Apple in sight: DRC sues Tech giants for conflict minerals!

Apple in sight: DRC sues Tech giants for conflict minerals!

The tech giant stands in the crossfire of criticism because of its supply chains.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the alarm bells ring and submitted criminal complaints against Apple's subsidiaries in France and Belgium! The accusation? The use of so-called "conflict minerals" from Sub-Saharian Africa. A huge scandal that brings the dark sides of the technology industry to light!

The lawyers who represent the Central African country have in a statement this week claimed that Apple's European subsidiaries use minerals that come from conflict areas. They accuse the company of applying "misleading business practices" to pretend the consumers that the supply chains of the tech giant are clean.

What are conflict minerals?

conflict minerals are raw materials that typically come from high -risk areas that are affected by conflicts. The DRC, Sierra Leone and Venezuela are just a few of the countries in which these valuable but controversial minerals are found.

"conflict minerals" is a term that was shaped by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and refers to Tantal, tin, tungsten and gold, which come from so -called conflict and high -risk areas. Christoph N. Vogel, author of the book "Conflict Mineral Inc", told Al Jazera that these minerals are used in many industries worldwide.

The DRC is particularly rich in these raw materials, especially in the east of the country, where violence has been in existence for over 30 years. Over 200 armed groups fight for control over the mines from which these minerals come. Alex Kopp from the NGO Global Witness reported that rebels occupy the mines and trade routes and force the workers to work free of charge, while the minerals are illegally smuggled to Rwanda and then exported to large companies such as Apple.

why is that controversial?

The profits from these minerals finance armed groups and extend the conflict in the region. One example is the group M23 supported by Rwanda, which controls the Coltan production in the Rubaya region. This region delivers about 15 percent of the global tantalum that is used for the production of mobile phones and laptops.

The DRC targeted Apple in September last year when President Felix Tshiseekedi scored the lawyers of Amsterdam & Partners LLP. They were commissioned to examine the supply chain of the "3T minerals" (tin, Wolfram and Tantal), which are illegally exported from the Congolese area. On April 22nd of this year, the lawyers turned to Apple CEO Tim Cook after their research had shown that Apple's supply chain may be burdened with "blood minerals". But the answer was a long time.

Apple rejected the allegations and explained that they had not found any evidence that their suppliers had financed armed groups in the DRC or adjacent countries. But the DRC lawyers were not intimidated and submitted criminal charges against Apple's European subsidiaries on December 17th

"Apple turns red and not green!", Robert Amsterdam, one of the lawyers, called, and demanded more responsibility from the billion -dollar company. "Enough with the excuses and the hiding game behind wrong narratives!"

Apple stated that they would have warned their suppliers not to obtain minerals from the DRC and Rwanda, since the conditions for independent exams were no longer given. But the lawyers of the DRC are calling for these statements to be checked on site.

The lawsuit is promoted in Europe because the EU has strict regulations to ensure that importers from 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) comply with international standards for responsible procurement. The lawyers also wrote and asked to Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission

The DRC wants to denounce not only the crimes with these complaints, but also cause a change in the supply chains. The pressure on Apple and other companies is growing, and the world is looking forward!