Thread by @NewsBFM

1. Congo has accused Apple of using "illegally exploited" minerals from an embattled eastern region in its products.

In an April 22 letter to Apple, lawyers for Congo's government said Macs, iPhones, and various Apple products are "tainted by the blood of the Congolese people."

2. The lawyers for Congo accused Apple of purchasing minerals like tin, tungsten and tantalum — collectively known as 3T minerals.

The minerals are alleged to be smuggled from Congo into neighbouring Rwanda, where they are laundered and "integrated into the global supply chain".

3. "Apple has sold tech made with minerals sourced from a region whose population is being devastated by grave human rights violations,” Congo's lawyers wrote.

In the letter, they claim that sexual violence, armed attacks and widespread corruption are prevelant at those sites.

3. Congo wants Apply to respond within 3 weeks.

"All legal options are on the table," the lawyers told AFP.

Apple has since cited its 2023 annual corporate report on the alleged use of so-called conflict minerals that are crucial for a wide range of high-tech products.

4. "We found no reasonable basis to conclude that any of the smelters or refiners of 3TG (tin, tantalum, tungsten & gold) determined to be in our supply chain as of Dec 31, 2023, directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in Congo or an adjoining country," it said.

5. Congo's mineral-rich Great Lakes region has been wracked by violence since regional wars in the 1990s, with tensions reheating in late 2021 when March 23 Movement (M23) rebels began recapturing swathes of territory.

6. Congo, UN and Western countries accuse Rwanda of supporting rebel groups, including M23, to control the region's vast mineral resources.

This comes a few weeks after a US court cleared Apple, Tesla, Microsoft and others of child labour charges in Africa's cobalt mines.