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),[1]

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 fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Nairobi, 2016) in paragraphs 69 and 76 (x) that “fair, sound and robust national competition and consumer protection laws and policies are also important, as is international cooperation, information exchange and capacity-building in these areas, particularly in light of the expansion of global markets, the increasing role of transnational companies, the need for enhanced transparency and accountability, the information and communications technology revolution and the emergence of electronic commerce (e-commerce)” and that UNCTAD should “continue to assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition to formulate and implement competition and consumer protection policies and laws, including through voluntary peer reviews and the sharing of best practices; as well as facilitating international cooperation among competition and consumer protection agencies together with other relevant international organizations, taking into account the revised United Nations guidelines for consumer protection”,[2]

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 consumer welfare,

Underlining that consumer protection law and policy is a key instrument in addressing unfair fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices in a globalized and interdependent world, including by enhancing the transparency and accountability of businesses, resource mobilization and the empowerment of consumers, as well as by delivering dispute resolution and redress and poverty reduction and by promoting inclusive economic and social policies,

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 effective policies that prevent the cross-border distribution of known unsafe consumer products and unfair or misleading commercial practices can improve consumer confidence and provide more favourable conditions for sustainable economic development,

Recognizing that attending the consumer protection needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers in connection with public utilities is increasingly becoming a priority for member States, as recommended in the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection,

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

Taking note with appreciation the documentation prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat for its fifth 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. Welcomes the hosting of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development from 3 to 7 October 2021; and encourages member States to contribute to the alignment of consumer protection policies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
    
3. 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.
    
4. Congratulates the Government of Chile 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. 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;
    
6. Encourages member States to ensure access for consumers to essential goods and services, such as public utilities, with a particular focus on the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers, by engaging with all relevant public and private stakeholders;
    
7. 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;
    
8. 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;
    
9. 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;
    
10. 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;
     
11. Decides to renew the mandate of the working group on consumer protection in e‑commerce, to continue work on misleading and unfair practices, consumer education and business guidance and cross-border enforcement cooperation, in the light of guidelines 63 to 65, to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices among the consumer protection authorities of member States in these areas and to report to the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy in 2022;
     
12. 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 propose modalities 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 sixth session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy;
     
13. Decides to renew the mandate of the working group on modalities of UNCTAD voluntary peer reviews of competition and consumer protection laws and policies, open to member States on a voluntary basis, without any financial implications for the regular budget of the United Nations, to discuss and improve the existing procedures and methodology and to report to the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy;
     
14. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat, in accordance with guideline 97 (b), to prepare reports and studies as background documentation for the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy on the following topics: 
    
    (a)     Modalities for the implementation of the recommendation on preventing the cross-border distribution of known unsafe consumer products;
    
    (b)     Financial consumer protection, including financial education and literacy;
     
15. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to facilitate consultations and the exchange of views among member States on the topic of consumer protection in the provision of health services;
     
16. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to prepare, for the consideration of the sixth 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;
     
17. 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; 
     
18. 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.

 

                     [1]   TD/RBP/CONF.9/9.

                     [2]   TD/519/Add.2.