Adoption of new UN guidelines priority, says global meet

The International Conference on Consumer Protection on Friday concluded that comprehensive implementation of the UN guidelines for consumer protection was a priority for governments and stakeholders.

It will help in ensuring more effective and better-coordinated protection efforts in all countries and across all areas of commerce, it said.

The International Conference on Consumer Protection for East, South and South-East Asian Countries, in which 22 countries participated, also stressed on the need to achieve financial consumer literacy, new ways to enhance consumers' knowledge for sustainable and inclusive development of e-commerce.

"Wide stakeholder participation and engagement of consumer associations, businesses, and the academia is necessary for a successful consumer policy-making and enforcement," said one of the conclusions adopted by the conference on "Empowering consumers in new markets" for the south, south east and east Asian countries, according to an official release.

The two-day conference, chaired by Indian Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, also said that the protection of consumers' rights in the digital context was important "for a sustainable and inclusive development of e-commerce" which also needed to address cross-border cooperation and enforcement.

Addressing media on the sidelines of the conference, Paswan said the new consumer protection law, which has stringent provisions against cheating and misleading advertisement, was likely to come up in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday reiterated that the government was bringing forward the law, which was likely to incorporate the new United Nations guidelines.

As per the conference, consumer protection was essential for "well-functioning financial markets", and efforts should be devoted "to achieve financial consumer literacy and inclusion".

Calling consumer education paramount to maximize consumer empowerment, the conference concluded that there was a need of "new and innovative ways to reach and enhance consumers' knowledge of their rights and obligations in the marketplace".

"The needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers must be attended to, in all sectors of commerce and across all areas of consumer protection including legislation, enforcement action and redress systems in accordance with their particular needs and interests," said another of the conclusions.

--IANS

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