WCO COVID-19 Project

In June 2020, as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and with the financial support of the Government of Japan, the World Customs Organization (WCO) launched the “Project to Improve the Capacity of Developing Countries’ Customs Administrations to Respond to the Impact of COVID-19”, also known as the WCO COVID-19 Project.

The overall purpose is to ensure the security, stability and continuity of global supply chains, while facilitating and expediting the supply of emergency relief goods around the world by enhancing Customs’ disaster preparedness.

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WCO Guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity

WCO Guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity [es] [ru] [ar]

In order to help Customs administrations increase their capacity to address the challenges stemming from disruptive events, the COVID-19 Project developed the “WCO Guidelines on Disaster Management and Supply Chain Continuity” which were subsequently approved by the WCO Council at its 138th Session in June 2021. The Guidelines were built upon existing WCO instruments and tools so as to provide a set of guiding principles and recommended practices covering the three phases of the disaster management cycle: preparedness, response and recovery. In order to assist Customs administrations in evaluating their preparedness, the WCO COVID-19 Project has recently produced an ad-hoc Self-Assessment Checklist which is annexed to the Guidelines.

Project activities

E-learning

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WCO course on simulation exercises in enhancing Customs’ operational readiness to respond to disruptive events

The course guides Customs administrations through preparing, designing and conducting simulation exercises (SIMEX). The use of SIMEX plays a key role in identifying gaps and strengths and facilitates the implementation of practical corrective actions to help Customs administrations enhance preparedness and response capacities. This new course is designed for Customs managers and officers involved in disaster management.

The course is available to registered users of CliKC! and will take approximately one hour to complete.

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