For the second time in recent years, a group called International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) is suing Apple over alleged use of conflict minerals in Congo and Rwanda. Here are the details.
Apple has always denied such allegations
Long-time 9to5Mac readers may remember that the issue of Apple and its subsidiaries allegedly sourcing minerals from illegal operations involving human rights violations is not new.
In early 2024, IRAdvocates sued Apple and four other tech companies over alleged illegal cobalt sourcing, but the suit was later dismissed.
Also last year, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accused Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium of using minerals sourced from illegal operations involving human rights violations.
In this particular case, Apple responded by claiming that it had instructed its partners to suspend sourcing from the DRC and Rwanda earlier in the year, because “we were concerned it was no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to perform the due diligence required to meet our high standards,” as the company told Reuters last December.
Since then, the French lawsuit was dismissed, and the Belgian lawsuit is still ongoing.
Now, as reported by Reuters, IRAdvocates is back with a fresh lawsuit against Apple:
“IRAdvocates, a Washington-based nonprofit that tries to use litigation to curtail rights abuses, said in the complaint filed on Tuesday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia that Apple’s supply chain still includes cobalt, tin, tantalum and tungsten linked to child and forced labour as well as armed groups in Congo and Rwanda.”
The lawsuit reportedly cites a University of Nottingham report published earlier this year, which linked a few Apple suppliers to illegal labor practices.
IRAdvocates asks the court to declare that Apple’s conduct violates consumer protection law, order the company to stop the alleged deceptive marketing, and cover the group’s legal costs.
Apple hasn’t yet responded to these new allegations, but the company does provide supply chain, human rights, supplier code of conduct, and other reports and filings, which can be found here.
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