DR Congo, Apple at War  over Blood Minerals in Apple Products

War-torn Democratic Republic of Congo has drawn the line, first for Apple, among other tech companies, using ‘blood minerals’ from the country for their products.

French lawyers working for the country have fired off letters to Apple’s offices in Paris and the US. The letter warned the company  to ‘cease and desist’ from buying the minerals within the next three weeks—or face legal consequences.

The lawyers claimed Apple buys the minerals which the rebel group M23 takes from the Great Lakes region of DRC, and smuggles them into Rwanda where the Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) buys them.

The ITSCI is a body set up to ensure supplies of conflict-free minerals from the DRC.

But Global Witness, a British NGO, accused the ITSCI in 2022 of contributing to the laundering of conflict minerals, child labour, trafficking and smuggling in the DRC.

So the lawyers readily countered Apple’s clarification to AP that it “found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold)  directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC”.

“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,” William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth said in the letter.

DRC, the UN, and others have alleged Rwanda is aiding the rebels so it can control the mineral-rich region of DRC. Kigali denied it, though.

“The responsibility of Apple and other major tech manufacturers when they use blood minerals has for too long remained a black box,” the lawyers told AFP.

Other companies include Samsung, Intel, and Tesla.