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Worker in a textile factory in Xinjiang (archive image)
Photo: imago stock / imago images / VCG
The new supply chain law is not yet in force, but potential consequences are already becoming apparent: According to a newspaper report, German companies could soon be forced to limit or completely stop their activities there because of serious human rights violations in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. This is based on a report by the Scientific Service of the Bundestag, reports the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". In the province in northwest China, the Muslim Uyghur minority is oppressed.
With the Supply Chain Act coming into force, "an obligation of German companies to break off business relations with their Chinese suppliers appears almost inevitable" if they use forced labor, the SZ quotes from the drafting commissioned by the Greens. Otherwise, German companies could face fines. In individual cases, there could also be "individual criminal liability of company employees".
The Greens called on German companies to draw conclusions. The responsibility of the companies operating in Xinjiang will become "clearer than ever" with this report, said the human rights policy spokeswoman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Margarete Bause. "Every German company now has to seriously ask itself whether it wants to maintain business relations with Xinjiang under these conditions," she said.
The report points out that the supply chain law introduced by the cabinet in March creates a new legal situation.
It is true that the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights oblige companies to respect human rights wherever they do business.
However, the implementation is not legally enforceable.
That will change in Germany as soon as the supply chain law comes into force.
The bill provides for fines of up to two percent of annual sales for large companies if they do not take action against human rights and environmental violations at their global suppliers.
From 2023, companies with more than 3,000 employees in Germany would be affected, and from 2024, companies with more than 1,000 employees would also be affected.
According to human rights organizations, at least one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are detained in detention camps in Xinjiang.
There they are reportedly forced to give up their religion, culture and language and in some cases also mistreated.
Beijing rejects the allegations and speaks of training and work programs against extremism.
mic / afp
