At its third session in 2018, the Intergovernmental group of experts on consumer protection law and policy requested the UNCTAD secretariat to convene a working group on consumer product safety to highlight best practices, to facilitate information exchange and consultations, and to continue the work from the Group, led and integrated by member States on a voluntary basis, without financial implications for the regular budget of the United Nations. It reports to the following session of the Intergovernmental group of experts, which have renewed its mandate since.

The Working Group meets regularly and informally through teleconferences and is open Government representatives, with relevant expertise (for example national consumer product safety authorities); interested international organizations and networks; and relevant stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and academia.

Some key outputs delivered by the Working Group are:

• Recommendation on Preventing Cross-Border Distribution of Known Unsafe Consumer Products which was 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
• Joint European Commission-UNCTAD workshop: Kick-starting consumer product safety: a worthwhile endeavor, International Product Safety Week 2020