Press Release – For Immediate Release
28 November 2024
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress welcomes Volkswagen’s (VW) decision to sell its plant in East Turkistan. This move comes amid growing international scrutiny of the forced labour practices and widespread repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic people in East Turkistan. However, the WUC emphasizes the need for transparency about the ethical considerations behind such corporate decisions.

“The withdrawal of Volkswagen from East Turkistan cannot be depoliticized or detached from the well-documented allegations of state-imposed forced labour and repression,” said the director of the WUC Berlin office Gheyur Qurban, who has been leading WUC’s campaign on VW’s exit. “The right thing to do is companies clearly acknowledging that moral considerations play a role when exiting regions with widespread human rights abuses and genocide. It sends a strong signal to the world and to other business actors that human rights must be a priority in business decisions—even if it is inconvenient.”

The WUC has been leading the campaign on VW’s exit from East Turkistan since 2019, from protesting in front of VW’s dealerships, media and parliamentary campaigns to direct engagement  with the company. In the last two years, international NGOs, researchers, parliament members and trade unions have been consistently calling out the company’s failure to address Uyghur forced labour.

Despite Volkswagen’s exit, the global automotive industry is rapidly transitioning to electric vehicle (EV) production, raising ongoing concerns about forced labour in East Turkistan. The connection between state-imposed forced labour and EV battery components, such as lead and lithium, was detailed in Sheffield Hallam University’s December 2022 report, “Driving Force.” Additionally, Human Rights Watch’s recent report, “Asleep at the Wheel,” exposed the aluminum value chain as integral to automotive production, including engine blocks, vehicle frames, wheels, and battery foils.

The WUC calls on all automotive companies to conduct rigorous due diligence across their supply chains and ensure that Uyghur forced labour and human rights violations have no place in their operations. While Volkswagen’s departure is a step in the right direction, its impact will only be meaningful if coupled with a broader industry-wide commitment to ethical practices and transparency. As long as there is state-imposed forced labour in East Turkistan and in China, companies are liable.