Update from 19.01.2024: Volkswagen’s answers are now also published here under the respective questions.
Dear Madam or Sir,
We, the undersigned organizations, note the publication of the ESG audit results of the SAIC Volkswagen plant undertaken by Löning- Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH. In our letter dated July 11, 2023, we expressed our extensive concerns about the credibility of an audit in the Uyghur Region.
Following the publication of the audit findings, staff from Löning posted a statement on LinkedIn, distancing themselves from the audit, claiming “no other team member from Löning participated in, supported or backed this project.” Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/questions-to-volkswagen-following-publication-of-audit-results/
Credible and independent audit not possible in the Uyghur region
Audit seems to ignore repressive political context
Volkswagen must take effective and preventive measures against forced labour risks in the entire supply chain
On December 5, 2023, Volkswagen AG published the results of its long-awaited audit of the VW SAIC plant in Urumchi, the capital of the Uyghur region of Xinjiang/East Turkistan. The audit was to be carried out by the consultancy firm of the former Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Markus Löning (Loening- Human Rights & Responsible Business GmbH), which commissioned a law firm in Shenzhen to carry out the audit. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/forced-labour-risks-at-volkswagen-audit-ignores-repressive-environment-in-china/
Volkswagen has announced that it will have the Volkswagen SAIC plant in Urumchi, China, audited. According to media reports, chief executive officer Oliver Blume announced during a conference call with investors on June 21, 2023 that Volkswagen plans “a transparent, independent external audit to provide full transparency to the public”[1].
In general, we welcome that Volkswagen takes the risk of potential human rights violations at the Volkswagen SAIC plant seriously. However, there is serious evidence of forced labor in relation to Volkswagen’s supply chains. In December 2022, Sheffield Hallam University published a comprehensive report that extensively documented the widespread use of Uyghur forced labor in automotive supply chains, including Volkswagen suppliers[2]. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/open-letter-to-volkswagen-with-questions-about-the-announced-audit-of-the-volkswagen-saic-plant-in-urumchi-china/
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Management Board and Supervisory Board,
My name is Tilman Massa and I am speaking on behalf of Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany. With the voting rights transferred to us, we demand much more effective measures from Delivery Hero against the climate crisis and for the protection of the environment and human rights. I have to ask you in particular about the working conditions at your subsidiary Talabat, which has repeatedly made negative headlines because of poor working conditions and unpaid wages at a subcontractor. We cannot exonerate you, Executive Board and Supervisory Board, for insufficient implementation and transparency in human rights due diligence and climate protection measures. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/delivery-hero/inadequate-response-to-wage-theft-and-intolerable-working-conditions-speech-by-tilman-massa/
Statement on Nornickel’s IRMA self-assessment by a coalition of Indigenous Rights leaders and non-governmental organizations
According to Nornickel’s own claims, the self-assessment found significant shortcomings with respect to environmental and social standards, preventing a desirable, higher rating within the IRMA standard
An international coalition of Indigenous Peoples, environmental and human rights organizations urges Nornickel to publish the results of its self-assessment and to clearly identify corrective actions
Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) announced in March 2023 that the company had completed a self-assessment against the IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) Standard. The self-assessment is an initial, necessary step to begin the assessment process under the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance.Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/human-rights-due-diligence/self-assessment-demonstrates-that-nornickel-does-not-comply-with-international-social-and-environmental-standards/
Speech by Kendyl Salcito, Executive Director of NomoGaia
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Board of Management, dear Supervisory Board,
I am Kendyl Salcito, the Executive Director of NomoGaia and the co-author of the report Driving Force. This report links automotive supply chains to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where Crimes Against Humanity are underway. My comments have been translated into German by colleagues.
VW has positioned itself to lead western automakers into the EV era, investing heavily in a green future. Its business development strategy prioritizes China first, followed by Europe and North America. China has mandated a green transition, and it is already VW’s largest single market representing over a third of global sales and fully 38% of production facilities. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/volkswagen-en/i-would-not-want-to-argue-that-the-promise-of-profits-was-so-great-that-i-had-to-look-away-while-uyghurs-were-annihilated/
My name is Niren Tolsi, and I am a journalist from South Africa.
Since the massacre in Marikana in August 2012, which left 34 men dead, photojournalist Paul Botes and I have documented what has happened to some of the mine-workers who survived that fatal day and the forty-four families who lost loved ones at Marikana — a project we called After Marikana.
Through this project, we aimed to investigate the real cost of the Marikana massacre to families, to communities and — through this microscope of the intimate — this strange new South Africa that Marikana has ushered in by echoing the bloody massacres of our apartheid past. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/if-it-is-committed-to-cleaner-supply-chains-basf-has-a-commitment-to-these-people-speech-by-niren-tolsi/
The Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany proposes that the appropriation of profit proposed by the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board be rejected.
Rationale:
The proposed dividend, which remains the same as in the previous year, is too high. A significant reduction would be appropriate in view of BASF’s investment needs and its ailing economic situation. A look back shows that income from operations (EBIT) fell significantly in 2022. In addition to the write-downs on Nord Stream 2, it is above all the massive write-downs on Wintershall Dea’s fossil fuel business in Russia that have given BASF an investment result of a record-breaking minus €4.9 billion in 2022. Weiterlesen
Permanent link to this article: https://www.kritischeaktionaere.de/en/basf-se/completely-inadequate-consequences-of-forced-labour-risks-in-china-our-countermotions/
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