Apple accused of covering up war crimes by willfully using Congo conflict minerals

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in iPhone edited December 2024

Apple has been formally accused by Congo of covering up war crimes by using conflict minerals in its supply chain, and criminal complaints have been filed in France and Belgium.

Apple has been asked to verify that it doesn't use
Apple has been asked to verify that it doesn't use "conflict minerals" in the iPhone



Apple and at least most Big Tech manufacturers have long been accused of sourcing tin, tungsten, and tantalum -- the 3T materials -- from regions where that means funding violent groups. And now, Apple has picked up two criminal complaints, lodged by the Congo government.

The complaint alleges that conflict minerals are laundered through multiple sales and shell companies before hitting Apple suppliers. Therefore, according to the filing spotted by Reuters early Tuesday morning, Apple is directly responsible, is complicit, and should be held accountable for crimes against humanity taking place in Congo.

Specifically, the accusations filed in France and Belgium are focused on alleged failures by conflict mineral tracking body ITSCI. That group is a group funded by the metals industry, that certifies materials leaving Congo and other conflict zones as free of slave labor, and from official sources.

The complaint in France alleges that ITSCI isn't a reliable certification source. In fact, the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) is one of the groups discrediting ITSCI.

RMI removed ITSCI from its list of reliable accountability monitors for conflict mineral in 2022, and won't be reinstated until 2026 at the earliest.

Apple is a member of RMI, and still cited ITSCI five times in a 2023 report, after the disavowment by RMI.

"It is clear that the Apple group, Apple France and Apple Retail France know very well that their minerals supply chain relies on systemic wrongdoing," says the French complaint.

The charges are the first two of their kind against mostly American big tech. The charges include covering up war crimes, handling stolen goods, using deceptive commercial practices, and laundering tainted minerals.

More complaints against other companies are coming.

The French and Belgian courts will now determine what charges -- if any -- will be levied against Apple France, Apple retail in France, and Apple Retail Belgium.

Apple and conflict minerals



There are no reliable substitutes for the 3T minerals, only alternate sources. The tech industry will be reliant on them for the foreseeable future.

Tin is used in resistors, solder, batteries, and more. Tantalum is commonly alloyed, and is a major component in chip manufacture. Tungsten is another common element used across the entire electronics industry.

So, it's critical that the minerals be obtained by big tech. And given where large concentrations exist, it's vital that it's done through reliable -- and legal -- sources that do not rely on slave labor, or through channels that perpetuate conflicts in areas like Congo.

Apple has been monitoring the situation for decades. That monitoring came to a head in 2020.

In 2020, Apple revealed that it had stopped using 18 smelters and refiners for flouting the rules over these conflict materials.

Then in 2022, it ceased working with a further 12 suppliers over the issue.

In April 2024, Congo started questioning the effectiveness of Apple's stated Supplier Code of Conduct. A group of international lawyers wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple subsidiaries in France, asking for answers within three weeks.

Congo was apparently not satisfied with Apple's answer.

Apple does not buy conflict minerals directly. Rather, it uses its supply chain to do so, and publishes an annual report about that.

In the latest filing from 2023, Apple said that none of its smelters or refiners have financed armed gangs selling the conflict materials outside of official channels.

"The Apple Supplier Code of Conduct..., which includes Apple's Supplier Responsibility Standard on the Responsible Sourcing of Materials," Apple told the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2022, "...requires suppliers, smelters, refiners, and recyclers in our supply chain to identify and assess a broad range of risks beyond conflict, including social, environmental, and human rights risks."

"Since 2009, Apple has directed the removal of 163 3TG smelters and refiners from its supply chain (a total of 9 tantalum, 50 tin, 19 tungsten, and 85 gold smelters and refiners)," continued the company's SEC filing. "In 2021, we removed 12 smelters and refiners from our supply chain, including those that were not willing to participate in or complete a third party audit, or that did not otherwise meet our requirements for the responsible sourcing of minerals."



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    quakerotisquakerotis Posts: 146member
    Yes. It's called capitalism, a system with no soul.

    Apple is no different than any other investor-driven company
    Ofergrandact73mac_dog
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Blaurieterblaurieter Posts: 11member
    The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been hardly democratic and not much of a republic. It is one warring faction trying to cash in on a legal complaint that is not really against Apple but against other rival groups. While the current government did win a popular election, the conflict goes back to 1960 and the end of Belgium colonial rule.
    It is just another example of a government entity looking to increase revenue via a legal system far from their domain. In this case, like Indonesia, the DRC is looking for a source with deep pockets. The real issue are these minerals mined legally/ethically (child or forced labor).





    thtteejay2012Alex1Nllama
     1Like 0Dislikes 3Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,400member
    Apple, being an American company, is probably going to take the position that, "We don't need to prove our innocence.  If you think we're guilty, prove it."

    If DoC thinks Apple is doing the nefarious things, prove it.  It seems at least possible that Apple is indirectly responsible for some of them.  Apple's suppliers might not be as scrupulous as Apple itself, and also might also be victims of bad actors even farther down the chain.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 12
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,733member
    beowulfschmidt said:
    Apple, being an American company, is probably going to take the position that, "We don't need to prove our innocence.  If you think we're guilty, prove it."

    If DoC thinks Apple is doing the nefarious things, prove it.  It seems at least possible that Apple is indirectly responsible for some of them.  Apple's suppliers might not be as scrupulous as Apple itself, and also might also be victims of bad actors even farther down the chain.
    The cases are being heard in France and Belgium, where the DRC has filed its evidence. It's not a case of prove your innocence.
    muthuk_vanalingamronn
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 5 of 12
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,693member
    Baloney…….
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 12
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,823member
    … has a first name.  It’s O. S. C. A. R. 

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 12
    JamesCudejamescude Posts: 96member
    Funny how they always go after the company with the most money to grab.
    jeffharris
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 12
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,233member
    JamesCude said:
    Funny how they always go after the company with the most money to grab.
    FTA:

    "The charges are the first two of their kind against mostly American big tech. The charges include covering up war crimes, handling stolen goods, using deceptive commercial practices, and laundering tainted minerals.

    More complaints against other companies are coming." 

    Apple is just one of the companies. 
    edited December 2024
    gatorguyOferfred1ronn
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 12
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,163member
    gatorguy said:
    beowulfschmidt said:
    Apple, being an American company, is probably going to take the position that, "We don't need to prove our innocence.  If you think we're guilty, prove it."

    If DoC thinks Apple is doing the nefarious things, prove it.  It seems at least possible that Apple is indirectly responsible for some of them.  Apple's suppliers might not be as scrupulous as Apple itself, and also might also be victims of bad actors even farther down the chain.
    The cases are being heard in France and Belgium, where the DRC has filed its evidence. It's not a case of prove your innocence.
    Completing your thought… in that those jurisdictions also assume innocent until proven guilty, so the DRC would have to provide credible evidence to prove guilt. "none of its smelters or refiners have financed armed gangs selling the conflict materials outside of official channels." That's an odd sentence. They finance armed gangs through official channels?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 12
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,097member
    Yes. It's called capitalism, a system with no soul.

    Apple is no different than any other investor-driven company
    You are 100% correct! For all it’s bragging about being eco conscious. They have a long way to go. I love apple products,  but won’t purchase anymore bcoz of their (Apple’s) support of the genocide in Palestine through employee contributions and paying benefits to those employees who can choose to serve in the IOF. 
    edited December 2024
    ronn
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 12
    croprcropr Posts: 1,145member
    mknelson said:
    gatorguy said:
    Apple, being an American company, is probably going to take the position that, "We don't need to prove our innocence.  If you think we're guilty, prove it."

    If DoC thinks Apple is doing the nefarious things, prove it.  It seems at least possible that Apple is indirectly responsible for some of them.  Apple's suppliers might not be as scrupulous as Apple itself, and also might also be victims of bad actors even farther down the chain.
    The cases are being heard in France and Belgium, where the DRC has filed its evidence. It's not a case of prove your innocence.
    Completing your thought… in that those jurisdictions also assume innocent until proven guilty, so the DRC would have to provide credible evidence to prove guilt. "none of its smelters or refiners have financed armed gangs selling the conflict materials outside of official channels." That's an odd sentence. They finance armed gangs through official channels?
    The legal system in Belgium and France are both based on the code Napoleon, which in this case means that Apple is assumed to be innocent until proven, but contrary to American legal system, DRC has not to provide any prove of guilt.  In both countries the the complaint will be handled by an "investigation judge", who will decide how to procede. The investigating judge assembles evidence for and against the complaint, he is assumed to be impartial.  In order to do that he has a lot of power: he can instruct the police to investigate certain aspects, he can arrest people, he can confiscate documents, he can issue search warrants, ....  If the investigating judge concludes the case has its merits, he will transfer the case to a criminal court where a criminal judge will decide (no jury).

    gatorguyronn
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 12 of 12
    OriginalAppleGuyoriginalappleguy Posts: 18member
    This case needs to be thrown away and the Plaintiff charged. It's asinine for one to deduct a company or anyone else is guilty of perpetrating a cover up when they are not involved in the act in any way whatsoever. Africa is a mess and until they get their complete and total act together, treated as the child it is.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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