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UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection

United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection

2010 marks the 25th year of the adoption of the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection. The draft UN guidelines were discussed at great length from the 1960s onwards before finally being adopted in 1985. After extensive work from CI, the guidelines were formally expanded in 1999 with Section G on sustainable consumption, and were re-adopted in the UN General Assembly decision 54/449. They provide a vital context and indeed legitimacy for CI's work. For example, when governments are reluctant to allow such rights they can be reminded of their obligations as UN members.

The UN General Principles set out the legitimate needs of consumers as follows:

1. the protection of consumers from hazards to their health and safety
2. the promotion and protection of the economic interests of consumers
3. consumer access to adequate information to enable making informed choices according to individual wishes and needs
4. consumer education, including education on the environmental, social and economic impacts of consumer choice
5. the availability of effective consumer redress
6. freedom to form consumer and other relevant groups or organisations and the opportunity for such organisations to present their views in decision-making processes affecting them
7. the promotion of sustainable consumption patterns (added in 1999).

The guidelines have been interpreted by CI and 'translated' into clear consumer rights as follows:

• the right to the satisfaction of basic needs
• the right to safety
• the right to be informed
• the right to choose
• the right to be heard
• the right to redress
• the right to consumer education
• the right to a healthy environment.

Read more about CI and consumer rights.

These points were last reaffirmed by the CI World Congress in Lisbon in 2003, and each of them underpins major areas of policy such as work on basic services (energy and water), food safety measures, transparency in financial services, action against monopolies, structures of representation, development of new methods of dispute resolution, and recent work on climate change.

The events of the last few years in the domains of climate change (with clear implications for energy and water) and the financial crisis (intensified by lack of guidance and disclosure to consumers) make the guidelines as relevant as ever.

UN Guidelines and our Access to Knowledge campaign

Consumers in today's digital world face a whole range of issues that were unheard of when the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection were last revised in 1999.

For example, a 1999 consumer who purchased a book could lend or sell it to others, and be sure that it could still be read for decades to come.

Today's purchaser of an ebook doesn't have any of these guarantees.  Our members are working on amendments to the UN Guidelines that will deal with new circumstances such as these, under the unifying theme of "Access to Knowledge".

We aim to ensure that the Guidelines remain just as relevant for tomorrow's consumers as they have been for consumers of today.

Find our more from our Access to Knowledge website.

The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection are available in six languages:

Arabic
Chinese
English
French
Russian
Spanish