Joint statement calling on the investor community to ensure corporate accountability in Covid-19 response
Investors and governments alike have increasingly acknowledged the investor responsibility to respect human rights and have begun to integrate it into rules and regulations. While this responsibility may need to be carried out differently in response to a global pandemic, it should nevertheless act as the guiding force behind activities of the investor community as they work with companies that are directly impacted by Covid-19... We call on the investor community to take the following immediate measures:
Promote the protection of human rights in corporate Covid-19 responses... Investors should make clear to companies that worker health and safety must be paramount in any response efforts...
Ensure adequate and appropriate stakeholder engagement. Investors should use their leverage to ensure that all affected stakeholders are consulted as businesses and governments craft their Covid-19 crisis responses...
Pay particular attention to the threats facing human rights defenders and other vulnerable communities...
Actively advocate for a sustainable economic recovery... As we look toward a post- Covid-19 society, investors should strategies that seek to address the inequality and inequity built into our current economic structures.