Uyghur Congress criticises BASF's China enthusiasm over human rights
Apr 25, 2024
Mannheim [Germany] April 26 : The Society for Threatened Peoples and the World Uyghur Congress criticised BASF, a German multinational company with China-devoted enthusiasm instead of dealing with human rights violations.
In a joint press statement, they criticised the speech delivered by outgoing BASF CEO, Martin Brudermuller at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.
BASF stands for Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik, which is German for Baden Aniline and Soda Factory and its products include dyes and inorganic chemicals. The company opened a new production site in Zhanjiang amid concerns over the transfer of Uyghur forced labourers to several Chinese provinces and the risk of an increase in Uyghur forced labour.
They labelled it as an expression of admiration for China rather than a confrontation of human rights violations.
Civil society organizations also staged protests outside the Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim, where the BASF general meeting took place. They are urging the company to publicly clarify how it plans to ensure that its business dealings in China are not complicit in Uyghur forced labour.
https://x.com/UyghurCongress/status/1783424323375477209
Jasna Causevic, GfbV's expert on genocide prevention, remarked, "Unfortunately, Brudermuller has remained consistent with his approach. In his speech today, he explicitly disregarded any mention of human rights violations by BASF's joint venture partner in the Uyghur region, despite credible reports of involvement in Uyghur forced labour. He failed to acknowledge the victims of state-sanctioned crimes. While Brudermuller advocates for a change in mentality in Germany, it seems that this does not extend to taking a stand against serious human rights violations in China."
https://x.com/UyghurCongress/status/1783455609486020914
Gheyyur Kuerban, WUC Berlin Director added, "The company's audits have failed to uncover the human rights violations committed by its joint venture partner in the Uyghur region. By relocating Uyghur forced labourers to various Chinese provinces, the risk of Uyghur forced labour proliferates. Meanwhile, Brudermuller celebrates the 'dynamic' Chinese market and the new production site in Zhanjiang. The company must clarify how it intends to ensure that its supply chains are devoid of forced labour and other human rights violations in the future."
The joint press statement said that during the BASF annual general meeting, Gheyyur Kuerban, representing the Association of Critical Shareholders, will raise several inquiries regarding the company's business activities in China, the progress of its withdrawal from Xinjiang/East Turkestan, and the lessons learned from past insufficient audits that failed to identify human rights violations by the joint venture partner Markor.
