The Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused Apple of using conflict minerals

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of tech giant Apple, accusing them of using conflict minerals.

On behalf of the Congolese government, the lawyers argued that Apple is complicit in crimes committed by armed groups that control some mines in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Apple said it “strongly disputes” the allegations and is “strongly committed to the responsible sourcing” of the minerals.

Authorities in France and Belgium will now consider whether there is sufficient evidence to take further legal action.

In a statementDRC lawyers spoke of Apple’s supply chain being contaminated with “blood minerals.”

They claim that tin, tantalum and tungsten are taken from conflict areas and then “laundered through international supply chains.”

“These activities have fueled a cycle of violence and conflict by funding militias and terrorist groups and contributed to forced child labor and environmental destruction.”

Suppliers of the highest standards in the industry.

As conflict escalated in the region earlier this year, we informed our suppliers that their smelters and refiners had to suspend sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

“We took this action because we were concerned that it was no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to perform the due diligence required to meet our high standards.”

Eastern DRC is a major exporter of the mineral, and the global thirst for it has fueled wars there for decades.

Human rights groups have long claimed that large amounts of minerals extracted from legitimate mines, as well as from facilities run by armed groups, are transported to neighboring Rwanda and end up on our phones and computers.

Rwanda has in the past described the legal action taken by the Congolese government against Apple as a media stunt.

It denied selling any conflict minerals to the technology company.