EV Industry Faces Scrutiny Over Human Rights Practices
A new assessment by Amnesty International has cast a stark light on the electric vehicle sector’s shortcomings in addressing human rights risks within mineral supply chains. The report, *Recharge for Rights: Ranking the Human Rights Due Diligence Reporting of Leading Electric Vehicle Makers*, evaluates 13 major manufacturers against criteria rooted in international standards, producing a scorecard that reveals both progress and glaring deficiencies.
At the heart of the findings is a troubling reality: none of the companies assessed achieved more than 51 out of a possible 90 points. Chinese giant BYD ranked lowest with just 11, while Mercedes-Benz led the group with 51. Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, did not mince words. “The human rights abuses tied to the extraction of energy transition minerals are alarming and pervasive and the industry’s response is sorely lacking,” she said. These abuses include forced evictions, pollution-related health harms, and violations of Indigenous Peoples’ rights in mineral-rich regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Philippines.
The surge in demand for cobalt, nickel, lithium, and copper—essential to EV battery production—has intensified pressures on mining-affected communities. Callamard warned, “Communities are suffering from forced evictions, health issues caused by pollution and difficulties accessing water. As demand for electric vehicles increases, manufacturers must ensure people’s human rights are respected.”
Amnesty’s scoring system measures commitments to human rights policies, processes for identifying risks, supply chain mapping, reporting transparency, and remediation efforts. The methodology assigns 0, 1, 3, or 6 points depending on the degree of alignment with international standards, with the leap from moderate to adequate alignment requiring significant effort.
The report highlights that while some companies, such as Renault and General Motors, articulate commitments to human rights due diligence, they often fail to provide evidence of integrating these principles into operational practice. Limited disclosure of risk assessments, weak stakeholder engagement, and opaque supply chain data remain common. “The commitments these companies report on are often vague and provide little evidence of meaningful action, showing they have a long way to go to meet international standards,” Callamard noted.
Supply chain mapping proved to be a major weakness for several manufacturers. BYD, Geely Auto, Hyundai, General Motors, and Mitsubishi Motors scored poorly, with BYD failing to disclose smelter, refiner, or mine site names entirely. Geely offered only broad supplier locations without identifying extraction sites. Hyundai and Mitsubishi similarly lacked comprehensive mapping for key minerals, leaving stakeholders unable to verify potential human rights impacts.
The implications for Indigenous communities are profound. Amnesty’s earlier research linked industrial cobalt mining in the DRC to forced evictions, underscoring the need for automotive companies to leverage their purchasing power to influence upstream suppliers toward responsible practices. The absence of detailed supply chain transparency makes it difficult to track whether minerals are sourced from operations that respect human rights and environmental safeguards.
Higher-scoring companies such as BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Tesla, and VW Group have made more visible commitments, yet they too fall short in demonstrating how policies translate into tangible protections for affected communities. Effective remediation and risk mitigation remain inconsistent.
The report reiterates that all companies have a responsibility, under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to implement due diligence processes that identify, prevent, and address adverse impacts linked to their operations, products, or services. Callamard urged both industry and regulators to act: “It’s time to shift gears and ensure electric vehicles don’t leave behind a legacy of human rights abuses – instead, the industry must drive a just energy future that leaves no one behind.”
Amnesty is pressing governments to strengthen human rights due diligence regulations, ensuring that companies incorporated within their jurisdictions or operating under their export and import licenses meet international standards. The call is clear: the transition to electric mobility must not come at the expense of vulnerable communities, and transparency is a non-negotiable element of ethical innovation.
