By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) government has filed a criminal case against tech giant Apple for allegedly using “blood minerals” in its supply chain illegally.
The DRC says Apple has bought prohibited supplies from the country’s eastern region, which has faced prolonged conflict with the M23 rebel group and Rwanda.
The East African country alleges that the minerals are illegally exploited from conflict-racked zones, then integrated into global supply chains before they end up as components in tech devices.
According to a legal representative of the DRC, Apple’s French and Belgian units also deployed deceptive commercial practices to persuade consumers that its supply chains were clean.
Heritage Times HT, citing AFP, reports that complaints have also been lodged against Apple in Paris and Brussels over alleged war crimes, laundering, forgery, and deception.
Last April, the legal team asked Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with Apple subsidiaries in France, about the potential inclusion of pillaged minerals in the company’s supply chain but did not receive substantive responses.
The DRC’s Washington-based lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, described the case as constituting a “first salvo” of judicial actions.
“Colour Apple red, and not green. It is a trillion-dollar company that must be assumed to know the consequences of its actions. Enough with denials of accountability and hiding behind the false narrative of supply chain defences!” he said.
Also in his reaction, Paris-based lawyer William Bourdon said the criminal complaints constitute “a first step towards making one of the biggest players in tech accountable for its policy of endless enrichment at the cost of the most serious of crimes staining African supply chains.”
Computer chips and tech devices require a wide array of minerals and specialty metals, which Apple has consistently made use of.
Apple last year said it had “no reasonable basis for concluding” its products contain illegally exported minerals from conflict-hit zones. The tech giant has insisted it carefully verifies the origin of materials in its output.
