Congo: State sues Apple over conflict minerals in supply chain

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a criminal complaint against the Apple Group and Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium. The government of the Central African country accuses the tech company of using so-called conflict minerals from the region. Congo has a large deposit of so-called 3T minerals, including tantalum, tin and tungsten, which are used in computers and smartphones. According to UN experts and human rights organizations, some of the mines used to extract the minerals are controlled by armed groups that are involved in looting, mass rape and massacres of the civilian population. Since 1993, eastern Congo has been plagued by armed conflicts between various armed groups. Millions of civilians have been displaced and killed since then. The fight for the country's natural resources is considered one of the main drivers of the conflict.

According to Apple, the company regularly audits its suppliers. The company also regularly publishes the results of these audits and sponsors organizations that work to improve the traceability of raw materials. The report submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 shows that none of Apple's suppliers of gold or 3T minerals supported armed groups in Congo or its neighboring countries.

Lawsuit against Apple subsidiaries in Belgium and France

The Congolese government's lawyers are nevertheless accusing Apple of using minerals looted from the Congo, the origin of which is concealed by the international supply chains. The accusations are not the first of their kind. In April, Congo published a report showing that the supply chains of Apple and other manufacturers were tainted in this way.

In addition to the Apple Group as a whole, the lawyers have filed complaints against the local subsidiaries Apple France, Apple Retail France and Apple Retail Belgium with the Paris public prosecutor's office and a Belgian court of inquiry on behalf of the Congolese Minister of Justice. They are accused of covering up war crimes, distribution of stolen goods and misleading business practices. It is obvious that Apple was aware of the systemic abuses in the supply chains, according to the indictment to the French judicial authorities.

The charges focus on the industry-financed monitoring and certification system ITSCI (International Tin Supply Chain Initiative). It certifies raw materials from countries such as Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. Congo's lawyers argue that ITSCI has been discredited, but that Apple continues to use the certification system to prove that the raw materials are conflict-free. The system has been discredited by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), among others. According to Reuters, the initiative, of which Apple is a member, announced in 2022 that it would remove ITSCI from its list of approved traceability systems.

The complaints are also explicitly directed against the Group's French and Belgian subsidiaries, as both countries place great importance on corporate responsibility. It is up to the judicial authorities in both countries to decide whether to investigate the allegations further and, if necessary, bring charges. Belgium has a special moral responsibility towards the Congo because the plundering of the country's raw materials began under the colonial rule of the Belgian king in the 19th century, one of the lawyers involved told Reuters.

(kst)