The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sent a formal notice to Apple accusing the tech giant of using "illegally exploited" minerals extracted from the country's embattled east in its products, lawyers representing the African country said.
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 the AFP news agency, Apple France said they
wanted to study all the elements of the formal cease and desist notice — a
prelude to possible legal action by the DRC — to be able to respond.
"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.
'Blood minerals'
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.
70% of the world’s cobalt
Recently, a US federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit
targeting Apple, Google, Tesla, and other tech giants over alleged child labour
in cobalt mining in DRC.
Despite the plaintiffs having legal standing, the DC Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that they failed to meet the necessary legal
criteria to proceed with their claims against the companies.
As nations globally shift towards clean energy, the demand
for lithium-ion batteries, essential for powering smartphones, laptops, and
electric vehicles, is soaring. Cobalt, crucial for these batteries, primarily
originates from DRC, supplying over 70 percent of the world’s cobalt.
However, up to 30 percent is sourced from “artisanal mines,”
where thousands of freelance miners toil in conditions described as “subhuman”
and “degrading,” earning only a few dollars daily.
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