With the global spread of COVID-19, businesses are facing bankruptcy at an unprecedented scale, resulting in job losses for millions. In this context, confidence in the durability of the global economy, and by extension the norms and institutions that support it, is being tested like never before. How businesses respond to the crisis—especially those firms who receive state support to continue operations—will shape public attitudes towards the private sector for years to come. 

For this reason, UNDP has designed a simple and accessible tool, Human Rights Due Diligence and COVID-19: Rapid Self-Assessment for Business (C19 Rapid Self-Assessment), to help businesses consider and manage the human rights impacts of their operations. 

Since the publication of the first version in April, the tool has been translated into 11 languages and used by more than a 100 companies and organizations. The updated tool offers 58 human rights due diligence actions for business to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery period and beyond, with more recommendations on women’s and children’s rights.

The updated version of the tool was designed in collaboration with UNICEF.

An earlier version of the self-assessment tool is available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, Burmese, Chinese, Hindi, Japanse, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Thai here.