Protection of the global consumer is required by Consumers International

Consumers International (CI) has played a major role in the growth of the worldwide consumer protection movement. It is the only independent global voice campaigning for consumers. With over 220 member organizations in 115 countries, they are building a powerful international consumer movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere  

The results of this work include the creation of a legal framework for consumer rights through the creation of certain fundamental rights and guidelines for consumer protection, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Due to the inefficiency of awareness and education programs in the development of consumer awareness and consumer rights, especially in Third World countries, CI and other concerned organizations around the world are being celebrated on World Consumer Rights Day, March 15 2008.The events continue to mark the day of action and activities centered around the issue of Education for Sustainable Consumption. Many CI member organizations around the world, including the Yemen Association for Consumer Protection have joined the global consumer movement in a call for education about sustainable consumption. They called on national governments to implement the UNEP Guidelines on Education for Sustainable Consumption in formal education programs on 15 October 2008. The coordinated day of action has been organized by the global consumer movement as a means of empowering consumers to make responsible decisions from a young age.    

The organization has proposed a number of activities within the campaign for this year, and aims to draw attention to this vital issue. In a letter to its members, it has asked them to move at the local level and to call on Ministries of Education and Environment to make consumer awareness a part of the core curriculum in education systems in order to enable consumers, especially young people, to access information on various issues.

The claims made by consumer protection organizations and associations are considered logical demands as these demands have come under the consumer protection guidelines which have been adopted by the United Nations. 

Through this article I will try to bring to light the most important principles included in the consumer protection guidelines, which make a logical frame-work for consumer protection in the world in general, and in the third world countries in particular. 

There is no doubt that these principles represent a framework or guide for states and governments, particularly in developing and promoting policies and legislation to ensure consumer protection. This is especially necessary in Third World countries, where the issue of consumer protection is still subject to significant shortcomings, and most are still in need of new legislation in this field, and work to develop and modernize the existing legislation to meet the requirements of recent developments in consumption, business activity and production at the local and international level.   

The principles also contribute to the promotion of international cooperation in the field of consumer protection within the international framework, where the states and governments are obliged to provide at least minimum of these principles.  

Before talking about consumer protection guidelines, the beginnings of these ideas being adopted at the international level must be discussed. 

The real beginning for the adoption of these principles began with the guidelines for consumer protection at the end of the 1970’s, when the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations realized that there is strong relationship between consumer protection and economic and social development at the local and international level. 

The Council instructed the Secretary General of the United Nations to prepare studies on the institutions and national legislation in the area of consumer protection in addition to preparing a comprehensive report containing proposals, measures and policies which will contribute to redoubling efforts to protect the consumer. 

During 8 years of studies and consultation with governments and international organizations, the General Assembly adopted these principles in the year 1985 with decision No. 39/248. 

These principles provide a set of tips and advice to governments that should be carried out in order to provide an ideal protection for consumers, while taking into consideration that each government must identify priorities for consumer protection in accordance with the conditions of the country’s economic and social circumstances. 

The guidelines aim to protect the consumer to meet the rightful needs as follows:  -  Real Protection from anything constitutes a threat to the consumer’s health and safety. 
∑ Promote and protect the economic interests of consumers. 
∑ Access to accurate and adequate information to allow consumer to choose services and goods according to his hope and needs. 
∑ Consumer education. 
∑ Provide effective ways to recompense consumers.  
∑ Ability  to establish associations and consumer organizations and other relevant organizations and allow them to express their views in making decision that relate to consumer protection , and should encourage consumer organizations to monitor the false practices in food markets and false or misleading claims in delivering services. 
∑ Governments should provide adequate infrastructure for the development of policies on consumer protection for the benefit of sectors of the population, especially for the rural population. 
∑  All Authorities should obey the relevant laws and regulations in the countries where they operate, and should conform to the appropriate provisions of international standards for consumer protection and approved by the competent authorities in the country. 
∑  In developing policies on consumer protection, a positive role to be played by universities and public and private institutions in the field of science researches.  

In the area of safety and quality of goods and services, these principles assure that governments should encourage the development and implementation of voluntary standards at national and international levels in order to guarantee the safety and quality of goods and services.    The guidelines also emphasized that governments should work on the availability of necessary technical equipment to test and certify the safety and quality of the essential goods and services. 

The guidelines focused on education; states must educate consumers and take into consideration people’s cultural traditions in order to increase awareness among consumers, enabling them to distinguish between the good and bad goods and services . 

All in all consumer education must become an integral part of the basic approach of the education system, preferably as a component of existing subjects. 

To conclude, The Yemen Association for Consumer Protection is keen to celebrate the consumer world Rights Day, is proceed from the urgent need to remind the fundamental rights of consumers and ensure the accumulation of consumer culture to everyone. We belief that the awareness of consumer issues are effective weapons in the face of many crises in consumer markets in the world. According to the guidelines, the  policies ensure that the manufacturers should become aware of the negative effects when they want their products to be placed on the markets, and notify the relevant authorities as well as without delay, and those policies should find the suitable ways to inform all consumers. 

* Secretary-General of the Yemen Association for Consumer Protection

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