in cobalt mines, sued five tech giants—Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Tesla, and Alphabet (the parent company of Google)—for their role in increasing cases of modern slavery in Congo.
In March this year, as explained by ABC News, a US court acquitted the multinationals. “Many actors beyond cobalt suppliers perpetuate labor trafficking, including dealers, consumers, and even the government of the DRC. Forcing tech companies to ‘stop exploiting cobalt from using forced child labor’ would not hold those directly responsible for illegal work accountable,” argued the court.
Criticism of the Agreement Inside and Outside US Politics
Despite the intentions of the White House, which believes that the agreement with Dan Gertler could be a new window of opportunity and reform for the region, opinion is not unanimous. To the “New York Times,” Anneke Van Woudenberg, executive director of RAID, a non-profit organization that monitors mining in countries like the Congo, said that lifting sanctions on Gertler is “ridiculous.” “The deal lets him walk away rich, unscathed, and unaccountable, and cares little for those who matter most: the people of the DRC,” she said.
In the US Congress, criticism has also been heard from some senators, especially in the opposition. “The Biden Administration refused to be transparent about any structure for a deal on this matter or about who was leading this policy. The critical question is: what prevents Gertler from simply returning to Congo now or with a future administration?” questioned Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, in response to “The Times.”
Gertler, who has a long relationship with the family of the former Congolese president Laurent Kabila, was sanctioned in December 2017 by the US Treasury [equivalent to the Ministry of Finance], which accused him of being involved in “corrupt and opaque mining and oil business dealings,” by securing new concessions through the Kabila family.
For now, based on testimonies from Biden Administration officials to the “New York Times,” the White House passed a draft of this agreement to the lawyers of the Israeli billionaire last week. The structure includes the possibility for Gertler to sell his presence in the companies Kamoto Copper Company, Mutanda Mining (both owned by a Switzerland-based company, Glencore) and Metalkol RTR (partly owned by the government of Azerbaijan). These three companies alone produce about 30% of the world’s cobalt.
Gertler, who denies all the corruption charges that led to the sanctions, arguing that he created jobs in Congo, has not owned Glencore since 2017. But he continues to profit from cobalt and copper mined in the DRC. The American newspaper explained that the Israeli earned about $110 million a year in royalties from the Congo, even while being barred by sanctions from dealing with global banks.
Moreover, under the agreement, Gertler will be required to declare all assets and companies he owns in the Democratic Republic of Congo to an independent entity, which would handle reviewing the left portfolio.
And, despite the severe human rights violations carried out in facilities managed by Gertler’s companies, the businessman will also have to withdraw defamation lawsuits against various NGOs, which criticized the role of multinationals in increasing human trafficking and modern slavery in Congo.
Human Rights Watch, one of the world’s largest human rights NGOs, highlighted that Dan Gertler’s lawsuit against the anti-corruption coalition “Congo Is Not For Sale” was contested by nearly 150 civic organizations.
