The views expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Secretariat. The designations used and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or authority, or concerning the delimitation of its borders or boundaries. Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgment is required, together with a copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint, sent to the UNCTAD Secretariat, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
The United Nations Consumer Protection Guidelines are a valuable set of principles that set out the key features of effective consumer protection legislation, enforcement institutions and complaints systems. The Guidelines also assist interested Member States in formulating and enforcing national and regional laws, rules and regulations appropriate to their economic, social and environmental conditions; they also help to promote international enforcement cooperation between Member States and encourage the exchange of experience in consumer protection. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development promotes the Guidelines and encourages interested Member States to raise awareness of the many ways in which Member States, businesses and civil society can promote consumer protection in the provision of public and private goods and services.
Objectives
Scope of application
General principles
Unsustainable production and consumption patterns, especially in industrialized countries, are the main cause of the ongoing deterioration of the global environment. The special situation and needs of developing countries in this regard must be fully taken into account. Member States must provide or maintain adequate infrastructure to develop, implement and monitor consumer protection policies.
Special care should be taken to ensure that consumer protection measures are implemented for the benefit of all sectors of the population, especially the rural population and people living in poverty. All enterprises must obey the relevant laws and regulations of the countries in which they do business. They must also comply with the relevant provisions of international consumer protection standards agreed upon by the competent authorities of the country concerned.
Hereafter, references to international standards in the guidelines must be considered in the context of this paragraph.). The potential positive role of universities and public and private enterprises in research should be taken into account when developing consumer protection policies.
Principles for good business practices
Businesses should make complaint handling mechanisms available that provide consumers with prompt, fair, transparent, free, accessible, prompt and effective resolution of disputes without undue cost or burden. Businesses should consider subscribing to national and international standards relating to internal complaints handling, alternative dispute resolution services and customer satisfaction codes.
Guidelines
Member States should also consider ways to ensure that consumers are properly informed of such risks. Member States should strive to enable consumers to obtain optimal benefits from their economic resources. Member States should encourage fair and effective competition in order to offer consumers the widest range of choice between products and services at the lowest cost.
Member States should ensure that their consumer protection policies are not used to protect domestic companies from competition or are applied unfairly. Member States should encourage all stakeholders to participate in the free flow of accurate information on all aspects of consumer products. Member States should regularly review weights and measures legislation and assess the adequacy of the enforcement mechanism.
Member States should encourage and ensure the availability of facilities to test and certify the safety, quality and performance of essential consumer goods and services. Member States should promote the development and implementation of policies for sustainable consumption and the integration of those policies with other public policies. Policy-making by member states must be carried out in consultation with business, consumer and environmental organizations and other relevant groups.
Member States should encourage the design, development and use of products and services that are safe and efficient in energy and resources, taking into account their full life cycle impacts. Member States should encourage recycling programs that encourage consumers to recycle waste and buy recycled products. Member States should safely manage the uses of environmentally harmful substances and encourage the development of environmentally sound alternatives to such uses.
In doing so, Member States may wish to study the guidelines for consumer protection in the context of electronic commerce of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. When formulating national policies and plans in relation to food, Member States must take into account the needs of all consumers. Member States must promote sustainable agricultural policies and practices, conservation of biodiversity and protection of land and water, taking into account traditional knowledge.
In doing so, member states should take into account the work and recommendations of the World Health Organization on pharmaceutical products. Member States should ensure that their consumer protection policies are adequate to address the marketing and provision of tourism-related goods and services, including but not limited to travel, accommodation for travelers and timeshares.
International cooperation
Member States' consumer protection enforcement agencies should coordinate investigations and enforcement activities to avoid interference with investigations and enforcement activities of consumer protection enforcement authorities in other jurisdictions. Member States' consumer protection enforcement agencies should make every effort to resolve any disagreements that may arise regarding cooperation. Member States and their consumer enforcement authorities should use existing international networks and conclude appropriate bilateral and multilateral agreements and other initiatives to implement these guidelines.
Member States should enable their consumer protection policy agencies, in consultation with consumer protection enforcement authorities, to play a leading role in the development of the framework for combating fraudulent and misleading commercial practices, as set out in these Guidelines. Member States are encouraged to designate a consumer protection enforcement body or consumer protection agency to act as a contact point to facilitate cooperation under these guidelines. Member States should empower their consumer protection enforcement authorities to investigate, pursue, obtain and, where appropriate, share relevant information and evidence, in particular on matters relating to cross-border fraudulent and misleading commercial practices affecting consumers.
This authority should extend to cooperation with foreign consumer enforcement agencies and other relevant foreign partners. Member States should consider participating in multilateral and bilateral agreements to improve international justice and mutual cooperation. Member States may wish to consider relevant international guidelines and standards for the protection of consumers against deceptive and fraudulent cross-border business practices, when considering the legal authority they need to provide to their consumer enforcement authorities, and adapt these guidelines and standards to their circumstances as necessary.
In addition, Member States may wish to examine the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Guidelines for the Protection of Consumers against Fraudulent and Deceptive Cross-Border Trade Practices. To promote sustainable consumption, Member States, international agencies and industry should work together to develop, transfer and disseminate environmentally friendly technologies, including through appropriate financial support from developed countries, and to devise new and innovative mechanisms for financing its transfer between all countries, especially for and between developing countries and countries with an economy in transition. Member States and international organizations should, where appropriate, promote and facilitate capacity building in sustainable consumption, especially in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
In particular, Member States should also facilitate cooperation between consumer groups and other relevant civil society organizations with the aim of strengthening capacity in this area. Member States and international bodies should, where appropriate, promote consumer education and information programmes. Member States should work to ensure that consumer protection policies and measures are implemented with due regard to their non-obstacles to international trade and their compliance with international trade obligations.
International institutional machinery
To provide capacity building and technical assistance to developing countries and economies in transition in formulating and enforcing consumer protection laws aQGSROLFLHV. f) To consider relevant studies, documentation and reports from relevant organizations in the UN system and other international organizations and networks, to exchange information on work programs and topics for consultations and to identify work-sharing projects and cooperation on the provision of technical DVVLVWDQFH . g). To prepare appropriate reports and recommendations on Member States' consumer protection policies, including the application and implementation of these guLGHOLQHV. h). To operate between and report to the United Nations Conference to review all aspects of the set of multilaterally agreed justice 3ULQFLSOHVDQG5XOHVIRUWKH&RQWURORI5HVWULFWLYH%XVLQHVV3UDFWLFHV (i).
Conduct regular review of guidelines when authorized by the United Nations Conference to review all aspects of a set of multilaterally agreed equitable principles and rules for control 5HVWULFWLYH%XVLQHVV3UDFWLFHV. j) establish procedures and work methods that may be necessary for the implementation of his mandate. In carrying out their tasks, neither the intergovernmental group nor its subsidiary bodies may judge the activities or conduct of individual member states or individual companies in relation to a specific business transaction. The intergovernmental group or its subordinate bodies should avoid getting involved when companies are in dispute over a particular business transaction.
The intergovernmental group shall establish such procedures as may be necessary to deal with matters related to confidentiality.
