"A world where rights are restricted is a world where business is restricted", 12 May 2020

As countries take immediate action to protect the health of their citizens, all of us—including business—must ensure it does not come at the long-term expense of human rights... In Brazil, a presidential order is restricting access to public information and encouraging spread of misinformation. In Hungary, rule by decree is threatening key democratic processes. In India labor laws are under attack. In the US, states are enacting laws to criminalize protests against fossil fuels... Countries implementing these restrictions and lockdown measures to... must do so based on urgency of crisis, act transparently and declare these new measures time-bound and subject...to...review. If they don’t, we will only see negative outcomes for people and... economies. Rebuilding economies with fewer human and labor rights will mean worsened operating environments for companies. Markets will remain unstable. Workers will remain in unsafe, unsure or unpaid conditions. Legislative systems will be weakened by lack of accountability mechanisms and increased corruption risk. We can avoid this scenario. Companies depend on the protection of these fundamental rights to create a society where business can thrive—and need to stand up for these rights... Companies have both a responsibility and an opportunity to factor fundamental rights into their immediate crisis response—protecting their workers and communities and speaking out when they can...