Democratic Republic of the Congo - December 17, 2024 A scholar from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said there needs to be verification on the ground to find out whether the U.S. tech giant Apple has been using conflict minerals in its supply chain. Jacques Mukena, a researcher specializing in political economy from the Ebuteli research institute, made the appeal in a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Kinshasa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recently filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium against subsidiaries of the tech giant Apple, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain. "Evidence shows that Apple has been benefiting from the bloody production of cobalt," said Patrick Muyaya, spokesman of the DRC government, at a press briefing in Kinshasa Tuesday. Apple denied the accusation, saying it carefully verifies the origin of the minerals used in its output, but Congolese researchers doubt the credibility of the company's statement and are calling for independent investigations. "So, Apple, as a multi-trillion-US-dollar company, it needs to do better. It needs to do more than saying, just releasing statements. There needs to be verifications on the ground because that's what they claim, of course, they would say that as a company, but we need to verify. There needs to be some independent entity that can go on the ground and verify that," said Mukena. In May, the M23 rebels seized the mining town of Rubaya which produces minerals used in smartphones and computers. The UN said the rebels were generating about 300,000 U.S. dollars in monthly revenue from the illegal extraction of minerals and other natural resources. The pursuit of profit is part of the reason for the continuous conflicts in eastern DRC that lasted for about three decades. SHOTLIST: Democratic Republic of the Congo - Recent 1. Various of cobalt mine; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Dec 17, 2024 2. SOUNDBITE (French) Patrick Muyaya, spokesman, government of Democratic Republic of the Congo: "Evidence shows that Apple has been benefiting from the bloody production of cobalt."; 3. Various of press briefing, attendees; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Recent 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jacques Mukena, political economy researcher, Ebuteli: "So, Apple, as a multi-trillion-US-dollar company, it needs to do better. It needs to do more than just releasing statements. There needs to be verifications on the ground because that's what they claim, of course, they would say that as a company, but we need to verify. There needs to be some independent entity that can go on the ground and verify that."; Democratic Republic of the Congo - Recent 5. Various of rebels. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]