As the DRC brings an unprecedented case against Apple, and the company offers assurances that it will no longer use conflict minerals from central Africa, experts are questioning whether real change is on the horizon in illegal mining.
The war over so-called "conflict minerals" is more than two decades old, but the fight to prevent their exploitation by global tech companies is much newer.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), various armed groups - including both Congolese army and rival armed rebel groups, among them the M23 - occupy mines and trading routes, forcing miners to work for free.
Minerals from these mines, including tungsten, tin and tantalum (often referred to as the 3Ts), have been illegally smuggled through Rwanda for several years, and eventually exported to tech companies such as Apple, Tesla and Samsung.
But after the DRC filed criminal charges against Apple over the use of conflict minerals, there is renewed hope that this illegal mining could be brought to an end.
A criminal complaint was filed earlier in December against Apple's subsidiaries in France and Belgium, where the Congolese government alleges Apple uses conflict minerals laundered through international supply chains - which the American tech giant denies.
DRC files complaint against Apple over alleged illegal mineral exploitation
It is now up to judiciaries in France and Belgium, where the complaints were filed, to decide whether investigations will be initiated, which could set a legal precedent.
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Accept Manage my choices Public awareness
For Alex Kopp, senior campaigner on the NGO Global Witness's transition minerals team, the case signals positive change. He told RFI that there has been some progress, at least in terms of public awareness and consensus building.
The United States, France and Belgium say they have put regulations on conflict minerals in place, and the European Union passed a regulation in May 2017 to stop conflict minerals and metals from being exported to the EU, and to prevent EU smelters and refiners from using them.
Brussels lawyer Christophe Marchand said: "These complaints filed against Apple are a matter of great public interest at a time when European countries, consumers and non-governmental organisations are increasing their scrutiny of international supply chains."
But, Kopp added, the regulations "are not sufficiently enforced, and I don't think they've had a real impact on the ground".
He hopes the upcoming Apple trial will create awareness of the need to legislate against illegal mining, and "push the international community to take appropriate measures".
According to the United Nations Group of Experts on the DRC, legitimate public and private players lack the resources to implement the traceability requirements necessary for access to the international market.
They say the EU strategy on mineral supply chain due diligence should include regulation, coupled with practical measures to support transparency, traceability and law enforcement in high-risk and conflict areas.
UN experts call for global system to trace critical minerals
That way, "EU companies and consumers could ensure that their purchases are promoting better governance and economic development in eastern DRC, rather than fuelling war," according to a report co-written by Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a former consultant on conflict minerals due diligence to the UN Group of Experts.
Groundbreaking case
The DRC alleges that Apple bought contraband supplies from its conflict-racked eastern region and from Rwanda, zones in which the materials are alleged to be mined illegally before being integrated into global supply chains.
According to a statement from lawyers representing the DRC, Apple's French and Belgian subsidiaries also deployed deceptive commercial practices in order to persuade consumers that its supply chains were clean.
Apple said in a statement that suppliers were told earlier this year to stop purchasing those minerals from the DRC and Rwanda.
Lawyers for the DRC called Apple's statement vague, but welcomed the company's decision to stop sourcing minerals from the region - although they added that the company's statement about changes to its supply chain will have to be verified on the ground.
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Accept Manage my choices Kigali has dismissed the accusations, which the Rwandan government described as "a repetition of baseless allegations and speculation aimed at generating media interest about one of the world's largest companies".
"This is just the latest move by the DRC government, which constantly seeks to shift attention towards Rwanda with false accusations," spokesperson for the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo, told news agencies.
A wider issue
According to Kopp, Apple is not alone in these practices. "Global Witness has reported that, along with Apple, Tesla, HP, Nokia, Blackberry, Motorola, Samsung and Intel may also have sourced conflict minerals from the African Great Lakes Region."
Outside Europe, the pressure is also mounting in the US on American companies.
In July, the US State Department issued a statement saying: "The United States remains concerned about the role that the illicit trade and exploitation of certain minerals, including artisanally and semi-industrially mined gold and tantalum, from the African Great Lakes Region continues to play in financing conflict."
It continued: "In many cases, these minerals directly or indirectly benefit armed groups and move out of the eastern DRC through Rwanda and also to Uganda before moving to major refining and processing countries. These supply chains facilitate illicit exploitation and taxation of these minerals, often involving acts of corruption."
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Accept Manage my choices DRC's own failings
There is also a lot the DRC's government should do or should have done, Kopp said.
"I'm not referring now to the areas in North Kivu which are occupied by M23 and Rwandan forces, where the Congolese government has lost effective control over its territory, but to other areas in DRC where minerals have in the past been connected to armed conflict."
According to reports from Global Witness, the Congolese army has itself often illegally profited from minerals.
"The DRC hasn't sufficiently implement its regulation how to deal with conflict minerals. DRC officials are running the ITSCI traceability scheme through which conflict minerals have been laundered over and over again over the last decade. Congolese are often involved in smuggling minerals over the border and DRC officials do little to stop them," Kopp told RFI.
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Reports demonstrate that the Congolese authorities are in fact using this "scheme that's meant to ensure traceability" to do quite the opposite.
"The ITSCI traceability scheme has been used to launder conflict minerals in DRC," Kopp explains, citing evidence from the Global Witness 2022 "ITSCI Laundromat" report.
"Large amounts of minerals from unvalidated mines, including ones with militia involvement or that use child labour, enter the ITSCI supply chain and are exported, evidence suggests. ITSCI's incident reporting frequently appears to downplay or ignore incidents that seriously compromise its supply chain," it reads.
For the years 2023 and 2024, UN Group Expert reports appear to provide evidence for continued conflict minerals laundering, which Global Witness are in the process of verifying.
Hope for change
For William Bourdon, one of the lawyers representing DRC against Apple, it's a case that should bring hope, tempered with caution.
"It is unprecedented for a company as powerful as Apple to publicly commit to 'cleaning up' the conditions of its mineral sourcing," he told RFI.
"However, we must remain extremely vigilant. Companies sometimes make commitments that excite everyone but fail to deliver. That is why we are calling for Apple to commit to a full process of verification and transparency."
