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There
is a fairly well defined and formulated consumer policy statement
at the international level: the United Nations Guidelines for
Consumer Protection adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9th
April 1985. The guidelines call upon governments to develop,
strengthen or maintain a strong consumer policy, and provide for
enhanced protection of consumer by enunciating various steps and
measures around seven themes:
1.
Physical safety,
2. Economic interest,
3. Standards,
4. Essential Goods and services,
5. Redress,
6. Education and Information, and
7. Health.
Implicitly it spells out what governments need to do to buttress
the eight rights of consumers. The case for the guidelines is that
they set out and codify the main elements of the consumer
protection, and create an international framework within which
national consumer protection polices can be worked out. They give
consumer policy a clear set of objectives and provide a checklist
against which governments can measure their own policies.
Moreover, the guidelines cannot remain static. They need to change
with time, especially when national economies are being globalised
and the information revolution is shrinking the world every day.
The UN
Guidelines, the most comprehensive policy framework aimed at
protecting consumers rights around the world, has the following
objectives to:
-
assist countries in achieving or maintaining adequate
protection for their population as consumers;
-
encourage high levels of ethical conduct for those engaged in
the production and distribution of goods and services to
consumers;
-
assist countries in curbing abusive business practices by all
enterprises at the national and international levels which
adversely affects the consumers;
-
facilitate the development of independent consumer groups;
-
further international co-operation in the field of consumer
protection; and
-
encourage the development of market conditions which provides
consumers with greater choice at lower price.
CUTS
had taken up a project to research, document and hold national
consultation on the implementation of the UN Guidelines for
Consumer Protection 1985 in India. The objectives of this project
are to:
-
take stock of the implementation of the UN Guidelines by
analysing policy, legislation and enforcement to enable the
preparation of a National Consumer Policy Statement; and
-
prepare a citizens' report on the State of the Indian
Consumer, and develop a model for other developed/developing
countries to emulate.
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