A US-based advocacy group has filed a lawsuit in Washington, claiming that Apple uses minerals connected to conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, even though Apple denies these claims.
The group, International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates), has previously sued Tesla, Apple, and other tech companies over where they get cobalt, but US courts dismissed that case last year.
In France, prosecutors also dropped a case against Apple’s subsidiaries in December due to insufficient evidence. Meanwhile, a related criminal complaint in Belgium is still being investigated.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing, saying it told its suppliers to stop sourcing materials from the DRC and neighboring Rwanda.
It did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest complaint.
IRAdvocates, a Washington-based nonprofit that tries to use litigation to curtail rights abuses, said in the complaint filed on Tuesday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia that Apple’s supply chain still includes cobalt, tin, tantalum and tungsten linked to child and forced labour as well as armed groups in the DRC and Rwanda.
DRC: Key Source of Cobalt, Tin, and Tungsten
The lawsuit asks the court to rule that Apple’s actions violate consumer protection laws, to issue an injunction stopping the alleged deceptive marketing, and to cover legal costs. It does not seek monetary damages or class-action certification.
According to the complaint, three Chinese smelters — Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin, and Jiujiang Tanbre — processed coltan reportedly smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in eastern DRC. Investigations by the UN and Global Witness suggest this material ended up in Apple’s supply chain.
A University of Nottingham study published in 2025 found forced and child labour at Congolese sites linked to Apple suppliers, the lawsuit said.
Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin and Jiujiang Tanbre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The DRC, which supplies about 70% of the world’s cobalt and significant volumes of tin, tantalum and tungsten — used in phones, batteries and computers — did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rwanda also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘NO REASONABLE BASIS FOR LINKS TO ARMED GROUPS’
Apple has repeatedly denied sourcing minerals from conflict zones or using forced labour, citing audits and its supplier code of conduct. It said in December that there was “no reasonable basis” to conclude any smelters or refiners in its supply chain financed armed groups in the DRC or neighboring countries.
Congolese authorities say armed groups in the eastern DRC use mineral profits to fund the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands. They have tightened controls on minerals to choke off funding, squeezing global supplies.
Apple says 76% of cobalt in its devices was recycled in 2024, but the IRAdvocates lawsuit alleges its accounting method allows mixing with ore from conflict zones.