A Washington, DC-based human rights organization has launched a new legal challenge against Apple, accusing the tech giant of benefiting from minerals tied to conflict, child labor, and forced labor in Central Africa. The lawsuit, filed by International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, claims that Apple’s supply chain continues to rely on minerals sourced from unstable regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Rwanda.
According to the filing, Apple is allegedly linked to cobalt, tin, tantalum, and tungsten originating from mines associated with violence and exploitation, despite the company’s assurances that it enforces strict ethical sourcing standards. These minerals are essential components in products like iPhones, laptops, and other consumer electronics.
Apple did not immediately respond to questions about the new lawsuit. The company has long maintained that its supply chain does not use minerals sourced from conflict zones and that its suppliers must comply with a strict code of conduct and third-party audits.
A Fresh Legal Battle Following Earlier Case Dismissals
The lawsuit represents IRAdvocates’ latest attempt to hold Apple and other major tech companies accountable for their mineral sourcing practices. The group previously brought a case against Apple, Tesla, and others over cobalt extraction in the DRC, but that case was dismissed by US courts in 2023 due to insufficient grounds to proceed.
Legal actions overseas have also produced mixed results. French prosecutors last December dismissed a case filed by the DRC’s government against Apple subsidiaries, saying they lacked enough evidence to move forward. However, a separate criminal complaint in Belgium remains under investigation, adding international scrutiny to the issue of conflict minerals in global tech supply chains.
IRAdvocates argues that, despite Apple’s public commitments to ethical sourcing, the company continues to benefit from minerals extracted using child labor and controlled by armed factions. The group claims that Apple’s marketing suggests clean, responsible sourcing even when internal supply chain pathways may not align with those claims.
Complaint Points to Chinese Smelters as Key Intermediaries
Central to the lawsuit are allegations involving three Chinese smelters—Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre. According to the complaint, these companies processed coltan that investigators from the United Nations and Global Witness previously accused of being smuggled out of eastern DRC and into Rwanda.
Reports have long stated that armed groups in eastern Congo control several mining sites, using profits from minerals like coltan to fund their activities. IRAdvocates asserts that these smelters played a role in laundering minerals taken from militia-dominated regions before selling them into global supply chains. The lawsuit alleges that Apple continued using these smelters despite ongoing concerns and international documentation linking them to conflict-affected mines.
The filing further claims that Apple’s supplier oversight has not been robust enough to prevent problematic material from entering its products, especially given the complex, multilayered nature of smelting and refining operations across international borders.
Academic Study Cited to Support Claims of Forced Labor
The complaint references a 2025 study by the University of Nottingham that identified both forced labor and child labor at specific mining locations in the DRC believed to be tied to Apple’s suppliers. According to the study, children were found performing physically dangerous tasks, including digging, carrying ore, and sorting minerals under harsh conditions.
The DRC government, which provides around 70 percent of the world’s cobalt and large volumes of tin, tungsten, and tantalum, did not comment on the lawsuit. Rwanda, also implicated in the allegations due to the smuggling routes identified by watchdog groups, similarly did not issue a response.
The lawsuit arrives at a time when global demand for cobalt and other rare metals continues to surge—largely fueled by rapid growth in the electric vehicle and battery industries.
Apple Reiterates Strong Sourcing Standards but Faces New Scrutiny
Apple has repeatedly defended its sourcing practices, stating that its suppliers must follow rigorous ethical standards and undergo audit processes designed to identify and address potential violations. In December, the company stated that it found no reliable evidence suggesting that any smelters or refiners in its supply chain had financially supported armed groups in the DRC or nearby countries.
The company has also highlighted its increased reliance on recycled materials. Apple reported that in 2024, 76 percent of the cobalt used in its products came from recycled sources—part of a broader sustainability effort to reduce reliance on mined minerals altogether.
IRAdvocates disputes this figure, arguing that Apple’s accounting process for recycled cobalt allows ore from conflict regions to be mixed into the recycled supply stream. This mixing, the group claims, creates an opportunity for suppliers to disguise freshly mined Congolese cobalt as recycled, thereby skirting the company’s stated policies.
Conflict in Eastern Congo Continues to Disrupt Supply Chains
Human rights groups and Congolese authorities have long warned that armed groups in eastern DRC rely on profits from mineral extraction to sustain their operations. The resulting violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destabilized the region for decades.
To curb illegal mineral flows, Congolese officials have tightened controls around key mining sites and transportation routes. These efforts, while aimed at cutting off militia funding, have also produced disruptions in global mineral markets—intensifying concerns among companies reliant on cobalt and other metals for their products.
The lawsuit argues that such instability makes it difficult for multinational corporations to guarantee ethical sourcing, creating conditions where conflict-linked materials can enter global supply chains undetected.
