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A US-based advocacy group has launched a new legal challenge against technology giant Apple, filing a lawsuit in Washington that accuses the iPhone maker of continuing to use minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, despite the company’s public denials. International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates), a Washington-based nonprofit, filed the complaint in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on Tuesday, alleging that Apple’s supply chain still incorporates cobalt, tin, tantalum, and tungsten connected to child and forced labour, as well as armed groups operating in the conflict-ridden region.
The core of the allegation claims that three specific Chinese smelters—Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre—processed columbite-tantalite ore, known as coltan, which UN and Global Witness investigators suspect was smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in eastern DRC. The lawsuit explicitly links this material to Apple’s extensive supply chain. Furthermore, the complaint points to a 2025 University of Nottingham study that reportedly documented the use of forced and child labour at Congolese sites tied to Apple suppliers, reinforcing the claims of continued systemic issues.
Apple has strongly contested the allegations, issuing a statement on Wednesday that it “strongly disputes” the claims of benefiting from forced labour and unsafe mining practices in Africa, labelling the assertions as “baseless.” A company spokesman reaffirmed that Apple enforces “the industry’s strongest sourcing standards” through its Supplier Code of Conduct and maintains a commitment to transparency. He further noted that following the escalation of conflict in eastern DRC in 2024, the company instructed its suppliers to halt the sourcing of material from both Congo and Rwanda, and pointed out that 99% of the cobalt in Apple-designed batteries now comes from recycled sources.
This is not the first legal battle for Apple on this front; IRAdvocates previously filed a similar lawsuit over cobalt sourcing against multiple tech firms, including Apple and Tesla, though US courts dismissed that case last year. Separately, French prosecutors dropped a conflict minerals case brought by the DRC against Apple subsidiaries in December, citing a lack of evidence, although a related criminal complaint in Belgium remains under investigation. The current lawsuit seeks a determination that Apple’s conduct violates consumer protection law, an injunction to halt the alleged deceptive marketing, and reimbursement of legal costs, notably excluding monetary damages or class certification. The DRC, which is the source of approximately 70% of the world’s cobalt along with significant volumes of tin, tantalum, and tungsten vital for modern electronics, has yet to respond, nor have the three Chinese smelters named in the complaint.
