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UNCTAD MENA Programme 1st Annual Review Meeting


05 - 06 April 2017
Beirut
, Lebanon

UNCTAD MENA Programme 1st Annual Review Meeting
With the support from the Government of Sweden, UNCTAD developed this regional capacity building programme launched in 2015, which aims at contributing to regional economic integration, anti-corruption, good governance and gender equality by strengthening markets through improved competition and consumer protection policies in the Middle East and North African region.
 
The purpose of this Annual Review Meeting is to present to all the stakeholders involved in the project (Competition Authorities, Consumer Protection Agencies, Consumer Associations, Private Sector, Academia, Sectoral Regulators, Judges, Gender representatives and Governments) of the 8 participating countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen, the results of all the activities that had been undertaken since the beginning of the UNCTAD MENA Programme and evaluate the outputs and impact until now. It will also present the 2nd year of the Implementation Phase work plan from April 2017 to March 2018.
 
The programme had a Diagnostic phase during 2015 with the following scope and objectives:
 •  Validation of the logical framework and establishment of a baseline for the impact indicators,
 •  Establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation system according to result-based reporting,
 •  Validation of the approaches and concepts proposed in the project document taking into
       consideration the latest developments in the country and the beneficiaries’ suggestions,
 •  Validation of the budget and adjustments as necessary,
 •  Elaboration of a detailed work plan,
 •  Sensitization and awareness building of stakeholders and partners to secure their active
       involvement,
 •  Identifying the scope of partnerships and any other arrangements,
 •  Further definition of the project implementation team.
 
After this diagnostic phase, the programme kicked off its implementation phase on 1 March 2016. With only 12 months since the start of its implementation, the UNCTAD MENA Programme implemented more of the activities planned for the first year and also more of the publications planned.
 
After this diagnostic phase, the programme kicked off its implementation phase on 1 March 2016.
From March 2016 to April 2017, the UNCTAD MENA Programme organized the following activities:
 
1. UNCTAD MENA Programme Study Visits to the Austrian Competition Authority (March 2016). The MENA Programme organized together with the Austrian Competition Authority Study Visits in French for Senior Case Handlers of Competition Authorities in Northern African countries. The Study visits focused on addressing the following topics: agency structure, cooperation/information sharing, economic analysis in practice in general, economic analysis in abuse of dominance cases, leniency programmes and dawn raids;
 
2. UNCTAD MENA countries participation in the League of Arab States Meeting of experts and specialists in the field of competition law and policy in the Arab countries (May 2016); The meeting reviewed competition law in member States with the view of increasing cooperation on the subject and UNCTAD provided technical expertise on the subject. The experts discussed two main topics during the meeting, first, the Cooperation Protocol between the Member States, on which it was decided to send the latest version of the Protocol following the meeting to the Member States to give further comments in order to be presented during the next meeting. Second, the experts discussed the international cooperation and building capacities in the field of competition law, in which the UNCTAD expert gave a presentation on some of the main issues that need be considered. It was then decided to circulate the presentation on the Member States.
 
3. UNCTAD MENA countries participation in the League of Arab States Meeting of experts and specialists in the field of consumer protection in the Arab countries (May 2016): UNCTAD MENA participated in the League of Arab States Meeting of experts in consumer protection in the Arab countries. The Secretariat-General of the League of Arab States discussed the importance of establishing a task force that will support the issue of consumer protection in the Arab countries and a decision was adopted to create a technical team to that end.
 
4. UNCTAD MENA Programme Competition Glossary and Series of Guidelines on Competition and Good Governance: 3 publications (6 books in Arabic, English and French) on Competition law and policy that were launched at the UNCTAD 14 Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya (July 2016). The publications set specific guidelines on leniency, competition glossary and good governance: Independence and Transparency for countries of the MENA region, which envisage the adoption or the improvement of their competition framework, helping them to achieve a substantive degree of convergence in this field and to increase their systems' efficiency.
 
5. UNCTAD MENA Programme Study visits to UK Consumer Protection Institutions in London (July 2016).  The UNCTAD MENA Programme organized together with UK Citizens Advice, UK Trading Standards, the Austrian Competition Authority, the French Competition Authority, Consumers International, UK Competition and Markets Authority, UK Financial Conduct Authority, UK Financial Ombudsman and Which Study visits for Case handlers of Consumer Protection authorities and Consumer Associations. The Programme of the STUDY VISITS focused on addressing the following topics: Overview of the UK Consumer Protection System, Investigation Tools, E-commerce, Complaints Handling, Misleading Advertising, etc.
 
6. UNCTAD MENA Programme National awareness raising seminar on Competition Law in Palestine (September 2016). This MENA one day Awareness Raising Seminar drew awareness of participants (members of Government and Parliament, judges, academics, private sector, representatives of competition directorate, representatives of consumer organisations and media) in this field (more than 100 participants attended the event) by reviewing the importance of having competition law and policy in the context of globalization and deregulation; and reviewing in depth the existing draft competition law in the light of best practices in other countries of the world, and more specifically of the UNCTAD MENA Project. After this Seminar, the Minister of National Economy decided to start a high level national technical committee to review and amend the actual draft law. This committee is preparing a new draft law following UNCTAD MENA Programme recommendations to be submitted to the legislative process. The committee is composed by the following stakeholders: Academia, Judges, Consumer Associations, Consumer Directorate, Economic Studies Institute, Private Sector, Private Lawyers, Legislative Council, Cabinet, President Office, Gender, Competition Directorate, Legal Department, Public Prosecution, and others.
 
7. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection Directorate in Palestine (September 2016):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
8. UNCTAD MENA Programme National awareness raising seminar on Competition Law in Beirut (October 2016). This half day workshop drew awareness of parliamentarians in this field by reviewing the importance of having competition law and policy in the context of globalization and deregulation; and reviewing in depth the existing draft competition law in the light of best practices in other countries of the world, and more specifically of the UNCTAD MENA Project.
 
9. UNCTAD MENA Programme E-commerce and Complaint Handling Workshop in Beirut (October 2016). This 3 days regional training workshop was attended by more than 80 participants Delegates learnt about the opportunities that e-commerce brings to citizens and businesses; the barriers encountered and the importance of regulation in overcoming many of these barriers. Informed consumers - empowered with knowledge of their legal rights - are a driver to better business compliance, which in turns promotes trust in ecommerce. Furthermore, the workshop also discussed the concept of Regional Complaint Handling as an opportunity to deliver a world leading consumer protection system and greater cross-border trade. During the workshop it was also discussed the relationship between regulator and regulated. The workshop was an opportunity for countries / delegates to share their experiences of implementing government policy to promote ecommerce.
 
10. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection authority in Lebanon (October 2016):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
11. UNCTAD MENA Side Event Meeting on the UNCTAD MENA Programme, Geneva (October 2016). The UNCTAD MENA Programme organized side event meetings to present beneficiary countries with a mid-term review of the Programme, to introduce the structure of the new ITC Web Platform and to discussed comments on the competition publications published for Competition Authorities.
 
12. UNCTAD MENA Programme Study Visits to the French Competition Authority, France (October 2016). The MENA Programme organized together with the French Competition Authority Study Visits in French for Senior Case Handlers of Competition Authorities in Northern African countries.  The Programme of the STUDY VISITS focused on addressing the following topics: Agency structure, Cooperation/information sharing, Economic analysis in practice in general, Abuse of dominance cases, Leniency programmes, Dawn raids and Advocacy.
 
13. Launching of the UNCTAD MENA Programme Regional Training Centre in Tunis (November 2016): UNCTAD has played a central role in promoting competition and consumer protection policies in developing countries, as a means of better integrating these countries in the world economy and trade. The UNCTAD MENA Programme Regional Training Centres for Competition Law and Policy together with the UNCTAD MENA ITC Platform will support national and regional policy making, capacity building for technical staff, creating partnerships and developing a pool of experts in the region. The UNCTAD MENA Regional Competition Training Centre in Tunis was launched in November 2016. This centre delivered training and support information exchange in particular with respect to Arabic and French courses.
 
14. UNCTAD MENA Programme first regional training workshop on Investigation Tools in Tunisia (November 2016):  The workshop addressed the following topics: Cartel enforcement (discovery techniques, leniency programmes, search for evidence, decisions and sanctions); Abuse of dominant position (defining the relevant market, determination of dominance, deciding on abuse of dominance, determining the appropriate sanctions); Merger control (notifications, defining the relevant market of merging companies, determination of potential dominance and harm to competition, determining appropriate sanction) and Dawn Raids. The workshop was attended by 45 participants representing Competition Authorities and Judges from all UNCTAD MENA beneficiary countries. It was conducted by International Experts and Experts from the region. One of the experts was the Chief of Investigations from the French Competition Authority.
 
15. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection Directorate in Algeria (February 2017):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
16. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection Directorate in Tunisia (February 2017):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
17. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection Directorate in Morocco (February 2017):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
18. UNCTAD MENA Programme IT Analysis, Fact finding Mission to the Consumer Protection Directorate in Egypt (March 2017):  Analysis of the current IT systems and processes in place at the Competition and Consumer Protection authorities for the development of an ITC Web Platform that will include 4 technical databases (Regional Complaint Handling system, Regional Rapid alert System, Best Practices sharing, Competition cases sharing), a virtual institute, country profiles, Web conference system, Directorate, Event Management System. The platform will be available in 3 languages.
 
19. Launching of the UNCTAD MENA Programme Regional Training Centre in Beirut, Lebanon (April 2017): UNCTAD has played a central role in promoting competition and consumer protection policies in developing countries, as a means of better integrating these countries in the world economy and trade. The UNCTAD MENA Programme Regional Training Centres for Consumer Protection together with the UNCTAD MENA ITC Platform will support national and regional policy making, capacity building for technical staff, creating partnerships and developing a pool of experts in the region. The UNCTAD MENA Regional Consumer Protection Training Centre in Beirut will be launched in April 2017. This centre will deliver training and support information exchange in particular with respect to Arabic and French courses.
 
The following publications were produced and published in Arabic, English and French:
 
1. UNCTAD MENA Programme Competition Guidelines on Leniency Programmes: This glossary of competition law and policy terminology in English-French and Arabic was prepared for the UNCTAD MENA Project countries in order to provide uniform definitions and specialized competition terminology. The principal aim is to promote exchanges of experience and enforcement practices, with a view to facilitating better understanding and gradual convergence of competition law and policies within the region. This glossary reviews the main competition related terms which are presented in alphabetical order. When feasible, general definitions are complemented with a review of the related competition law extracts for each of the MENA Project countries under review.
 
2. UNCTAD MENA Programme Competition Glossary: This publication seeks to set specific guidelines for countries of the MENA region which envisage adoption or improvement of leniency programmes on competition. The view is to help them achieve a substantive degree of convergence in this field, as a practical way to increase the overall efficiency of the system in their struggle against hard-core cartels. To this end, it draws attention to specific considerations for MENA Project countries, such as limits of leniency in small, less developed markets. It also reflects on how to make leniency programmes attractive for potential whistle-blowers, describes possible procedural guidelines along with cases deserving total or partial immunity, and lists some difficulties encountered in practice.
 
3. UNCTAD MENA Programme Good Governance Guidelines on Independence and Transparency: This publication examines the degree of independence and transparency which the MENA Project countries, which have competition laws, have inscribed within their legislation and to a certain extent, how this is implemented in actual enforcement practice, taking into consideration the general trends of this particular subject, as observed worldwide.
 
Furthermore, under the UNCTAD MENA Project the Lebanese and Palestinian draft laws on Competition, the Jordanian draft law on Consumer Protection and the Algerian law on Competition were reviewed in depth in the light of best practices in other countries of the world, and more specifically of the UNCTAD MENA region.
 
Also, a pool of experts in Gender, Competition and Consumer Protection including international experts and experts from the region has been created.
 
More than 470 Participants were financed by the project to attend capacity building activities.
 
Since the beginning of the project all stakeholders involved in competition, consumer protection, gender, anti-corruption and good governance issues within the beneficiary countries have been involved in the project. The results are that experts and countries are better connected at a national and regional level.
 
The UNCTAD MENA Programme established cooperation with regional organizations and international partners, such as: The Arab League, UK Citizens Advice, UK Trading Standards, the Austrian Competition Authority, the French Competition Authority, Consumers International, UK Competition and Markets Authority, UK Financial Conduct Authority, UK Financial Ombudsman and Which.
 
Furthermore, within the region, twinning arrangements between:
• The Egyptian Competition Authority and the Tunisian Ministry of Industry and Trade and the
   Competition  Council were established to foster regional cooperation and integration in  
   Competition issues.
• The Egyptian Consumer Protection Agency and the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade
   were established  to foster regional cooperation and integration in Consumer Protection issues.
 
The UNCTAD MENA Programme has already drafted as well a Series of Guidelines on Consumer Protection in: Product Safety, Risk Assessment, Consumer Associations, E-commerce Investigations, also a Series of Good Governance Guidelines on Private Sector Compliance, Agency Structure and Effectiveness, Competitive Neutrality, a Series of Gender Equality Guidelines on Competition and Gender, Consumer Protection and Gender, the access of women to Economic Activities in MENA countries, and other publications such as Competition Impact Assessment Studies of Egypt and Tunisia.
 
One of the major outcomes of the MENA programme will be the UNCTAD MENA ITC Web Platform with a multilingual website in English, Arabic and French, a Virtual Institute, 4 Information Sharing & Technical Databases (Regional Complaint Handling System, Regional Alert System, Good Practices and Competition cases and Proceedings), Country Profiles, a Directory, an Event Management System, and an Integrated Web-Conference System that will boost regional and also national cooperation between all stakeholders, as well as cross border trade, market integration, information sharing across countries and socio-economic integration, etc.

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Co-organizer(s):
Ministry of Economy and Trade of Lebanon
Sponsor / funding:
GOVERNMENT OF SWEDEN

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