The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) has filed a formal complaint against Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the Financial Times reports.
According to the report, the ECCHR says that the automakers’ efforts to track suppliers in Xinjiang, China, did not comply with Germany’s new supply chain law.
Xinjiang, located in western China, is home to a number of Muslim ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs, which the UN and other human rights groups say have been subjected to human rights abuses.
Earlier this year Volkswagen’s investors’ meeting was targeted by protestors, who called for the automaker to conduct an external audit of its Xinjiang plant.
VW has consistently defended its Xinjiang plant and said it has found no evidence of human rights violations there.
According to other news outlets, VW said it was “surprised” by the complaint and said it would examine it.
It is reported that Mercedes-Benz and BMW have said they had not received the ECCHR complaint.
VW has said it will conduct an audit of its Xinjiang plant. It does not produce cars in its Xinjiang plant but carries out quality control checks for other vehicles for sale in that region.
