A US human rights group is suing Apple, alleging that the tech giant relies on minerals linked to conflicts and human rights abuses in Congo and Rwanda - allegations that Apple has repeatedly denied.
International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) has previously sued Tesla, Apple and other tech companies over cobalt supplies, but US courts dismissed that case last year. French prosecutors also dropped Congo's case against Apple subsidiaries in December over conflict minerals, citing a lack of evidence. A related criminal case in Belgium is still under investigation.
Apple has denied any wrongdoing in response to the Congo cases, saying it has instructed its suppliers to stop sourcing materials from Congo and neighboring Rwanda. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest complaint, Daily Sabah reported.
IRAdvocates, a Washington-based nonprofit that seeks to use litigation to curb rights violations, said in a complaint filed 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 labor, as well as armed groups in Congo and Rwanda.
The lawsuit asks the court to determine that Apple's conduct violates consumer protection law, issue an order to stop the alleged misleading marketing and recover legal costs, but does not seek monetary damages or class certification.
The lawsuit alleges that three Chinese smelters – Ningxia Orient, JiuJiang JinXin and Jiujiang Tanbre, processed coltan that UN investigators and Global Witness say was smuggled through Rwanda after armed groups seized mines in eastern Congo, linking the material to Apple’s supply chain. A study by the University of Nottingham published in 2025 found forced and child labor at Congolese sites linked to Apple suppliers, the lawsuit says. Congo, which supplies about 70 percent of the world’s cobalt and significant amounts of tin, tantalum and tungsten, used in phones, batteries and computers, and Runada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple has repeatedly denied sourcing minerals from conflict zones or using forced labor, citing audits and its supplier code of conduct. In December, the company said “there is no reasonable basis“ to conclude that smelters or refineries in its supply chain have funded armed groups in Congo or neighboring countries.
Congolese authorities say armed groups in eastern Congo are using mineral profits to fund a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands. They tightened controls on minerals to stifle funding, shrinking global supplies.
Apple claims that 76% of the cobalt in its devices was recycled by 2024, but the IRAdvocates lawsuit claims its accounting method allows for the mixing of ore from conflict zones.