STORY: The Democratic Republic of Congo sued Apple in France and Belgium Monday.
It accused the firm of being complicit in the conflict minerals trade.
Congo in central Africa is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten, so-called 3T minerals used in computers and mobile phones.
But some independent mines are run by armed groups.
The UN says they’ve been involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, and other crimes.
Lawyers for the state of Congo argue Apple uses minerals pillaged from Congo and laundered through international supply chains, which renders Apple complicit in crimes.
The tech giant says it audits suppliers, publishes findings and funds bodies that seek to improve mineral traceability.
Its 2023 filing on conflict minerals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said none of the smelters or refiners of 3T minerals in its supply chain had financed or benefited armed groups in Congo or neighboring countries.
Now these are thought to be the Congolese state’s first criminal complaints against a major tech company.
The allegations, ranging from covering up war crimes, to the laundering of tainted minerals and deceptive commercial practices, don’t only target Apple’s European subsidiaries, but the group as a whole.
Central to Congo’s complaints are its criticisms of a metals industry-funded monitoring and certification scheme, ITSCI, which helps companies like Apple perform due diligence on suppliers of 3T minerals from African countries.
Lawyers say Apple has been using it as a fig leaf to falsely present its supply chain as clean.
