The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government has accused Apple of utilizing “illegally exploited” minerals extracted from the country’s turbulent east in its goods, according to lawyers for the African country on Thursday.
The DRC’s lawyers have written Apple an official cease and desist order, which was seen by AFP, effectively telling the tech giant that if the alleged practice continues, it would face legal action.
The DRC’s Paris-based lawyers accused Apple of acquiring minerals transported from the DRC into neighboring Rwanda, where they are laundered and “integrated into the global supply chain”.
When contacted by AFP, Apple cited words from its 2023 annual business report on the suspected usage of conflict minerals, which are vital for a wide range of high-tech products.
“Based on our due diligence efforts… we found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023, directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country,” it said.
The DRC’s mineral-rich Great Lakes region has been wracked by violence since regional wars in the 1990s, with tensions reheating in late 2021 when March 23 Movement (M23) rebels began recapturing swathes of territory.
The DRC, the UN and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting rebel groups, including M23, in a bid to control the region’s vast mineral resources, an allegation Kigali denies.
“Apple has sold technology made with minerals sourced from a region whose population is being devastated by grave human rights violations,” the DRC’s lawyers wrote.
Sexual violence, armed attacks and widespread corruption at sites providing minerals to Apple are just some of the claims levelled in the letter.
Macs, iPhones, and other Apple products are “tainted by the blood of the Congolese people”, the DRC’s lawyers said.
‘Notoriously insufficient’
This week, French lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth submitted the formal warning to two Apple subsidiaries in France, as well as to lawyer Robert Amsterdam at the tech company’s US headquarters.
“Apple has consistently relied on a range of suppliers that buy minerals from Rwanda, a mineral-poor country that has preyed upon the DRC and plundered its natural resources for nearly three decades,” they wrote.
The DRC is rich in tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold – often referred to as 3T or 3TG – all minerals used in producing smartphones and other electronic devices.
The tech giant’s efforts to ethically source its minerals are “notoriously insufficient,” said Bourdon and London-based Amsterdam.
“Apple seems to rely mainly on the vigilance of its suppliers and their commitment to respect Apple’s code of conduct,” reads the official letter.
However, both their suppliers and external auditors appear to rely on certification from the Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI), “which has been shown to have numerous and serious shortcomings,” according to the official notification.
According to the British NGO Global Witness, the ITSCI programme is one of the primary procedures established over 10 years ago to assure the delivery of “conflict-free” minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In April 2022, Global Witness accused ITSCI of aiding in the laundering of conflict minerals, child labor, trafficking, and smuggling in the DRC.
According to Global Witness, Apple is not the only significant firm that uses the “flawed” system.
Tesla, Intel, and Samsung are among the corporations who rely on ITSCI, but Global Witness’s investigation found that “ninety percent of the minerals” from specific mining locations assessed by the program did not come from certified mines.
The DRC’s written notification to Apple asks about “3T minerals used in Apple products” and requests a response “within three weeks.”
“All legal options are on the table,” the lawyers told AFP.
‘Blood minerals’
According to an Amnesty International report from 2023, rising demand for cobalt and copper to power so-called renewable energy, such as rechargeable batteries, has resulted in forced evictions, sexual assault, arson, and beatings in eastern DRC.
M23 presently controls significant swaths of North Kivu and has encircled the provincial capital of Goma, where over one million war-displaced people have crowded into desperate, temporary camps.
In 2023, the UN stated that people living in eastern DRC confront unprecedented violence, ranking it one of the “worst places” in the world for children.
Minerals are transported into Rwanda, where they are laundered to outmanoeuvre oversight meant to prevent the sale of “conflict minerals,” says Global Witness.
“The responsibility of Apple and other major tech manufacturers when they use blood minerals has for too long remained a black box,” the lawyers told AFP.