The First International Conference on Consumer Protection of South, South East & East Asian Countries provided a platform to discuss and deliberate upon different aspects of consumer protection. In the backdrop of revised UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection, the Regional Conference with the theme of "Empowering consumers in new markets" provided the platform for shared learning and for exploring way forward for regional cooperation.
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26 October, 2017 [VENUE : Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India] Registration of participants : 09:30 A.M.
Opening Session Venue : Plenary Hall 10:30 A.M. Indian Government (Hon'ble Prime Minister, Hon'ble Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Hon'ble Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Secretary, Secretary, Consumer Affairs)s Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD
Tea/Coffee Break : 11:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Session I : Overview of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection and Implementation Venu : Plenary Hall 12:00P.M. – 01P.M. In its resolution 70/186 of 22 December 2015, the General Assembly reaffirmed the Guidelines as a valuable set of principles for setting out the main characteristics of effective consumer protection legislation, enforcement institutions and redress systems and for assisting interested Member States in formulating and enforcing domestic and regional laws, rules and regulations that are suitable to their own economic and social and environmental circumstances, as well as promoting international enforcement cooperation among Member States and encouraging the sharing of experiences in consumer protection. Moderator : Ms. Teresa Moreira, Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD
Panelists : 1) Mr. Avinash K.Srivastava, Secretary, Consumer Affairs, Government of India 2) Mr. Allan Asher, Australian Academic 3) Ms. Derya GÜNGÖR ÖZÇELEBİ, Customs and Trade Expert, Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Customs and Trade, DG of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance. 4) Dr. B.C.Gupta, Member, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission 5) Sh. Shirish Deshpande, Chairman, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat, India
Interactive debate : 01:00P.M. – 01:30 P.M.
Group Photo and Lunch break : 01:20 P.M. – 02:30 P.M
Session II: Stakeholder Participation in consumer Protection Venue : Hall No. 5 Stakeholder participation is key for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection establish as a legitimate need "the freedom to form consumer and other relevant groups or organizations and the opportunity of such organizations to present their views in decision-making processes affecting them" and also state "businesses and their authorized agents should have due regard for the interests of consumers and responsibility of upholding consumer protection as an objective".
02:30 P.M. – 03:30 P.M. Moderator : Sh. G. Gurucharan, Director, Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru, India.
Panelists : Sh. Pradeep Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International Prof. (Ms.) Gail Pearson, University of Sydney, AustraliaI
Shri Nikhilesh Jha, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Govt of India
Mr. Dody Edward, Expert for International Relations, Ministry of Trade, Indonesia
Interactive debate : 03:30 P.M. – 04:00 P.M.
Tea/Coffee Break : 04:00 P.M. onwards
Session III: The Protection of Online Consumers Venue : Hall No. 5 Session III: The Protection of Online Consumers Developments in information and communications technology in the last decade have provided new opportunities for consumers and businesses. An increasing number of consumers have access to the Internet and engage in e-commerce, which provides easier and faster access to products and services. According to UNCTAD's Information Economy Report, business-to-consumer e-commerce is forecast to double from $1.2 trillion in 2013 to $2.4 trillion in 2018. The UNCTAD secretariat note on Consumer protection in electronic commerce of 2017 provides an overview of the international legal framework on issues related to e-commerce. It reviews consumer protection challenges related to information asymmetry, unfair commercial practices and contract terms, online payment security, data protection and privacy and it underlines the importance of dispute resolution mechanisms and redress. In particular, developing countries face pressing and specific challenges, including: access to the internet, reviewing and updating the legal and institutional frameworks to accommodate the specificities of e-commerce, building capacities of civil servants in the executive and judicial branches as well those of the private sector and consumer associations; tuning in international networks that share best practices in the protection of online consumers, providing education and awareness raising to consumers and businesses in the online context, encouraging the establishment of trust boosting mechanisms such as trust seals and dispute resolution and developing partnerships with all relevant stakeholders. This session will focus on recent developments in consumer protection in e-commerce at national, regional and international levels, and will discuss the policies that have been implemented to address the challenges in this area. 04:00 P.M. – 05:00 P.M.
Moderator : Mr. Arnau Izaguerri, Associate Legal Officer, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD
Panelists : Mr. JUNG, Dong-young, Head of Seoul Regional Office, Korea Consumer Agency, Republic of Korea
Shri Gopal Krishnan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology , Government of Indial
Mr Pawan Duggal, Supreme Court Lawyer
Mr. Sachin Taparia, Local Circles From a participating country
Interactive debate : 05:00 P.M. - 05:30 P.M.
Closing of First Day Session : 05:30 P.M.
Conference Dinner : 08:00 P.M. 27 October , 2017
Session IV : Fostering Consumer Inclusion in Financial Services
Venue : Hall No. 5 09:30 A.M. – 10:30 A.M. As recognized by the General Assembly "consumer confidence and trust in a well-functioning market for financial services promotes financial stability, growth, efficiency and innovation over the long term and that the recent financial crisis places a renewed focus on consumer protection." This follows the concerns addressed by the OECD/G20 High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection of 2011, which aimed at mitigating the consumer detriment caused by the global financial crisis.
Moderator : Mrs. Uma Shankar, Principal Chief General Manager, reserve Bank of India.
Panelists : Mrs. Indrani Thuraisingham, Consumer International. 1) Dr. Sothi Rachagan, Vice-Chancellor Nilai University, Malaysia 2) Dr. G. Sundaram, Chairman, VOICE Society 3) Ms. Anjana Dubey, Deputy Director general, Department of Financial Services, Government of India From a participating country
Interactive debate : 10:30 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.
Tea/Coffee Break : 11:00 A.M.
Session V : Consumer Education and Empowerment Venue : Hall No. 5
11:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. Consumers are empowered when they know their rights and obligations and are able to defend them. Perhaps the top priority for most consumer protection authorities is to educate consumers and balance the inherent information dissymmetry between businesses and consumer in the marketplace.
Moderator : Mr. Arnau Izaguerri, Associate Legal Officer, Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD.
Panelists : Sh L. Mansingh, Co-Chair, FICCI Consumer Vertical 1) Dr Suresh Misra, Indian Institute of Public Administration 2) Ms. Betsy Broder, USFTC 3) Mrs Megawati Simanjuntak, Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia From a participating country
Interactive Debate : 12:30 P.M. – 01:00 P.M.
Lunch Break : 01:00 P.M. – 02:00 P.M.
Session-VI: Special Challenges in Protecting Vulnerable and Economically Disadvantaged Consumers Venue : Hall No. 5 2:00 P.M. – 03:00 P.M. In 2015, the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection recognized for the first time the protection of vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers as one of the legitimate needs which the guidelines are intended to meet. Their situation shows the essentially imbalanced relationship between consumers and businesses; which can be attributed to factors such as illiteracy, technical knowledge, age and economic status.
Moderator : PANELISTS : 1) Ms. Teresa Moreira, Head of Competition and Consumer Policies Branch, UNCTAD. 2) Ms. Ana Caterina Fonseca, DG, Consumer Protection, Portugal. 3) Ms. Varsha Raut, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat 4)) Shri Uday Mawani, Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Voluntary Consumer Organisation from India From a participating country. 5) Ms. Pushpa Garimaji, Columnist and Consumer Activist Interactive debate and closing session : 03:00 P.M. – 04:30 P.M.
Tea/coffee- closing |