Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy

The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy, Recalling the resolution adopted by the Eighth United Nations Conference to

Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices (Geneva, October 2020),

Recalling General Assembly resolution 74/270 of 2 April 2020 titled “Global solidarity to fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015 titled “Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”,

Recalling further General Assembly resolution 70/186 of 22 December 2015 titled “Consumer protection”, adopting the revised United Nations guidelines for consumer protection,

Taking note of the decision of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Bridgetown, 2021) in paragraphs 56, 62 and 127 (z) that “in the process of transformation, it is fundamental for fair, sound and robust competition and consumer protection policies and enforcement to maintain a robust, level playing field and enhance transparency for all participants, so that market access is not under anticompetitive practices. Ensuring effective competition, including through support in developing and implementing competition policies and through cooperation among competition authorities, paired with robust consumer protection in the market, will help foster economic efficiency, resulting in safer and better products at lower prices for consumers”, that “multilateral dialogue and cooperation are crucial in areas such as the governance of new and emerging technologies, including those related to data management, competition and consumer protection” and that UNCTAD should “continue to assist developing countries to formulate and implement competition and consumer protection policies and laws, facilitate cooperation among competition and consumer protection agencies, conduct peer reviews and foster the exchange of knowledge and best practices, including through multilateral forums, such as the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy and the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy, and by contributing to the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conferences to Review All Aspects of the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices and of the revised United Nations guidelines for consumer protection”,

Reaffirming the fundamental role that consumer protection law and policy plays in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by ensuring access by consumers to essential goods and services, empowering consumers and protecting them from fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices and boosting consumer education to ensure more informed choices,

Welcoming the decisive measures and interventions taken by Governments in the field of consumer protection through coordinated international, regional and bilateral actions to respond to the COVID-19 crisis and attempt to mitigate the negative impact on domestic markets and consumers,

Recognizing that an effective enabling environment for consumer protection and development may include both international and national cooperation and enforcement to deal with cross-border unfair fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices,

Recognizing the need to strengthen the work of UNCTAD in consumer protection law and policy so as to enhance its development role and benefits for consumers and businesses,

Recognizing that preventing the cross-border distribution of known unsafe consumer products and unfair or misleading commercial practices is a priority for UNCTAD member States as it can improve consumer confidence and provide more favourable conditions for sustainable economic development,

Recognizing that effective financial consumer protection requires a sound legal and policy framework for financial services that ensures consumers’ access to basic payment accounts and delivers financial education, namely on digital means, while regulating the conduct of services providers for responsible lending and safe payment systems, and that oversight and enforcement institutions are needed to ensure that healthy financial markets work for the benefit of consumers,

Recognizing that consumer protection can play an important role in upholding consumer rights in the provision of health services through consumer information and education, the regulation of unfair business practices and the promotion of good business practices,

Noting the important written and oral contributions from consumer protection authorities and other participants that enriched the debate during its sixth session,

Taking note with appreciation of the documentation prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat for its sixth session,

1. Welcomes the efforts of member States and other stakeholders in implementing the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection and reaffirms its commitment to providing an annual forum and modalities for multilateral consultations, discussions and exchanges of views between member States on matters related to the guidelines;
2. Encourages the continuation of legislative, policy-related and regulatory actions and initiatives by consumer protection agencies in response to and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as coordination and information-sharing at the international, regional and cross-border levels;
3. Underlines the direct and positive impact that the adoption of consumer protection policies by member States has on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular in reducing inequalities within and among countries and in strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development;
4. Congratulates the Government of Thailand for its voluntary peer review of consumer protection law and policy, looking forward to the successful implementation of the policy recommendations and encouraging interested member States to volunteer for future peer reviews of consumer protection law and policy as implemented by consumer protection authorities, including as peer reviewers;
5. Encourages member States to fully implement the recommendation on preventing the cross-border distribution of known unsafe consumer products;
6. Encourages member States to ensure access for consumers to essential goods and services, such as public utilities and basic health services, with a particular focus on the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers, by engaging with all relevant public and private stakeholders;
7. Encourages member States to improve financial consumer protection, especially in relation to financial inclusion, education and literacy, remittances, over indebtedness and digitalization;
8. Recognizes the important role of relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, particularly with regard to inclusive consumer protection policies; welcomes the participation of consumer authorities, consumer associations, civil society, business and industry representatives and academia in the deliberations of the sessions of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy; and encourages these participants to present written papers and submissions in advance of the sessions;
9. Encourages the continuation of the information-gathering process on the legal and institutional framework for consumer protection, including in particular the development of the UNCTAD world consumer protection map; and invites all member States to participate in its completion and update; 
10. Emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in the enforcement of consumer protection law and policy; invites consumer protection authorities to strengthen their national legislative frameworks for international, regional and bilateral cooperation, in the light of guidelines 79 to 94; and requests the UNCTAD secretariat to continue to explore, gather and promote best practices for international cooperation;
11. Welcomes the initiatives carried out by individual member States, UNCTAD and other organizations and networks in building capacity and strengthening institutions in the area of consumer protection; and calls upon all interested parties to work together and identify and strengthen synergies;
12. Welcomes the deliberations of the working group on consumer protection in electronic commerce since 2017 and the exchange of information and sharing of experiences among member States, including the current work on misleading and unfair practices, consumer education and business guidance, and cross-border enforcement cooperation; takes note of the report presented to the sixth session; requests the UNCTAD secretariat to incorporate the recommendations of the report into its work; and decides to renew the mandate of the working group;
13. Decides to renew the mandate of the working group on consumer product safety, to continue work on strengthening consumer product safety frameworks at the regional and national levels and improving international cooperation to protect consumers from hazards to their health and safety, to further propose practical means for the implementation of the recommendation on preventing the cross-border distribution of known unsafe consumer products and to report on its continued work to the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy;
14. Welcomes the revised methodological guidelines for UNCTAD voluntary peer reviews of competition and consumer protection laws and policies; and decides to discontinue the working group on modalities of UNCTAD voluntary peer reviews of competition and consumer protection laws and policies until there is sufficient experience in practice to review the revised guidelines;
15. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to convene a working group on consumer protection and gender, to highlight best practices and to facilitate information exchanges and consultations, led and integrated by member States on a voluntary basis, without financial implications for the regular budget of the United Nations, and to report to the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy;
16. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat, in accordance with guideline 97 (b), to prepare reports and studies as background documentation for the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy on building trust in digital markets through enhanced consumer protection on online platforms;
17. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to facilitate consultations and the exchange of views among member States on the topic of consumer protection and the transition to clean energy;
18. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare, for the consideration of the seventh session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy, an updated review of capacity-building in and technical assistance on consumer protection law and policy, including an impact assessment;
19. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to continue to compile a list of contact persons of consumer protection authorities, to facilitate cooperation in accordance with guideline 87;
20. Notes with appreciation the voluntary financial and other contributions received from member States; invites member States to continue to assist UNCTAD on a voluntary basis in its capacity-building and technical cooperation activities by providing experts, training facilities and financial or other resources; and requests the UNCTAD secretariat to pursue capacity-building and technical cooperation activities, including training, and, where possible, to focus such activities on maximizing their impact in all interested countries.