The “WCO Guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity” comprise a set of guiding principles and best practices shared by WCO Members and relevant stakeholders. They were drafted in the framework of the WCO COVID-19 Project, an initiative funded by the Government of Japan and launched in June 2020. Through this new tool, the WCO aims to enhance the preparedness of Customs administrations to respond to, and recover from, disruptive events, such as infectious diseases and natural disasters, while ensuring the continuity of the global supply chain.
The Guidelines cover the three main phases of the disaster management cycle: the preparedness phase, the response phase, and the recovery phase and delve into a wide range of Customs topics, while taking into account the existing WCO instruments and tools to avoid any overlap with, or duplication of, previous work. Subjects include, but are not limited to: risk management, Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), Coordinated Border Management (CBM), Non-Intrusive Inspections, the Single Window, etc.
The Guidelines were approved by the Council at its 138th Session in June 2021. Being a living document, the guiding principles appearing in the text will be regularly updated, taking into account the practices of the WCO Members and stakeholders.