the the . ringback the, the world's most valuable company. apple is being sued by democratic republic of congo, the tech johns accused of using it legally, mines, minerals and products like all the phones. so the white apple denies the claim. what's behind this legal action? this is inside story, the hello again, i'm changed phase. this is one of the most successful consumer products of oldtime,

the apple iphone. but now it's the center of a lawsuit of a some of the materials used to make. apple is being sued by democratic republic of congo, d. c. a claims that it uses a legally mind, minerals, iphones, i pads, and other products, cells around the world to the company, to nice those allegations and set this week. it's told supplies, they mustn't use such mineral sourced from the d. c or a wanda. the aussies lawyers claim that apple is complicit in criminal activity by using minerals quote, pillaged from the d all c loan that through international supply chains. years of conflict in mining areas in east and d. c. have let the millions of people being killed or forced to leave the homes. groups abused income from mining to buy weapons under two's of using children in mines and counting outs, human rights abuses. awful insist and official filings with us so far it is,

it really doesn't rigorously audits, it's supplies and is drops those who don't comply. so why is this action being taken now? well, how am i to play out will go to those issues without guessing the moment. but 1st, this report from katia lopez hold a young. the mining and the democratic republic of congo is big business. many of the minerals used to make computers and mobile phones sold around the world are found here. the industry has long been profitable, but also controversial. now type giant, apple is part of the controversy. criminal complaints have been filed against a subsidy. aries in france and belgium, with the d. r. c, accusing the tech guy and of knowingly buying minerals, gathered through a legal means and conflicts zones. apple denies the accusations, and the statement, it says as conflict in the region escalated earlier this year,

we notified our suppliers that their smelters and refiners must have spent sourcing $1010.00, slim, tungsten, and gold. from the d, r. c. and rwanda. competition for minerals is one of the main drivers of conflict in the d r. c. since the 19 ninety's, the mining cart last and the east happened, devastated by fighting between armed groups some allegedly backed by neighboring rolanda. and the congolese military rights group say some are to single mines, are run by arms groups involved and massacres of civilians, rapes loading and other crimes. thousands of civilians happen forced from their homes. armed groups have long been its use of fighting for control of mines and using prophets to finance their operations. in analysts say, fighting is likely to continue as long as there is demand. capielo puzzle again,

alta 0 for insights story well, let's discuss this further and bring, you know, a guess. today in london we have robot, amsterdam, and international lawyer who's representing the democratic republic of come go. in this case, the government and the eastern d. c. alarm connie is a journalist who's covered the conflict for more than 15 years. and in cape town in south africa. gregory and timbo salter is a consultant who specializes in natural results, government, and served on the u. n. group of experts for the democratic republic of congo. now you'll see we don't have any one rep presenting apple today on our panel. we reached out to apple, but they have not responded to us. let me start up with you. well, but you are the lawyer in this case for the democratic republic of congo. apple denies all your obligations, but explain to me why has the country decides to bring this case? now, a low, a centrally absolute behavior and the,

the activity. but apple engages in use what we allege funds. the rebels inside the congo we on behalf of the government are looking at the funding of the rebellion that is going on, sponsored by rolanda. and essentially, the allegation that apple is in any way unaware, would, would have to mean that a trillion dollar company hasn't bothered to read any un reports that have come out in the last decade and a half buried. there is simply the, the defensive, ignorance does not work in the situation and the government of a congo having not been contacted by apple after we sent letters in, in april of this year, setting out in detail our complaint. i felt that there was absolutely no other choice, but to open up

a large number of legal actions. let's look at some of the things that we're going to be talking about so, so everyone is aware of, of some of the issues involved and correctly. i'd like to start with you, let's talk about these minerals that are used ultimately when that when eventually they put into a mobile phone. they called the 3 tea minerals, just explain what we're talking about here. so 3 to use, uh, tungsten 1010 to now um 10 gas use, but a lot more things than not about phones. but it is used in the, in making the circuit boards and call time colombo, 12 lights which is the form in which the 10 to them comes is as a superconductor, it conducts high volume. so large amounts of electric pulses, so called thomas the older the oh times the old. yeah. is that right? yes. okay, told tots. so we're gonna, we're gonna hit both of those to you in this discussion. yep. okay. so and, and,

congo, and to a lesser extent, rolando has a large percentage at the wells, us resort space of 10 to, to okay, i love, i think we will. so also now many of us throughout is there will be aware of this, but it will also need to get the context in terms of the d. c. your country. you are a journalist that you will ones forced to be a child soldier. the figures are the figures, no one's been counting properly, but since 1998 more than 6000000 people have died. as a result of the conflict of not all of them directly from the will but from hunger and disease. just tell us how bad the conflict has been in your country and how it is still continuing right now. thank you very much again for me in this program. yeah, for sure. the corporate state of anybody, when you're talking about my says this, this is a big guy, big boy to us,

the is going off boone and go not being the coffee and went to school in the same situation and became a jeweler is covered for almost 15 years today, this an officer tells on of people like been destroyed. sounds like to me with the room was set up again in the different company in the different areas. those who could not have the same just to go back to school like me. i had to continue or somehow even to i'm coming, here's a, here's how do we, i the sense additional words not for example, here to go my well yeah, we are on was me doing those people they how does this town and the majority of them are coming from this area as well, people with out. and now when we're talking about amino, those are those videos on that because the militia, it's showing this channel, the situation in which we are, we are living in right now. now here it is sort of,

uh not uh we, we've here of crimes that atrocities over the years, but the salt torture. right. those things are still going on on a daily basis. yes. this is a self sufficient debt as i've been bullied daily or week. so i'm obvious because you are very bored when you're talking to women doors in charge of one of the suggestion of a rep for example, we might need to come, for example, at all to go my yeah, we are at least a to we met with every weeks not to because yeah, now you or the 1st was there was still going on because this before they need to stop by adapt lives. economy in the morning go into such for the, for the, for the. 1 or the videotape, was it all or even watching minutes? these are the women and we did the did the by the of the groups was now pushed by the, on the some of the strongest side. and those really was now or something around it

comes around the city. so this, we met the sometimes india and most of the set of guys became the fighting for them. but they lived by the same people. so every day when you're going to come, when you're asking these people that came up one to to, to say i want to talk to. busy we met kindly tells all of them they want you to didn't want to tell you the story. you still don't want to tell you how she was lifted to come, for example, because she still does a job shelters. maybe they run away from the village is the last week they need to shut the listing, booked up. it's reading every day, even why it's not about to do. it's a way to get that. imagine then that the, the life for me, the people we don't serve, does it, don't be solved. so you love the story of like this every day about this. so it's showing me that, as i said before, this cannot develop a switch to continue the warranty as i'm talking put to use because it's almost 15

years that i'm covering the stories. that is the same story. it's made by change it . okay, totally busy here. hm. okay, let me bring in gregory link full me, those groups to the minerals. i know that in the bottom and robot move on to link those minerals to the mobile phone, supply chain and these little see, but can you explain to me why these are groups and the minerals all linked and how it all works and how, how the proceeds of minerals are funding this will yeah. so you have a number of mineral deposits. all libraries come good um which are accessible by autism. oh mine is that is mine is who you know what with their hands and picks and shovels that i really haven't much machinery. now i'm groups. if that controlling that territory, they might, they want to extract what you might call rents from these mines. maybe on the, the roots out, they put out the barrier and they came in, they've got a tax,

so they take a percentage of the bags where it might be that the come on the says, okay, the on this day of the week everybody's working for me well, he's got some pits in the area which his soldiers, his troops are operating. i should say, i mean, the company's armies been involved with this to a number of the groups with weapons, whether the state or anti states practice the same process. so that's why this, how i did or by due diligence came about, but we were saying, but i was on the un, we were saying to companies, you have to understand your supply chains because they see these are the routes by which these minerals are going from these mines out along the way, these act as a cats are taking money off them and using that to finance the conflict. now i should just say at this point, but it doesn't mean very fast, stopped the conflict with stop. this is a really important point. these on groups collect revenues off what kinds of things

they collect revenue off to trade in timber, of kind of a sofa job co. and the reason we focused on minerals is because that's the one that has an international supply chain. that's the one that ends up with global bias, but that was a recent us government accountability officer pulled that kind of lamented the us legislation to stop find the companies buying minerals that are finance conflict has not stopped the conflict and i was amazed because even the they had misunderstood it, but it just takes away that source of revenue to okay, well i'm going to bring in robert in a 2nd to explain why your plate completely know what your claim is alleging that is linked directly to apple and there i phones. but before i bring you enrolled, but let me just tell you what apple is saying, because they have issued a statement, they say,

as conflict in the region escalated earlier this year, we notified our supplies, the best smelters and refiners must have spent sourcing 10 tons of them, tungsten and gold, from the sea under wind up. we took this action because we were concerned, it was no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to full the due diligence required to meet our high standards robot. that's the statement from apple. explain to me what do you make of that statement? because my understanding is that statement came out of stuff you. you submitted you'll, you'll, you'll, you'll, you'll suit both to the authorities in front, sam belcher to yes. and to be very frank with you. uh, that statement comes out after uh, when responding to our notices in april that we were going to go ahead. apple wrote to us and ship nothing of the short. they said uh they gave us some inane comments about how they comply with human rights and, and basically just uh,

cost our request into the garbage didn't bother to speak to the government. and then all of a sudden it appears to be that they, they've found, but like it changes the entire dynamics of mineral extraction in this region. because they are certifying that they can tell where the minerals are coming from. they are basically admitting that the schemes, the fraudulent schemes that have existed under the brand, etc, or others simply don't carry any water. and when you see our colleague talk about what's going on in the congo, and then you read apple statements about how they're sustainable and how they care about the environment. and you hear about these nash rapes and murders going on. and whatever bills relationship is. and we now know very clearly what it is,

how dare say not get involved, roll up their sleeves years ago, and try to come to an understanding with their trillions of dollars of revenue as to what role they can play in mitigation. okay, well i think it's fair to say i would like to ask him those questions. i'd like to ask anyone from apple those questions? a reminder we did ask apple to take part in this program. they would have had a seat on this panel, but they have not responded to any of a queer is robin us. and he was the focusing a little bit more on that statement from them. they say earlier this year we know to slide us supplies. we have no idea of a tool when they were notified. what do you be now trying to seek more information apps? are you kidding? they, they, they wrote to us in june and they never mention this decision. so it is

very clear to me that this decision is very current and directly related to the actions my firm and others have to take. and it's shameful. again, it is an incredible level of arrogance that we see western companies continuously engage in when it comes to the congo or africa and it has to stop the supply chain . abuse has to stop. apple needs to understand but given its size and so no one buys the supply chain defense. nobody except that these companies that operate under them are fully independent. can i just getting that you go apple, apple, apple and you'll little suits are against apple in 2 countries. why are you focusing only on apple? are you picking on apple because they all buy value of the world's largest company? oh, do you believe that they are the only one that you would like just responsible for this? apple. in their literature,

are probably the only tech company that speaks to human rights. the way that they do. and i think when a company presents itself as close to god as, as believing and sustainability is placing the environment upper most in their minds, then they should be the 1st to have to address their behavior and be held accountable . and they, they require accountability. and what they just admitted today, this is a statement that will rock the rest of the tech industry a robot. i'm. is it apples g, t to know what supplies have been doing? what have they be? what have they have been misled? my good cause. oh absolutely. let's be really clear. you're off for a trillion dollar company, and you were obtaining resources from a war zone,

your door, right? it's your duty. forget your duty is a human being. forget your duty is a global citizen. it is your absolute duty to ensure that what goes into your products is not produced by trial labor slave labor not involved in, in supporting rapes and mass murder that your job. okay, let me bring it in gregory. we heard a robot that talk about it ski, there was a whole focus on this more than a decade ago to have a system in place. what is your view of this system that was put in place? so yes, there was we have to talk about 8 scapes. so this was a system that was set up by the peach tree. the international attend associate, just been in the service station with the instructional, with the tensor and association to come up with the system that would trace a, using a tagging system identify exactly where minerals come from. so the end users,

so the refineries and then end users beyond them could have assurance that the minerals they purchased had no finance conflict. now, over the years, the credibility of this system has come on the increasing attack, not least by the un cause of experts on the congo. and in april, 2020 to credible witness produced a report called the 8 cd laundromats. the kind of explained how many rows are being smuggled across from congo, and then given tags from rewind in mind, and then exported as real landon and baffled conflict free because there is no role in rewind. uh, so that report was out there and this is where i think i've taught it. so i was calling on the mary's executive this case, but i can say that in the due diligence system, the apple enough is assigned up to which is designed by the cd. part of due

diligence is that you respond appropriately to new information when it comes to light. and these you and reports in particular is global witness report really laid it out there was despite should say, completely denied and it continues to be denied by escape. so that was out there, but we didn't really see a response. we didn't see a change in source to practice from the down stream. and i think apple is not a line in that. now. then what happened is the by i, which is the wells, which is called 10 mine, which is in the know the key was captured by the m 23. and that's a rebel movement from the base rebel movement that has, that'd be great group of experts pretty much have on house, showing how strong support from the reliant and government is militarily assisted by the army and has had rewind and troops deployed to assist it to now at that point,

in the cold time from or by i started going out under the control of them $23.00 each internal land and was then we think we called prove it because we haven't seen these uh these, these were for processing companies and some opened up that themselves to us a but mixed up with the land and stuff. and i like sports, he's off to turn to the refiners in china. okay, is what was that? as well as adding the gregory because i'm happy to represent some of the people that on the, on the panel today. the one the also denies those allegations bring it back together and a lot. um, i'd like to know what people that how people following the these allegations in this lawsuit against apple. and as you listen to robert, the lawyer, his passion and his sincerity and to people share that the sincerity of the government. that is bringing this case because of course, the d. c is, you know,

living there is one of the most corrupt countries on earth. so transparency international, the and g as, as a 100 and the 60 seconds out of a 180 countries in terms of its corruption, even if this cool case one and, and he won damages from apple. you confident the deal. so you would do the right thing with them. this is exactly what to do while we're here for us to defend. bush allows me because this is how is the deal to see might be able to hold up this minute or so, which is crossing alonda because i might have just a moment, for example, we are leaving. i thought somebody discuss it with one of the or the bus. somebody in charge of fucking the tag for the it was here in the boma. all mean those living boma go into wanda. i'm not necessarily. i'm talking on the do not is not necessarily illegal. there is a, there is important here inside of putting tabs,

for example, if a diesel dental and if you're taking the control of the mirrors, for example, the minute i was a was do comedy into politics, photos. but that is what i'm, i, there is a body in charge off. uh, you know, those of southern commanders on the international market. okay. oh my god, thank you. thank you for the queue, but thank you for that class like consultation law rule. but if i can bring you in now at the end you are bringing this action. i'm some might say, do you bring it in to jurisdictions which might be favorable to you in front of belgium? is that the end of the legal process? because my understanding is you are the lawyer for the public of congo kit, you know, dealing with all the parts of the world. could that be more, could that even be a case in the united states? listen, we are, we are closing no doors. the government has decided that this, they will take this on forever. this involved with the very software entity of the

country. the president is very sincere about ensuring that this band of these lawsuits benefit the, the very victims that he represents. and that's why he's doing this. well, thank you very much for all guess today we would joined bikes, gregory and timbo salter, allan, like connie and robot. i'm so then remember you can always catch this program every day on television, on the phone up, or i, which is 0 adult calm. we also want to hear from you, what do you think? what did you like, what did you not like? go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha, inside story. i'll post your thoughts on tags. find us at a inside story. i'll be on jane space. i'll be back if i said, until then from all the team here at the house, they say bye for now. the a unique perspective. what could my community be gaining if we

weren't spending money on all of those bonds? killing innocence. and as i said, 11 on, on her voices, the world has turned its back on so that our lives to match. so many people matter just as much as any other connect with our community and be part of the conversation. we feel very unsafe because of the 2nd child presidency. they don't see the need and then trying to a piece of people are social media. the stream on out just the or a russell buried in southern england with 2 farmers, 10 safari park. pioneers fits the attractive, good natured in the driving seat. i was just absolutely astonishing the license pulled back even not sorry for somebody. and i'm again sophie, i sent you over to me when one by you mirroring companies revolutionize seem to put the same using funds in our disease settings. images here inside you have science. you have technology, fast fries, phone out your 0. the

limits to have a dream container, stuff in your own adventure now counter and wayne, 1620 guess is the, was to the old record struck country the action needed just for like to untie. the estimated 230000 people can join us as we speak. just a 5 isn't victims. 20 years old schools of juvenile, they should take century in the arms of a promising part of it looks as if it's bursting with life. but look more closely, the car was blinked, living out be expelled from the hard show by high will to temperatures. this is

a marine environment that struggling to suffice in april revolution temperatures, because the mass bleaching that hit 77 percent of the welts, carl reese, marine biologists hit say the carl is not only fighting to survive against the bleaching the high temperatures of the water. it's also fighting against pollution and mess tourism that that box is completed. so each week and that's what called a dedicated group of davis had been propagating carls to try and promote 3 groups. but that solution is just a drop in the ocean with so many of the world's carls under the trends of extinction. despite the marine results may soon be lost for getting close to the people most affected by those in power is often dangerous, but it's absolutely vital. the story is to be told we've pushed as far forward as we can to the front line. now, the smell of that is all of the power and

a lot of the stories that we cover a highly complex. so it's very important that we make them as understandable as we can to as many people as possible, no matter how much they know about a given chrisy. so issue as long as you say, we're correspondence, that's what we strive to do. the latest news there are 200 pounds in this thing, people from the time it is here saying that they have not received any single need with detailed coverage. this is the sunset of them off. this sort of braces. i'll be taking face every single day since the fall of the form that i see from around the world. it is a high time for the international community to come together to try and rebuild the skin feet of already with the aspirations of the 2nd people, the a heavy slicing. and we don't simply focus on the politics of the conflict. it's the consequence of war. the human suffering that we before time, we brave bullets and bombs, and some of the world's most trouble regions,

the army floods in the face of idols advance. it is one of the most serious thoughts of violence in recent years. in some instances we are the targets because we give voice to those demanding freedom, the rule of law. and we always include the views from all sides. the, you're watching the news, our life from headquarters and del, find a novel games are coming up in the next 60 minutes. border security on sanctions. serious new administration spokesman speaks to alpha 0 about their top priorities easily l. e. s. dikes continue. the violations of cds, so but any tn 30, the integrity and they must be when secretary general condemns is really

a military activity in syria. and it says he sees hope for the syrian people how far good.