We invited TÜV Rheinland to respond the press release by ECCHR and in particular the concern that TÜV Rheinland broke off the negotiations. TÜV Rheinland responded and referred us to a statement on their website available here.

The national contact point [...] issued a final statement [...] in which it ruled out the alleged joint responsibility on the part of TÜV Rheinland... Immediately after the collapse, TÜV Rheinland had publicly stated: “The claim that TÜV Rheinland did not detect any construction defects during inspections of the collapsed textile factory and carried out inadequate audits is misleading.. [T]he examination of construction defects was not the subject of the audits... [T]he tragic disaster in Bangladesh rather underscores the need for extended independent controls by third-party testing service providers.“ ... TÜV Rheinland’s participation in the NCP procedure was voluntary, and its goal was to achieve a common understanding with the complainants... TÜV Rheinland has welcomed the critical and forward-looking discussions of the disaster in Bangladesh... TÜV Rheinland will continue to assume its responsibility which consists in constantly scrutinizing its own work [...] and will continue to make suggestions for the further development of standards. This is part of TÜV Rheinland’s identity and core values...