Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy at its fourth session

The Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy,

Recalling the resolution adopted by the Seventh 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, Switzerland, July 2015),[1]

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

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

Recalling the provisions related to consumer protection issues adopted by the fourteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Nairobi, July 2016), including the provisions in paragraph 76 (x) of the Nairobi Maafikiano,[2]

Recalling paragraph 69 of the Nairobi Maafikiano, which reaffirms 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),

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, enhancing the transparency and accountability of businesses, mobilizing resources, empowering consumers, reducing poverty and promoting inclusive economic and social policies,

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

Believing that a robust legal and regulatory framework for consumer protection, including effective dispute resolution and redress mechanisms and the ability of consumer protection enforcement authorities to cooperate in obtaining redress, where available, across borders for consumers harmed by fraudulent and deceptive commercial practices, serves an important public interest, contributing to economic dynamism and consumer welfare,

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

Recognizing that effective policies that prevent trade in hazardous consumer products and unfair or misleading commercial practices can improve consumer confidence and provide more favourable conditions for sustainable economic development,

Welcoming the contribution of Peru to the work of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy in the form of a virtual catalogue of international best practices on consumer protection and competition,

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

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

1. Welcomes the efforts of member States and other stakeholders in implementing the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection and reaffirms the commitment of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts to provide an annual forum and modalities for multilateral consultations, discussions and exchange of views between member States on matters related to the guidelines;
    
2. Congratulates the Government of Indonesia for its voluntary peer review on consumer protection law and policy, looks forward to the successful implementation of its policy recommendations and encourages interested member States to volunteer for future peer reviews on consumer protection law and policy, including as peer reviewers, as implemented by consumer protection authorities;
    
3. Recognizes the important role of relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, particularly with regard to inclusive consumer protection policies; and 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, and encourages these participants to present written papers and submissions in advance of the meetings of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts;
    
4. Recognizes the contribution of consumer protection policies to promoting sustainable consumption as addressed in this session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts; the close relationship between sustainable consumption and Sustainable Development Goal 12 and the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, section H; encourages consumer protection authorities to promote consumer education and to provide business guidance in accordance with the shared responsibility for sustainable consumption and the recommended partnerships between member States, businesses, consumer and environmental organizations and other groups concerned as acknowledged by guidelines 50 to 52;
    
5. Underlinesthe direct and positive impact that the adoption of consumer policies by member States have 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. Invites the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicators to consider the addition of a new indicator, “Number of countries that have adopted consumer protection policies”, in relation to Goal 10, Reduce inequality within and among countries, target 4, Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality; and in relation to Goal 17, Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, target 14, Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development, using the UNCTAD world consumer protection map as the source of the indicator’s data;
    
7. 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;
    
8. Emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation in the enforcement of consumer protection law and policy; invites member States to strengthen their national legislative frameworks for bilateral, regional and international cooperation, in light of guidelines 79 to 94; and requests the UNCTAD secretariat to continue to explore, gather and promote best practices for international cooperation;
    
9. Invites member States to continue sharing experiences and best practices regarding the protection of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers, including through the UNCTAD virtual catalogue on international best practices on consumer protection and competition;
    
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 established by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on its second session to continue work on misleading and unfair practices, consumer education and business guidance and cross-border enforcement cooperation in light of guidelines 63 to 65 and to recommend policy options for addressing challenges faced by consumer protection authorities in this area, namely investigation and enforcement to tackle cross-border consumer challenges, and requests the Working Group to report to 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 in 2020;
     
12. Decides to renew the mandate of the Working Group on Consumer Product Safety to continue the work on strengthening consumer product safety frameworks at the national, regional and international levels to protect consumers from hazards to their health and safety, noting its efforts since its establishment by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy at its third session; and to recommend policy options for addressing challenges faced by consumer protection authorities in this area, and to report on its continued work to the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set;
     
13. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat, in accordance with guideline 97 (b), to prepare reports and studies as background documentation for the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set on the following topics:

       (a)           Strengthening consumer protection in the digital economy (in line with the focus and priorities of the Working Group on Consumer Protection in E-commerce);

       (b)           Implementation of the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection (as requested in resolution 70/186, in particular on the legal and institutional framework for consumer protection and work programme of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy 2016–2020);

       (c)           Voluntary peer review of consumer protection law and policy of Peru;

14. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to facilitate consultations and the exchange of views of member States on the following topics for the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set:

       (a)           International enforcement cooperation among consumer protection authorities in e-commerce;

       (b)           Improving consumer product safety around the world: Good data for good policy;

15. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to present at the Eighth United Nations Conference to Review All Aspects of the Set an updated review of capacity-building and technical assistance in consumer protection law and policy;
     
16. Requests the UNCTAD secretariat to continue to build a list of contact persons of consumer protection authorities to facilitate cooperation under the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection, in accordance with guideline 87;
     
17. Notes with appreciation the voluntary financial and other contributions received from member States; invites member States to continue assisting UNCTAD on a voluntary basis in its capacity-building and technical cooperation activities by providing experts, training facilities, 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.8/11.

                     [2]    TD/519/Add.2.