A human rights organization has filed criminal charges against German companies on the basis of the new supply chain law for the first time.
It is about human rights violations in China's Xinjiang region.
Berlin / Munich - In connection with the new supply chain law and the human rights violations in Xinjiang, there is now the first complaint against German companies in China. The human rights organization European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), based in Berlin, has filed criminal charges against several German textile brands and retailers with the Attorney General in Karlsruhe. Among other things, Hugo Boss and Lidl benefited directly or indirectly from forced labor by the Uyghurs in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, the organization announced on Monday in Berlin. This means that the companies could be involved in crimes against humanity, it said. The ECCHR called on the Federal Prosecutor's Office to “investigate the alleged forced labor and the possible legal responsibility of the company”.
Serious reports from Amnesty International, for example, suggested that the Chinese government was forcing Uyghurs to work in the textile industry, among other things, the ECCHR said.
According to their own supplier lists, the companies shown were currently or until recently producing in Xinjiang.
There, China is said to intern up to a million Uyghurs in re-education camps.
Beijing rejects this.
Although it acknowledges the existence of the camps, it designates them as training centers which, among other things, served the fight against terrorism.
Supply chain law requires responsibility from all suppliers in China and other countries
The basis of the lawsuit is the supply chain law passed by the Bundestag in June. Accordingly, companies will have to keep an eye on their entire supply chain in the future and put an end to abuses such as child labor, forced labor or environmental pollution. For companies with 3,000 or more employees, the law is to apply from 2023. Smaller companies with 1000 or more employees will follow in 2024. The EU is planning similar legislation. And the G7 also want to present a plan to ban forced labor from global supply chains in October.
Companies in China expected a wave of lawsuits, such as a Western manager in Beijing Merkur.de said.
“There will be more to come in the next six months.” The Karlsruhe Federal Prosecutor's Office is responsible for prosecuting crimes under the International Criminal Code.
The head of the ECCHR program for business and human rights, Miriam Saage-Maaß, said it was "unacceptable that European governments criticize China for human rights violations, while the companies may benefit from the exploitation" of the Uighur population.
China's anti-sanctions law presents companies with difficult choices
However, it is not easy for companies in China to adhere to the best-intentioned supply chain law. Companies there have difficulties in looking through the dense network of sub-suppliers that they usually find there. Independent audits in Xinjiang are no longer possible. In addition, Uyghur forced laborers are apparently being sent all over the country - which often happens under the public radar. German companies hardly have any suppliers in Xinjiang itself.
In addition, an anti-sanctions law from China, which also came into force in June, prohibits companies from following sanctions and other foreign measures that are seen as discriminatory.
Stopping shopping in Xinjiang, such as by clothing companies, could well be covered by this law.
In the worst case scenario, it forces foreign companies to choose between the laws of their home country and those of China.
It is a dilemma that could only be solved by exiting the Chinese market.
China: In addition to companies, consumers are also responsible
The manager in Beijing therefore criticizes the fact that companies are always pilloried first. “Most end customers at home, however, continue to buy cheaply and with a strong focus on China.” The situation becomes even more complicated for companies and clothing customers when Chinese companies buy up European brands. The Chinese company Anta, for example, is now the third largest sportswear manufacturer in the world - not least through acquisitions of global brands such as the acquisition of the Finnish company Amer Sports in 2019. This brought down well-known European and North American sports brands such as Salomon, Peak Performance, Arc'teryx, Atomic and Wilson to Anta. Fila also belongs to Anta today.
And in the dispute over the Xinjiang sanctions, Anta announced in a patriotic sense that it would continue to source cotton in Xinjiang - and even expand its purchasing there. “Even so, customers continue to buy Fila and the others,” criticizes the manager. Not least because many consumers do not even know that their favorite brands are now part of the Anta Group. The problem is likely to occupy the German economy for a long time to come.
(ck / with AFP)
