PARIS: The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has accused Apple of using “illegally exploited” minerals extracted from the country’s embattled east in its products, lawyers representing the African country said on Thursday.

The DRC’s lawyers have sent Apple a formal cease and desist notice, effectively warning the tech giant it could face legal action if the alleged practice continues.

The Paris-based lawyers for the DRC accused Apple of purchasing minerals smuggled from the DRC into neighbouring Rwanda, where they are laundered and “integrated into the global supply chain”.

Contacted by AFP, Apple pointed to statements from its 2023 annual corporate report regarding the alleged use of so-called conflict minerals that are crucial 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.

Tech giant warned of legal action by DRC if practice continues

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.

Formal notice

French lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth sent the formal notice this week to two Apple subsidiaries in France and lawyer Robert Amsterdam to 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.

But both their suppliers and external audits appear to rely on certification from the Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI), “which has been shown to have numerous and serious shortcomings,” said the formal notice.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024