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Belgium has began a legal probe into allegations that Apple has knowingly sourced “blood minerals” from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in what legal professionals for the central African nation have referred to as a “huge laundering and greenwashing operation”.
In December, the DRC filed legal complaints in Belgium and France in opposition to subsidiaries of the US tech group, alleging they used minerals provided by armed teams committing atrocities in jap Congo.
Attorneys appearing for DRC mentioned prosecutors in Belgium had final week appointed an investigative choose — who oversees the investigation and is answerable for issuing arrest warrants, wiretaps and raids — to probe the case. They have been nonetheless awaiting a call from France, the place the method was slower.
“This is step one which reveals that the prosecutor takes the case very critically,” mentioned Christophe Marchand, the lawyer who ready the case in Belgium, which colonised Congo with catastrophic penalties within the early twentieth century.
The Brussels prosecutors’ workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark. Apple mentioned it “strongly disputes” the DRC’s claims and was “deeply dedicated to accountable sourcing of minerals” corresponding to coltan, a vital mineral utilized in its iPhones and different electronics, of which greater than half of worldwide deposits are in Congo.
The legal criticism alleges that Apple buys tantalum, an ore extracted from coltan, in addition to tin, tungsten and gold — the so-called 3TG minerals — from mines whose income stoke battle in jap DRC and promote little one labour and environmental degradation. Thousands and thousands of individuals have been displaced in preventing wherein rape and killing of civilians is frequent.
Most of the minerals are licensed to have come from mines in non-conflict areas or from Rwanda. However the criticism alleges that the so-called “bagging and tagging” certification course of on which Apple and different electronics giants rely is deeply flawed and that minerals labelled as coming from Rwanda are, the truth is, sourced from Congolese mines.
“There isn’t a tech firm on Earth that doesn’t know that every little thing bought from Rwanda is 90 per cent positive to be Congolese,” Robert Amsterdam, whose legislation agency is representing DRC, informed the Monetary Occasions.
In a report this month, the UN mentioned Rwandan-backed rebels in jap DRC “fraudulently exported” at the very least 150 metric tons of coltan to Rwanda final yr, resulting in what it referred to as “the biggest contamination” of the area’s mineral provide chain on file.
M23 rebels — which the UN, US, EU and Congo say are backed by Rwanda — had, the report acknowledged, gained management over lots of a very powerful mines, “establishing a parallel administration controlling mining actions, commerce, transport and the taxation of minerals produced”.
Kigali has constantly denied backing M23 rebels or benefiting from what Kinshasa claims is the $1bn a yr it loses from smuggled minerals.
In a March 2024 submitting with the Securities and Trade Fee, Apple mentioned: “We discovered no cheap foundation for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG decided to be in our provide chain . . . straight or not directly financed or benefited armed teams within the DRC.”
Apple mentioned it had written to its suppliers in June 2024 telling them to droop sourcing 3TG metals from both DRC or Rwanda. The corporate mentioned it was involved that it “was now not potential for unbiased auditors or business certification mechanisms to carry out the due diligence required to fulfill our excessive requirements”.
Amsterdam characterised the brand new sourcing determination as a smoking gun. “It’s an admission that the availability chains are mainly infiltrated with bogus minerals,” he mentioned.
Apple has sought to extend use of recycled minerals in its merchandise, saying it aimed to supply 100 per cent recycled cobalt for batteries by this yr.
Individually, legal professionals appearing for DRC have sought to attract the EU into the battle in opposition to Apple by sending a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Fee, depicting as a “farce” the bloc’s settlement with Rwanda, signed final February, on sustainable sourcing of vital minerals.
“The EU has signed an MOU with Rwanda on growing their 3TG mineral programmes when anyone with a highschool training is aware of Rwanda doesn’t have the minerals,” Amsterdam mentioned. “It isn’t simply Apple however the EU itself that’s engaged on this sophistry.”
A spokesperson for the fee mentioned it was “critically dedicated to making sure transparency and traceability of the vital uncooked supplies each on the bilateral and multinational degree”.
One of many key goals of its settlement with Rwanda was “to bolster the battle in opposition to unlawful trafficking of minerals”, they added.
