Iran Press/Africa: This decision, aimed at halting illegal mining and the smuggling of minerals from the unstable eastern regions of the country to Rwanda, has been welcomed by the Congolese, especially those in areas affected by armed conflict.
"Today, with this complaint, the Congolese government proves that it is working to put an end to these disorders," Gedon Sepengwa, a resident of Goma, told IranPress. "These minerals, called 'blood', are at the root of the armed conflicts in the DRC, because the armed groups in the bush exploit them, and it is the multinationals, especially Apple, who support them."
The Congolese allege that Americans are orchestrating conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo to facilitate the plundering of minerals through Rwanda. "The Americans have set up their companies in Rwanda, where there are no minerals, to promote the plundering and theft of minerals," Gedeon adds. "They promote killings, human rights violations in the DRC. We condemn this and we hope that justice will deal with this issue." The complaint filed in Paris accuses Apple of concealing various crimes, including war crimes, money laundering, forgery, use of forgery and deception. "We have proven sufficiently that Apple uses blood minerals, minerals from operations where even minor children work in the DRC," Patrick Baala told IranPress. "Apple goes through Rwanda, which is considered a criminal and aggressor country, and this aggression has been officially recognized by several investigations, even by the United Nations. Faced with this issue, we believe that this is a way to end the war."
In April, the Democratic Republic of Congo formally notified Apple about the exploitation of conflict minerals, to which the company responded by referring to its 2023 annual report, in which it stated that it had "found no reasonable basis to conclude that any of the 3TG (tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold) smelters or refineries determined to be part of our supply chain as of December 31, 2023, has directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or in a neighboring country."
"I can say that this is a good thing, because at some point, this chain will have to stop," Jenny Ntwali, a resident of Goma, told iranpress. "It is up to the Americans to take responsibility, as we have said on several occasions, but since it is the Congolese government that is taking this step officially, the Americans must normally cease this direct collaboration with Rwanda."
Eastern DRC, a region abundant in minerals, has been engulfed in violence since the 1990s. The situation deteriorated further with the resurgence of the M23 rebellion in late 2021, which Kinshasa claims is supported by Rwanda. This armed group now controls large portions of North Kivu.
The Congolese government accuses Kigali of attempting to appropriate the region's mineral resources. Kinshasa asserts that this ambition is a primary motivation behind Rwanda's support for the M23 rebellion.
The DRC's complaint against Apple could have far-reaching implications for the global mineral supply chain, underscoring the intricate connections between armed conflict, illegal mining, and major tech companies.
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