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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:unctad.org
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:6a58f5e717c0d
DTSTART:20220425T100000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20220425T110000Z
LOCATION:Online\, 
SUMMARY:Expert meeting: Building online dispute resolution for Southeast As
 ian consumers 
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:Methods of consumption are changing. According to the 2020 UNCT
 AD B2C index\, an estimated 1.5 billion people\, or 27 per cent of the wor
 ld’s population aged 15 years and older\, shopped online. This represent
 ed a 7 per cent increase over 2018. This trend is exacerbated by the COVID
 -19 pandemic. As lockdowns became the new normal\, businesses and consumer
 s increasingly “went digital”\, selling and buying more goods and serv
 ices online\, raising share of e-commerce in global retail trade from 14 i
 n 2019 to about 17 per cent in 2020. But what can consumers do if the tran
 saction goes awry? One way to increase consumer trust in the digital econo
 my\, integrate digital markets and enhance consumer welfare is to develop 
 online dispute resolution systems (ODR) for consumers.\n\nIn UNCTAD’s in
 tergovernmental meeting on consumer protection of 2021\, developing countr
 ies’ representatives stressed the need to protect consumers in the digit
 al economy and to facilitate cross-border business-to-consumer transaction
 s\, which are often hampered due to the lack of effective consumer online 
 dispute resolution. UNCTAD’s research on Consumer trust in the digital e
 conomy: The case for online dispute resolution shows that the trust-enabli
 ng benefits of ODR are yet to be fully realized\, especially for cross-bor
 der business-to-consumer e-commerce. Wider awareness and implementation ar
 e needed\, but these global challenges require timely dialogue and collabo
 ration by the international community. Southeast Asia has a vibrant e-comm
 erce ecosystem and strong consumer protection policies and institutions So
 utheast Asian countries have also large shares of young population making 
 the region a particular conducive market for e-commerce. Commitments of th
 e ten Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)\
 , among others under the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan on Consumer Protectio
 n (ASAPCP) 2025 and the recently ratified Regional Comprehensive Economic 
 Partnership (RCEP) Agreement\, foresee the establishment of a network of n
 ational ODR systems. This session is organized by the UNCTAD Competition a
 nd Consumer Policies Branch and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internation
 ale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) – “Consumer Protection in ASEAN” (PROTECT) 
 Project. It will present the ongoing initiatives regarding ODR for consume
 rs in Southeast Asia and will discuss avenues for future collaboration amo
 ng interested stakeholders.\n\nREGISTER HERE\nhttps://unctad.org/eweek2022
 \n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/expert-meeting-
 building-online-dispute-resolution-southeast-asian-consumers
DTSTAMP:20260716T151655Z
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