The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against tech giant Apple and its French and Belgian subsidiaries for using conflict minerals in its supply chain.
Congo’s legal team claims Apple is guilty of covering up war crimes, money laundering, handling stolen goods and misleading consumers about the ethical sourcing of its products. They say Apple benefits from minerals extracted through illegal mining operations in the country and then laundered through complex global supply chains, making the tech giant complicit in human-rights abuses. Apple has countered by saying it audits suppliers and funds organisations working to ensure minerals are responsibly acquired.
Apple’s products, which are widely available for sale, are unfortunately contributing to the exploitation of children working in mines. This, in turn, is fuelling Congo’s unending resource-war – involving more than 100 armed groups in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country. The local communities in Congo are the ones bearing the brunt of this exploitation, a fact that cannot be ignored.
In an unrelated case in March, 16 plaintiffs, including four former miners and legal representatives of child miners who lost their lives, lost a case against five US tech giants (Dell, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla) accused of benefiting from child labour. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia ruled 3-0 in favour of the companies, absolving them from claims of human-rights abuses in DR Congo’s cobalt-mining operations.
In March 2024, the UN reported that the number of internally displaced people in DRC had reached 7.2 million, with more than 80% of displacements caused by armed attacks and clashes.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8g540wz3jo
https://qrius.com/congo-sues-apple-alleges-firm-used-pillaged-minerals-in-products/