Carmakers may be using aluminium made by Uyghur forced labour, NGO investigation finds

Car manufacturers Toyota, Volkswagen, Tesla, General Motors and BYD may be using aluminium made by Uyghur forced labour in their supply chains and could do more to minimise that risk, Human Rights Watch says.

An investigation conducted by HRW has alleged that while most automotive companies have strict human rights standards to audit their global supply chains, they may not be applying the same rigorous sourcing rules for their operations inside China.

This includes joint venture companies inside China that make models for foreign brands for just the local market and also those that manufacture cars for export and parts that are sent to automobile plants around the world.

HRW’s concerns centre on the link between aluminium smelters in China’s Xinjiang province and what it describes as Chinese government-backed labour transfer programs that allegedly “coerce Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims into jobs in Xinjiang and other regions”.

The group has alleged that since 2017 the Chinese government has committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, including “arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and cultural and religious persecution, and has subjected Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim communities to forced labour inside and outside Xinjiang”.