IRU and UNECE continue their cooperative and proactive joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a joint letter addressed to customs administration bodies, IRU and UNECE stressed the importance of implementing coordinated customs measures to keep road transport supply chains open during the current global health crisis.
IRU and UNECE recommended the adoption of a number of best practices aimed at protecting transport workers and companies and ensuring that transport links are kept open wherever possible.
They include:
- Coordinating and unifying intra-institutional and cross border cooperation
- Implementing green lanes to minimise border check times
- Encouraging the use of the UN TIR Convention; as the only global transit system, TIR allows for transport in a secure load compartment carried out under customs control. It requires physical checks at origin and final destination, but none at the borders in between, therefore reducing human contact and chances of contamination.
- Implementing constructively the provisions of the United Nations International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods
- Communicating information and changes to enforcement procedures through the Observatory on Border Crossings Status page
In addition to these proposed actions, IRU and UNECE also expressed their readiness to support national authorities by providing practical advice and guidance in overcoming the challenges they currently face.