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The modern world runs on rare minerals. Companies like Apple need enormous quantities of rare materials to make the devices that make the modern world possible. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has long been a place where people have fought over these minerals, has filed criminal charges against Apple in France and Belgium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Apple of using conflict minerals in its supply chain.
The minerals in question are tin, tantalum and tungsten, a group known as 3T. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is famous for its 3T deposits and world powers have long gone there to extract those resources. According to the DRC and its lawyers, those minerals have been mined by armed groups and then laundered into the global supply chain where Apple buys them.
“Color Apple red and not green. It is a billion-dollar company that must be assumed to know the consequences of its actions. Stop denying accountability and hiding behind the false narrative of supply chain defenses!” Robert Amsterdam, lawyer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo said in a statement.
The criminal complaint has been building for a long time. This group of lawyers has been working with the DRC for years and trying to get answers from Apple about where exactly it gets all of its 3T from. According to the lawyers, Apple has not been forthcoming.
Last year, in a report presented With the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said it had traced its 3Q supply chains. “Based on our due diligence efforts, including analysis of information provided by third-party audit programs, upstream traceability programs, and our suppliers, we found no reasonable basis to conclude that any of the 3TG smelters or refineries that were determined that were in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023 directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or a neighboring country.”
Eastern Congo is famous for its mineral deposits and humanitarian disasters. A complex network of armed militias, russian mercenariesand Chinese business interests have created a land of displaced people and deals done at gunpoint. The conflict has displaced millions of people and killed many more. The situation is so serious that residents of some communities have welcomed mercenaries renamed Wagner from Eastern Europe and Russia. with open arms. Despite all the violence, the minerals continue to flow. The mines are open and extracting value from the land.
Belgian and French authorities will review the DRC’s criminal complaint and decide how to proceed. History is not on their side. In March, a US appeals court rejected a similar criminal complaint from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that accused Apple, Google, Dell and Tesla of profiting from child labor in the country.
In its statement, Amsterdam described this new criminal complaint as a “first volley of judicial actions.”
