Voices for Change: the Consumer Right to Representation

Voices for Change:
The Consumer Right
to Representation
World Consumer Rights Day 2002

World Consumer Rights Day
The year 2002 marks the 20th commemoration
of World Consumer Rights Day. It was first
observed on March 15, 1983, and has since
become an important occasion for mobilising
citizen action. Consumer organisations around
the world use materials produced by
Consumers International, such as Voices for
Change, to generate local initiatives and media
coverage often forming the basis for work
over the coming year. Recent themes
promoted by CI for WCRD include: corporate
accountability (2001), genetically modified
foods (2000), assessment of consumer rights
(1999), poverty alleviation (1998) and
sustainable consumption (1997).
The eight basic rights celebrated by World
Consumer Rights Day are:
• Satisfaction of basic needs
• Safety
• Information
• Choice
• Representation
• Redress
• Consumer education
• A healthy environment

Voices for Change:
The Consumer Right
to Representation
World Consumer Rights Day 2002
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Acknowledgements
Voices for Change is the product of a
collective effort by the members and staff
of Consumers International. Seventy
consumer organisations participated in
the survey on representation, and many
of them submitted case studies and
supplementary material. Adam Smith
(National Consumer Council, UK) carried
out the analysis of the WCRD survey
results. Texts were contributed by Colin
Brown, Claudia Collado, Jayanti Durai,
Naja Felter, Sadie Homer, Rhoda Karpatkin,
Jim Murray, Sothi Rachagan, Lezak Shallat,
Louise Sylvan and Ben Wallis. Voices for
Change was edited by Lezak Shallat, with
help from Becky Vincent. Design by
Steve Paveley.
This document is also available in
Spanish and French:
– Voces para el cambio: El derecho a
la representacion
– Des voix pour le changement: Le Droit
des Consommateurs à la
Représentation
World Consumer Rights Day 2002 was
coordinated by Jayanti Durai with Rinske van
Duifhuizen, Naja Felter, Chris Gethin,
Suzanne Gribble, George Koomson, Marcela
Ortiz, Lezak Shallat and Marina Tan.
Copyright © Consumers International,
March 2002
ISBN 1 902391 36 5

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Contents
1 Voices for Change: An overview 8
Introduction 8
The right to representation 8
Representation, not rhetoric 9
Brazil: Lost the battle, won the war 9
Obstacles to representation 10
Weak representative base 10
Competing claims to representation 10
Accepting compromises 10
Staying “legit” in the eyes of government 10
State of play 11
WCRD action 11
Action prior to WCRD 12
Action on WCRD 12
After WCRD 12
2 Consumer Representation and Social Justice 13
The globalisation of protest 13
Representation strategies 14
Legitimacy and accountability 14
Four reasons for representation 16
3 Models of Representation and Consultation 17
Hearing the consumer 17
Speaking for others? 17
Key factors: Powers, resources and independence 18
Five models of consumer involvement 18
Model 1: Formal representation by appointees or delegates 18
Model 2: Formal open consultation 19
Model 3: Public participation 20
Model 4: Research-based approaches 20
Model 5: Special legal powers for consumer organisations 20
Examples from Asia 21
Representation provided by statute 21
Representation in government and industry
consultative mechanisms 21
Representation in industry-funded mediation schemes 21
Representation by the initiative of consumer groups 21
Principles of representation 22
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
4 Making it Real: Strategies for
Effective Representation 23
Representatives 23
Consultation 24
Effective strategies 24
Beware involvement without representation 25
Effective meetings 27
Volunteers, compromise, commitment win UN guidelines 28
5 The State of Representation 29
How are consumers represented? 30
How long have consumers been represented on this body? 30
What is the impact of representation? 31
Specific experiences 32
Representation at the European Union 34
6 Representation at the Global Level 35
Codex: Long-term strategy to turn input into influence 36
Trade: Changing mechanisms 37
Utilities: Tough learning curve 38
CI at ISO: Small victories over the long haul 39
Agenda-setting in e-commerce at the OECD 40
Successes in standards 41
TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue: A venue for representation 41
Annex A: Organisations Responding to Survey 43
Annex B: Examples of Success 45
Armenia: Consumers have their say on legal changes 45
Australia: E-commerce and spam guidelines 45
Australia: Price gouging prevented 45
Azerbaijan: Tobacco industry curbed 46
Brazil: Battling for better condoms 46
Brazil: Presidential election debates 46
Burundi: Restoring insurance payments 46
Cameroon: Consumers get voice in World Bank programmes 46
Chad: Reining in the power industry 47
Colombia: Campaign gets GM soya off the menu 47
Côte d’Ivoire: Ten commandments for the state 47
Croatia: Consumer Protection Bill goes to Parliament 47
Cyprus: Better milk standards 47
Ecuador: Consumer rights are human rights 48
El Salvador: Fair electricity price for small farmers 48
India: Freedom of Information act 48
Kazakhstan: Putting consumer rights back on the agenda 48
Macedonia: Legislation approved 48
Malawi: Protest over petrol prices 49
Mali: Taking on the bus carriers 49
Niger: Better transport sought 49

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Norway: Voluntary conflict resolution committees 49
Senegal: Clear water bills 50
Slovak Republic: Helping consumers query electricity bills 50
Sweden: Ethics of GM labelling 50
Zambia: Fair electricity prices 50
Zimbabwe: Protections in neo-liberal reforms 50
Annex C: Improvement needed 51
Argentina: Small claims court stalled 51
Brazil: Consumers seek standards input 51
Burundi: More timely info on oil needed 51
Caribbean: Government consumer bureau seek NGO allies 52
Hong Kong: Broader definition of ethical behaviour 52
India: Presenting alternative models for input on drugs 52
Malaysia: “No significant change” in law on housing abuses 53
Norway: No say at research council means no consumer research 53
Romania: Seat sought, seat granted 53
USA: Money opens doors 53
Annex D: WCRD questionnaire 54
Annex E: References and resources 57
Consumers International resources on representation 57
Other documents used for this report 57
Annex F: Feedback form 59
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
1 Voices for Change: An Overview
Introduction
Voices for Change – this year’s World
Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) campaign
– focuses on the consumer right to
representation. Its main message is simple:
people should have influence in the making
of decisions that affect their access to
basic needs and their quality of life.
Representation of consumer interests is
essential to creating effective consumer policy,
alongside appropriate regulations and
empowerment of individuals through
consumer education and information.
Representation is a critical component of good
governance, ensuring that consumers are
involved in policy-making at national,
regional and international levels.
Among the consumer rights enunciated in
1962 by US President John F Kennedy and
subsequently expanded upon by Consumers
International (CI) is the right to representation
or the right to be heard. “Consumers, by
definition, include us all,” said Kennedy.
“They are the largest economic group …
affecting, and affected by, almost every public
and private economic decision. … But they are
the only important group … whose views are
often not heard.”
The right to representation should ensure that
consumers’ interests are advocated in the
making and execution of government policy,
and in product service and delivery. Voices for
Change, CI’s publication for WCRD 2002, aims to
advance consumer representation by outlining
effective strategies for consumer groups and
examining the state of representation today.
Voices for Change includes contrasting
perspectives aimed at encouraging debate and
thinking around representation. Based on a
survey of CI members conducted especially for
this year’s campaign, it presents case studies
of the impact of consumer tactics, models of
representation, potential pitfalls and a
checklist on how to maximise influence on
policy makers.
The Right to Representation
Effective consumer representation ensures that
the needs of all people are taken into account
in the formation of policies that directly affect
their lives. By magnifying the voice of the
individual, representation contributes to good
governance and the achievement of social
justice. It affords better and more durable
decisions. Chapter 2 of Voices for Change
outlines some basic reasons for representation.
The 1985 United Nations Guidelines for
Consumer Protection – one of the first
milestones of the consumer movement in
getting its voice heard at the international level
and a representation success story recounted
by activist Esther Peterson in Chapter 4 –
identify representation as one of the legitimate
needs of consumers. The UN Guidelines call
on governments to facilitate the formation of
consumer organisations and to provide them
with opportunities to present their views in
the decision-making processes affecting them.
Consumer associations have used these
guidelines to promote legislation enabling
them to seek representation in the courts,
in the law-making process and in the
implementation of regulatory programmes.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Promoting the consumer interest can take
many forms. In Voices for Change, we highlight
formal representation before governments and
other public bodies, rather than campaigning
or legal action. A variety of models for formal
representation can be found in Chapter 3. But
as Anne-Lore Köhne, a CI Council member
and director of Germany’s VZBV, notes, sitting
on a committee is only one instrument of
consultation. “Lobbying and participating in
public and private hearings are just as
important. No single tool is the most effective
one – you have to use them all. And even then,
sometimes the key is running into the right
person in the right place, minutes before the
decision takes place in the plenary.”
While Voices for Change focuses on systems and
institutions set up for decision-makers to hear
the consumer voice, many of the case studies
received from members in response to the
questionnaire included stories of legal actions.
The value of legal action should not be
minimised, as it gives teeth to demands for
inclusion by providing access to the courts,
either to stop abuses or to force consideration
of consumer welfare and input. Legal action
can take the form of mandatory public
hearings, class actions suits, bans on
hazardous products, court action against
pricing policies, suits pressed for purposes of
redress and much more. The 1999 World
Consumer Rights Day publication Where Do
We Stand? includes a section on legal action as
a form of representation.
Taking the consumer interest to the private
sector is equally important but does not fall
within the scope of this publication, as it was
the topic of the 2001’s WCRD campaign,
Corporate Citizenship in the Global Market:
Accountability and the Consumer Perspective.
Representation, not Rhetoric
Effective consumer policy relies on
appropriate regulation, consumer
empowerment through education and
information and representation. But true
representation is more than simply involving
consumer experts on panels or public
consultations. It requires permanent channels
for input, the expectation that consumer views
will be taken into account and the recognition
that it is essential to good decision-making.
Voices for Change contains many positive
examples of representation. However,
decision-makers may also try to use
representation as a public relations exercise
where consumers have no power and
consumer interests are ignored. Many of the
case studies in Annex B show how consumer
organisations have dealt with this, as in the
following example from Brazil.
Brazil: Lost the battle, won the war
The Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do
Consumidor (IDEC) played a crucial role
in getting 132 dubious antibiotic mixtures
taken off the market – although it was
expelled from the Technical Advisory
Commission on Medical Affairs for doing so.
The Commission, on which IDEC
represented consumers, was at pains to
keep information about these drugs secret
from consumers, but IDEC went public
with doubts about their efficacy. As a result,
it was thrown off the Commission in 1996.
But in 1997, the federal government turned
around and banned the sale of the drugs
in question.
Real representation is also inclusive. A basic
challenge for those charged with representing
consumers is to constantly be aware of who
they are representing and why. Representation
must be based on research as well as proactive
measures to seek out the views of the people
who would otherwise not be heard. Consumer
representatives must consider this through
consultation and dialogue with their
constituency, as outlined in Chapter 4.
But constituencies are no longer local.
Increasingly, representation needs to encompass
regional and global issues and be aimed at
international institutions. This is now being
recognised by institutions themselves. The
European Union has recently undertaken to
improve consumer representation within its
policy-making. The Cotonou Agreement
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
between Europe and Africa, Caribbean and
Pacific countries is an example of this, as it
ensures consumer representation and consumer
policy in implementing the trade agreement.
Governments not only recognise the
contribution of representation to better
decision-making through more active
citizenship, they also see its importance in
making markets work. By fostering consumer
representation, the risk of market failure
through incomplete and misleading
information is reduced. The demand side of
the economy is heard. The position of
consumers vis-à-vis producers in the
marketplace is strengthened.
Representation is also a necessary safety
mechanism in cases of government or
regulatory failure and when decision-makers
are unable for various reasons to identify and
promote consumer interests themselves.
Real representation needs long-term support
for consumer representatives. Support takes
two basic forms: to ensure inclusiveness and to
provide the technical capacity, time and
resources for active and effective participation.
Obstacles to Representation
There are many obstacles to effective
representation. Some of these relate to the representativeness,
legitimacy and accountability
of consumer representatives themselves.
Weak Representative Base
The principle criticism levied at consumer
leaders who preach participation is the
weakness in the representative base of
consumer organisations. Few consumer
associations are mass membership
organisations; most have limited membership
and often distinguish between subscribers to
their publications and those who may fully
participate in the association by holding office,
voting in elections and determining policy.
Nor are all consumer associations memberbased;
some are structured as foundations or
companies, with a small number of
shareholders or trustees.
One reason for this lies in the fact that the
consumer interest is diffused. Everybody is a
consumer and logically everybody is a
potential member of a consumer association.
But many people may not even see themselves
as consumers – consumption is something
people do, rather than something that
people are.
Yet consultation is an essential feature of
effective representation and the absence of a
significant membership or alternative means
of consulting with consumers compromises
the ability of their representatives to represent
their interests.
Competing claims to representation
The number of consumer organisations has
grown explosively. It is to the credit of
consumer associations that they have
succeeded in making consumer issues part of
the public agenda in many nations. But the
“mainstreaming” of consumer issues brings
more players on the scene, including many
from outside the consumer movement.
Political parties, trade unions and business
groups, for example, may establish consumer
units and stake a claim to representing the
consumer interest.
Accepting Compromises
Representation involves being a part of the
compromise that is achieved. Parties to a
compromise must “deliver” their
constituencies. Defending a compromise
may result in allegations of having sold
out by those not party to the discussions
and compromises reached.
Consumer representatives run the risks of
co-optation, a trend often ascribed to
regulatory agencies whose initially dynamic
defence of the public interest often devolves
into ineffective bureaucracies and de facto
acquiescence to the industry they were created
to monitor. The social facts of co-optation and
collegiality must be recognised, as they are
likely to blunt the efficacy of representation.
Staying “legit” in the eyes of
government
Many consumer associations are accepted
as an integral part of the consumer policymaking
mechanism in their countries.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
They must be viewed as “legitimate” pressure
groups in order to be taken seriously by
government agencies. This can prove
restrictive in countries where the requisite
political and cultural space for dissent does
not exist. Many consumer groups do not
undertake (or have ceased to undertake)
public interest litigation for this reason.
Others temper their criticism of government
policies within “acceptable” limits, since court
challenges and criticism may be regarded as
outside the “rules of the game.” This can
compromise consumer representation. Groups
that are distrusted by government agencies
may have difficulty getting access to
information and in being included in the
consultation process. Lack of access to the
policy-making process may mean their views
are not aired.
State of Play
To assess the state of play, a survey of CI’s
members was carried out for this WCRD.
Approximately 70 consumer groups from
around the world gave detailed descriptions of
where they are active, the extent of their
participation, obstacles faced, their successes
and continuing needs (see Annex A). The
responses to this survey are analysed in
Chapter 5 and a sample of the questionnaire
can be found in Annex D.
Overall analysis of the survey shows that
consumer representation is relatively extensive
in some areas but not in others. Leading the
list are consumer policy and protection, food
security and safety and technical standards.
Where there is representation, impact has been
described as more positive than negative,
rarely very poor and sometimes excellent.
Levels of representation tapers off for
competition, trade/economics, education,
communications/information technology,
social issues/poverty alleviation, price
controls, gender/women, financial services
regulation and transportation.
Interestingly, CI government members who
replied to this questionnaire cried out for the
need for independent consumer organisations.
“The absence of a strong consumer movement
limits the participation of consumers in policymaking
process on matters that affect them,”
wrote Wendy Williams of the governmental
Consumer Affairs Division in Trinidad and
Tobago. Here and elsewhere, government
consumer protection agencies sought a
stronger role for NGOs – in part because
“one major disadvantage of a government
consumer agency is the perception that it is
not interested primarily in the interests of
consumers,” she notes.
However, government members responding to
the questionnaire gave few details of the ways
that they themselves choose to represent
consumer interests across government.
Descriptive case studies of the impact of
consumer representation on specific policies –
and thus on the lives of consumer themselves
– illustrated both the value of working within
the system and the need to be willing to raise
challenges from without. These are
summarised in Annexes B and C. Successes
ranged from improved standards for condoms,
mandatory genetically modified (GM) food
labelling, improved basic services and the
creation of alternative dispute resolution
systems. Tactics included scientific testing,
canvassing of members, lobbying, media
outreach, peaceful protests and pulling out of
government committees when consumer needs
were being stonewalled. High on the list of
needs for better representation is access to
more opportune information when sitting on
committees, greater influence in the legislative
arena and the creation of new mechanisms in
areas such as transportation, medical ethics
and research. Case studies also stressed the
importance of legal action as a form of
representation, both as a means of exerting
pressure and as a form of obtaining redress.
Given the challenges of representation,
Chapter 6 assesses Consumers International’s
work at representing consumers on the
different topics at the regional and global
levels in different institutions.
WCRD Action
To foster effective consumer representation,
action is necessary. World Consumer Rights
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Day provides the focal point for on-going
campaigns to getting the consumer voice
heard. There are a number of ways Voices for
Change can be used to further consumer
representation and promote the consumer
interest. These include both short term actions
around March 15, 2002 itself and longer
term campaigns.
Action prior to WCRD
As part of the representation survey, consumer
groups were asked where they felt consumer
representation was needed. This can provide
the basis for targeted campaigns during 2002.
Identify one body, forum or institution where
you feel a consumer voice should be heard.
Develop arguments needed to persuade the
body to include the consumer perspective
using Voices for Change – both from the
theoretical perspective and using examples
from other countries. Campaign for
representation through petitions, media work
and/or directly with the body itself. For
example, write a letter six to four weeks in
advance of March 15 outlining the case and
asking for a response before March 15.
On March 15 itself, you can either publicise the
lack of response or the increased recognition of
the need for consumer representation and
highlight the main issues you will be
campaigning for from within the body. You
can also repeat this exercise by identifying a
second body and targeting them with a letter
and special scrutiny.
An internal action for consumer organisations
is to evaluate the impact of where your group
currently represents consumers. Assess
whether the time and resources spent justify
the outcome. If not, you can write to the forum
concerned and explain why you feel that you
are not participating effectively: is this due to
the body not taking the consumer views
seriously? Or to the possibility that more
resources are needed to research and represent
the consumer perspective?
Another useful exercise for internal and external
use is to draw up a list of changes your
organisation has made to policies or implementation
as a result of the representation process.
Action on WCRD
On March 15, 2002 itself, events should be
organised to highlight representation
campaigns. For example, seminars or round
tables on the importance of consumer
representation in decision-making can be
organised. Make a statement linked to the
body consumers are not represented on. Use
the day to publicise how your organisation is
representing people’s views in different
forums and how it is linked to the
international consumer movement as it
pursues representation at other levels. Use
March 15 to promote the consumer perspective
and your organisation.
Consumers International will be identifying
key regional and global institutions that need
to improve consumer participation and
highlight ways in which this can be done.
After WCRD
Longer term action includes assessing
representation strategies and identifying
bodies which either need to be established or
need to include the consumer perspective.
Guidelines for transparency and accountability
can be developed and publicised. Assess what
is needed in terms of skills, knowledge or
resources to ensure that you effectively
represent consumers.
Responses from CI members on what needs to
be done to help them build a stronger voice
will be taken into account in future
programme development and campaigns.
Depending on the outcome of WCRD 2002, CI
will develop training components on
representation to support different CI regional
and global programmes. This may also be a
feature of CI’s next World Congress, to be held
in Portugal in late 2003. Further resources on
representation can be found in Annex E.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
2 Consumer Representation
and Social Justice
Rhoda Karpatkin, in an adaptation of a
speech at Consumers International’s 16th
World Congress, outlines the increasing
need for consumer representation in the
face of globalisation.
For years, we at Consumers International have
talked about our important role in civil society
as consumer advocates before global bodies.
We have built carefully on our good work and
the respect we have earned. But as the role of
civil society in global decision-making has
changed dramatically, we find ourselves very
much in the middle of this transformation.
Consumers International (CI) was an early and
thoughtful advocate of the consumer interest.
We have spoken out on economic and policy
issues for decades, and have built a global
consumer movement country-by-country,
region-by-region, and organisation-byorganisation.
We have spoken well, but we
can’t claim to have been heard.
The Globalisation of Protest
Events at the World Trade Organisation 1999
Ministerial meeting in Seattle changed many
things. Today civil society is speaking in a new
global voice, or more accurately, new global
voices. Protesters and advocates in Seattle
showed the world how strongly they objected
to the dark side of globalisation. CI was well
represented at Seattle. We spoke inside the
WTO forum, and lobbied the WTO and
national governments. It was an important
opportunity, but the protesters outside captured
the headlines. They helped slow the WTO’s
march toward a new round of negotiations.
Afterwards, The Economist magazine noted
how effectively different groups with varying
agendas worked together toward somewhat
common ends. While the editorialists found
the protesters distasteful, they were impressed
with how they had mobilised and achieved
their goals. That happened, the magazine said,
because the Internet has made it possible for
diverse groups to communicate and rally
together without the bureaucracy and expense
of meetings. New coalitions are being built
on-line and expertise is being shared.
The World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) have also been the
target of protesters. At the September 2000
meeting in Prague, protesters were again in
the streets. This time, however, the World
Bank was more in step with the times. There
were about 350 civil society organisations
accredited to its meeting. They had a role to
play, and indeed had some input into World
Bank policy development even prior to the
meeting. They also had some influence on the
approach and content of the World Bank’s
Development Report.
Governments may resent this inconvenience,
but it is a natural outgrowth of the very
globalisation that they promote. If
globalisation is inevitable, as is now claimed,
and if the mission of governments’ trade
policies is to advance globalisation as it is now
occurring, then the participation of civil
society – both in the streets and in the meeting
halls – is equally inevitable.
The consumer perspective is much needed
now. Governments have shaped globalisation
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
to serve the interests of global corporations.
Global and regional agreements and financial
policies promote business interests over
consumer, environmental and labour interests.
We’ve seen this in WTO agreements and
financial institutions, like the World Bank and
the IMF, that dictate financial arrangements to
developing countries.
We hear more discussion, and more open
discussion, of the negative outcomes of such
globalisation. In these discussions, civil society
organisations can help define the course
globalisation must take to protect and advance
the interests of our constituencies. Even
without the money and power of business
interests, we have the capacity to speak out
and be heard by the public. Critics of
globalisation have drawn “tacit” support from
a broad range of public opinion, as The
Economist noted, and “have been, and are
likely to remain, politically influential.”
CI has helped in this effort by advancing
thoughtful and cogent criticisms, and
advocating policies in the consumer interest.
Decision-making at the global level that heeds
only the voice of business must become a
thing of the past, because consumers are
deeply affected by the outcomes. The
consumer movement must become one of the
shapers of future globalisation decisions.
Representation Strategies
To reach this goal, we must assess how our
advocacy can best fit in this changed global
landscape. We must look at our representation
objectives and strategies in this era of growing
civil society participation and protests.
• With hundreds of civil society organisations
now addressing consumer issues, how can
we be most effective?
• What sort of networks and coalitions should
we seek to create or participate in?
• How do we add to our strengths as a
confederation of diverse consumer
organisations?
CI’s 16th World Congress Statement refers to
working with other public interest groups to
achieve social and economic justice, because
we are all citizens and we are all consumers.
Surely, working alone is out of step with the
times and unrealistic. Corporations join
together to achieve common ends, as we see
at every turn. Their national and global
organisations reflect their vast economic
power and greatly influence global bodies and
national governments. Consumer groups, too,
must identify our common interests with
related organisations, establish good working
relationships, and form common agendas and
common programmes. Back in the 1980s, CI
helped form several networks – some of which
continue to this day. We need to re-evaluate
this strategy for broad-based representation
and explore the relationships and cooperative
efforts that could increase our effectiveness.
Consumer issues are also on the agendas of
many organisations that address related areas.
These include organisations that campaign on
development, environmental, health,
privatisation and labour issues. With so many
organisations now engaged in issues similar to
CI’s issues, we must explore ways to combine
our strengths with those of other
organisations. This is a good moment to be
pursuing common grounds.
All over the world, alliances are developed in
varying ways. CI member organisations have
vast experience at alliance-building at the local
and national levels. CI can break new ground
globally, as is occurring under the aegis of the
TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD). In
this forum, diverse members of CI work
collegially together while preserving their
unique cultures, qualities and operating
principles.
Legitimacy and
Accountability
The events in Seattle and Prague were
traumatic for governments and global business.
Some, like The Economist magazine, have
responded by describing the protesting groups
as “unaccountable, unelected and very often
unrepresentative.” Others, like the Shell
Corporation (cited in a Financial Times
supplement in 2000), talk of a backlash that
questions the legitimacy of these organisations
in the global debate. This backlash targets not

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
only the loud protesting groups, but also the
quieter lobbying groups – in addition to the
global institutions that have now opened doors
to hold dialogues with them.
The question of accountability is a far-reaching
one. We must ask it of governments and of
corporations. And we must demand it of
ourselves, as members of civil society and as
consumer representatives.
• It seems simple to state that governments
and their agencies are accountable to the
public because their citizens vote. But real
accountability requires that these officials
work in the best interests of their citizens.
Can they be called accountable when they
agree to a system that puts the profits of
trade ahead of concerns for health, the
environment, consumer protections, or
labour conditions? Can governments be
called accountable when they agree to the
onerous and intolerable conditions imposed
on consumers in developing countries by
structural adjustments by the lending
institutions?
• The biggest promoters of the global
trading system as it exists today are the
corporations that benefit from it financially.
To whom are they accountable? They should
be accountable to the broad interests of
consumers, of citizens, of communities. But
they believe they are accountable only to
their shareholders and to their bottom line.
They believe they exist only in order to make
profits. Most corporations, left to themselves,
would not worry about pollution or global
warming or labelling of genetically modified
foods. Or about hunger or health care. Milton
Friedman has told the world that it would be
wrong for corporations to consider anything
but profits, and that’s a well-held belief
by business.
• Should civil society organisations be held
accountable in some way? Yes, if they are
performing services for a discreet
constituency. A relief organisation, for
example, is accountable for the funds it
receives and disburses. For an educational
or medical institution, consumers want a
certification system and structure that
enables us to view the outcomes. If the
organisation wants special status, at the UN,
for example, some system of establishing
credentials is reasonable. How are consumer
groups accountable? We are accountable to
the consumer movement and to each other,
to protect and promote our causes, our
integrity, and our persuasiveness. We are
accountable to our subscibers and members,
but how can we increase our accountability
to individual consumers?
When civil society organisations express their
views – whether in the streets or more quietly
within the halls of power – they are showing
accountability to the process of democratic
decision-making. There can be no political
democracy without the participation of civil
society. They make a significant contribution to
defining, protecting and advancing the
essential values of a democratic, humanistic
society and the essential rights of the world’s
citizens. Citizen action has advanced the grand
march toward political democracy, toward
liberty and toward equality in the 18th, 19th,
and 20th centuries. If an activist civil society
didn’t exist, governments would serve only
business, and political democracy would
waste away or be destroyed before our eyes.
Recently, we saw the dramatic contributions
civil society organisations made in the fight to
secure access to drugs for AIDS victims in
South Africa. Civil society groups were pitted
against the power of the global pharmaceutical
companies, power that can be even greater
than the governments of some developing
countries. But citizen organisations, using their
expertise, Internet networking and public
information skills, and their implacable
dedication to the public interest, prevailed in
remarkable ways. When the 39 pharmaceutical
companies withdrew their infamous lawsuit
against the government of South Africa
relating to AIDS drugs, it was widely heralded
as a victory for world public opinion. That
victory was the result of activism by civil
society organisations in the forefront of the
fight for public health.
Consumers International today is wellpositioned
to build on the new strengths of
civil society. We have spoken forcefully and
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
effectively in many places. Prospects for
change are more promising than they have
ever been. It is exhilarating for us to be there,
with other civil society groups, helping to
bring about change. Our movement has
always called for “Justice for people.” Let’s
now join together in even greater efforts to
secure that justice.
- by Rhoda Karpatkin, President Emeritus of
Consumers Union of US and former President
of Consumers International
Four Reasons for
Representation
Representation of consumer interest in the
regulatory process is critical for a variety
of reasons:
1. The political process, including
administrative decision-making and
regulation, is the outcome of the interplay
of a variety of groups. All interests have
to be adequately represented if equitable
outcomes are to be achieved. The
interests of unrepresented groups
will inevitably be compromised.
2. Thinly spread groups such as consumers
cannot, unaided, participate extensively
in those processes. Unlike producers and
suppliers of goods and providers of
services who are generally wellorganised,
amply resourced and have
access to expert or technical information,
consumers lack such resources and find
it difficult to make themselves heard. Yet
consumers may have enough clout to
influence decisions that affect them –
although, once decisions have been taken,
it is all the more difficult to change or
undo them. Consumer concerns and
involvement must be taken into account
throughout the decision-making process.
3. In a modern and increasingly complex
society where good ideas are always in
short supply, vigorous competition in
ideas is a virtue worth promoting.
4. Representation enhances public
participation in collective decisionmaking
and public participation is a
desired ideal of democratic governance.
It helps develop public values and is an
integral part of the extra-legal machinery
of government. Group participation
compensates for regulatory failure,
develops valuable precedents and acts
as a catalyst for political change.
– Adapted from “Representation of the
Consumer Interest,” by Dr Sothi Rachagan,
Director, CI’s Office for Asia and the Pacific

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
3 Models of Representation
and Consultation
In practice, consumers exercise their “right
to be heard” in many different ways. How
should we describe the various systems of
representation? What can we say about
their advantages and disadvantages? In
this chapter, Colin Brown evaluates
different systems and institutions set
up for decision-makers to hear the
consumer voice.
The crucial element in the definition of
consumer representation is that the decisionmaker
acknowledges the consumer’s right to
be heard – and has a system for listening.
There are many mechanisms employed by
governments, public bodies, industry and
trade bodies for the consultation,
representation and participation of consumers.
Hearing the consumer
The “consumer voice” can mean different
things to different people. This is reflected in
the various institutional arrangements for
representation and consultation. The consumer
voice can mean the opinions and views of
ordinary consumers, or it can mean an
articulation of the consumer interest, typically
expressed by consumer organisations.
Listening to consumers can mean taking note
of their needs, or their preferences and desires,
or their habits and behaviour. These different
voices are sometimes in tune with each other,
and sometimes not.
Which of these voices is heard depends partly
on what consumer representation is intended
to achieve. Different aims can lead to different
practical approaches. In the consumer
movement, we tend to see consumer
representation as a way of “balancing the
scales” – as a counterweight to the power of
producers and suppliers. In some
circumstances, we also see representation as a
mechanism for resolving individual consumer
problems and complaints. Others see the aim
of consumer representation as contributing to
plural democracy, with the organised
consumer voice being heard alongside many
other interest groups, including other nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) such as
sectoral charities, self-help groups,
development organisations and environment
groups. A very different view is that the aim of
consultation and representation is to connect
decision-makers directly with ordinary people
speaking for themselves, to achieve a closer
democratic engagement between the public
and policy-making. An underlying aim, shared
by all of these perspectives, is to produce
better policy and better outcomes by getting
decision-makers to take consumer needs
into account.
Speaking for others?
In practice, there is no best model for the
right to be heard. Different systems of
representation and consultation deliver
different aspects of the consumer voice. One
important consideration is whether consumers
are heard via representatives (whose job is to
argue the consumer interest and relay
consumer views) or whether ordinary
consumers are invited to speak for themselves.
Often, because of their connections with
consumer organisations, representatives are
well-equipped to present a considered view of
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
the consumer interest, looking at long-term as
well as short-term needs, using collective
experience of consumer problems encountered
in other sectors, and understanding the
political and campaigning strategies needed to
get results. But consumer representatives
cannot be guaranteed to reflect the views of
the consuming public, and their right to speak
on behalf of others is problematic: they are
rarely, if ever, elected, and their legitimacy
comes either from their parent consumer
organisation or from the steps they themselves
take to consult consumers.
As an alternative to appointing representatives,
canvassing the views of ordinary people gives
a richer picture of the diversity of consumer
needs, desires and experiences, and lets
consumers say what they really want. But this
kind of direct input from the public does not
usually have the benefit of experience and
background knowledge of consumer issues.
Depending on the techniques used, the views
expressed still might not be typical of the
public as a whole. Direct consultation with the
public is also engagement on very unequal
terms, and is therefore likely to be more about
gathering information than negotiating policy.
Key factors: Powers,
resources and independence
Representation and consultation mechanisms
are of little value if their input can be ignored,
or if they are not given the tools to work
properly. Decision-makers should therefore be
pushed to define clearly how much influence
consumers have in the policy process. When
consumer representatives are involved in
advisory bodies and boards, for example, what
are their powers? Is their role purely advisory,
or do they have a right to challenge decisions?
Are they in a minority among other interests?
Can they report disagreements publicly, and
does the body have any responsibility to
explain its decisions when it goes against the
consumer view? There are many ways in
which consumer representation can be set up
to look good but to have little power. Similarly,
if few resources are provided to back up the
work of consumer representatives, or if
consultation initiatives are on too small a scale,
the results will be weak. Genuine consumer
input cannot be delivered without a budget.
Alongside clear powers and resources,
consumer representatives need independence.
It is vital for them to be independent of all the
other interests in the decision-making process
and have guarantees of non-interference from
those other interests – especially from the
decision-making body itself.
Five models of consumer
involvement
The descriptions below give an idea of the
main mechanisms by which the consumer
voice is heard, though they are not exhaustive.
Although they are discussed as alternative
models, in reality they exist in combinations.
The value of each model in making the
consumer voice heard cannot be judged in a
vacuum – it will depend on many factors in
the political and cultural environment,
especially the openness of the decision-making
processes in the country, sector or industry: are
they hostile, based on conflict, or are they
open, based on collaboration between people
acting in good faith? Consumer organisations
need to be flexible and pragmatic, ready to
take whatever opportunities arise to improve
the consumer’s right to be heard.
Model 1: Formal representation by
appointees or delegates
This model involves the appointment or
nomination of consumer representatives on
committees, panels, councils, boards and other
bodies that make decisions or advise decisionmakers.
The arrangements vary enormously as
regards the roles of the bodies, their powers, the
status of consumer representatives within them,
appointment procedures and many other
details. Some have a general consumer policy
remit while others are specific to an industry, a
single product or service, or a particular
crosscutting issue. Their scope ranges from
local or sectoral interests to international
regulation and legislation. Some deal with
short-term policy development, while others
provide continuous policy input. Some deal
with standard-setting and monitoring. Some
have direct input to the development of
legislation. Others are concerned with pursuing
consumer complaints.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
One important issue is whether representation
is by a dedicated consumer body made up of
a number of members, or by consumer representatives
sitting on a body alongside people
representing other interests. Which is most
effective depends on the particular situation.
A closely related issue is whether consumer
representatives are a minority or majority on
such bodies. Poorly supported lone
consumers on committees full of government
and industry experts can be intimidated and
have little chance to be effective.
In some cases, members or staff of consumer
organisations fill representative roles.
Elsewhere, the government or industry body
appoints individuals, sometimes with open
invitations to the public to apply and formal
selection procedures. Continuous liaison
between different groups within the consumer
movement, and with other NGOs, is often
important to provide information and support
for representatives. Conversely, rivalry
between groups seeking to play a
representative role can be destructive.
To be effective, consumer representatives need
to have clear powers to influence policy and
the right to challenge decisions. They need
access to information and resources. Ideally,
dedicated consumer committees and councils
need to be supported by staff and have a
budget to conduct their own research and
consultation among ordinary consumers.
Consumer representatives should also have
defined duties – to conduct their work
transparently and openly, to preserve their
independence and to represent consumers as
well as they can. Individual representatives
should be remunerated at an appropriate level
for their time. Often individual representatives
are more effective if they receive training to
sharpen their skills and knowledge relevant to
the subjects they are dealing with.
Model 2: Formal open consultation
This model involves formal, open processes of
consultation on specific policy issues. Typically,
a consultation document is published
containing proposals or options, and responses
are invited from any individual or organisation
that wants to comment. The subjects range
from government, regulatory and industry
policy on consumer issues to plans for land
use, public amenity developments and changes
in systems for local democracy.
The practicalities also vary. Publication can be
by specially printed consultation papers made
available on request, documents sent to
people in their homes, leaflets made available
in public buildings, and pages on the web.
Further publicity and “outreach” can be
achieved by public exhibitions, use of the
mass media and by requests to consumer
organisations and other NGOs to respond to
the consultation. Meetings of interested
parties are sometimes arranged to clarify
responses, particularly from key recognised
trade bodies and consumer organisations.
Usually there is a time limit for responses.
It is good practice for the decision-making
body to publish a summary account of the
consultation responses alongside its
eventual decisions.
Consumer organisations find that responding
to open consultation is a useful way of
influencing policy. One great advantage for
NGOs is that they can choose to respond at
whatever length and at whatever level of
detail that they see fit. NGOs can thus
respond to a wide range of consultations,
concentrating resources on those that they see
as high priority, while producing briefer and
less detailed responses for lower-priority
subjects. This leaves the NGO with greater
control of the resources devoted to a
particular subject than is generally the case
when they sit on committees governed by
more rigid agendas and work plans. However,
this relationship is clearly defined as
consultation rather than negotiation: the
exercise is usually a trawl for views from all
interest groups, and all the power to make the
decision rests with the original authority.
An even more formal version of open
consultation involves public enquiries and
hearings, where groups representing the
interested parties present evidence. Resources
are required for the consumer voice to be
heard at these hearings – sometimes to fund
legal assistance. One advantage of this
method of consultation is that more of the
arguments are played out in public.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Model 3: Public participation
This model focuses on direct involvement of
members of the public in a variety of
consultation forums. Methods range from
traditional open public meetings to web-based
discussion forums. Although these approaches
do gather the authentic voice of ordinary
consumers, they seldom involve many people,
and the participants are often self-selected. As
a consequence, participatory methods are
better for testing the range and flavour of
opinions among the public than they are for
obtaining a representative picture of people’s
needs and views. As with formal open
consultation, final judgements on policy
usually rest with decision-makers, and the
input from public and consumer participation
is treated as one source of information
among many.
Over the last decade, a number of new
consultative techniques have caused
excitement among academics, politicians and
other decision-makers looking for ways to
revitalise flagging levels of democratic
involvement. Methods such as citizens’ juries
and user panels invite small groups of people
to engage with specific policy problems, with
support and information from professionals.
The results are interesting, showing that
ordinary consumers can deal with complex
problems, but the events are expensive and are
not large enough to be representative. Like
other participatory methods, much of their
value lies in forcing decision-makers to talk
face-to-face with ordinary consumers and to
hear people’s complaints and concerns for
themselves.
Model 4: Research-based
approaches
Consumers’ needs, experiences and views can
also be discovered by traditional research
methods. Questionnaire surveys, user trials
and qualitative “focus groups” are familiar
tools for consumer organisations, government
and industry, and they provide hard
information to enable the consumer interest to
be taken into account in policy-making. Other
research methods, such as those based on
patterns of consumer use of products and
services, and analysis of complaints data, can
also be useful. However, research results
simply provide information, and in the
absence of other forms of representation,
decision-makers can choose to use it as it
suits them.
Even when other models of listening to
consumers are used, such as formal
representation on committees or open
consultations, it is likely that research on
consumer experiences and views will be
extremely valuable for helping those who
speak for consumers to understand and
represent their constituency.
Model 5: Special legal powers for
consumer organisations
In some countries, consumer organisations have
won specific legal powers to allow them to
represent consumers collectively. For example,
they can initiate legal action where a firm’s
contract terms are unfair. Where these legal
powers are granted in recognition of consumers’
right to be heard, they constitute a specific form
of consumer representation. In countries
without this entitlement, in contrast, consumer
organisations must initiate legal actions with the
same status (and same difficulties) as anyone
else who wants to use the law.
- by Colin Brown, Chairman of the UK Financial
Services Consumer Panel, the statutory body that
provides consumer input to the UK Financial
Services Authority.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Examples from Asia
Consumer associations in Asia have made
major strides in being recognised as
legitimate representatives of the consumer
interest. They have been legitimised by
statute, given standing before the courts and
other redress agencies to represent the
consumer interest, and have been provided
membership in consumer policy-making
agencies. They participate in industrymaintained
alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms and even negotiate codes and
charters on their own initiative.
Representation provided
by statute
Many Asian countries today have statutes
styled as Consumer Protection Codes/Acts.
The first of these was introduced by Japan in
1968. Three features found in some of these
statutes enhance the representative role of
consumer associations:
• They provide for the establishment of
consumer organisations and specify that the
legitimate function of these organisations is
to represent the consumer interest. Codes
define consumer organisations and specify
their functions. Some also provide for the
granting of a subsidy.
• Consumer protection statutes generally
provide consumer organisations with the
required “standing” to initiate actions on
behalf of individual consumers or class of
consumers in the courts or in specially
created alternative redress mechanisms.
Theses statutes provide consumer
associations a privileged status by
permitting them to bring public interest
litigation, or even substituted actions on
behalf of a consumer.
• Consumer protection statutes establish
consultative councils and specifically
provide for representation in them of the
consumer interest by representatives of
consumer associations. These consultative or
advisory councils also have representatives
from government agencies and industry.
Representation in government and
industry consultative mechanisms
Consumer organisations represent the
consumer interest in a number of national,
state and district level government
committees focusing on specific areas of
policy formulation, standards or
programme implementation. The Federation
of Malaysian Consumer Associations
(FOMCA) for instance, is a member of no
less than 40 government committees.
Consumer associations participate in nongovernmental
and industry networks that
focus on a variety of subject areas
(environment, tourism, child welfare, etc.)
Representation in industry-funded
mediation schemes
Industry-funded mediation services (such
as Malaysia’s insurance and banking
mediation boards, modelled after the UK’s
Ombudsman Bureau) act as an independent
arbitrator in cases referred by consumers.
The mediator is empowered to make
awards of up to a specified maximum that
is binding on the insurance company or
bank concerned but not the consumer. The
consumer is free to reject the award and
exercise their legal rights.
Representation by the initiative of
consumer groups
Consumer groups in many countries have
initiated standard-setting charters detailing
the rights of consumers. In India, for
example, over 100 Citizen Charters have
been enacted and announced by a special
department of the Prime Minister’s
Secretariat. While charters, codes and
other “soft law” options to government
regulation are not effective in all situations,
they are certainly a measure of the stature
of consumer associations in obtaining the
agreement of the associations of
professionals in those fields. However, the
effectiveness of these schemes must be
viewed in the context of the bargaining
process and quality of representation
involved.
– Dr Sothi Rachagan
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Principles of
Representation
The four principles for consumer
representation developed by the UK’s
Consumer Association in its 1998 Policy
Report on Representation point to some
guidelines.
Appointments: Procedures for appointing
consumer representatives should be
transparent and posts should be advertised.
Decision-makers should ensure that representatives
have clear remits. Selection
processes should always be open and
selection should be based on merit.
Appointments should be publicly
announced and the performance of
representatives should be monitored.
Appointments to committees should have
maximum time limits.
Accountability: Consumer representatives
should open themselves up to scrutiny by
decision-makers and consumers alike.
Representatives should be given clear and
detailed terms of reference which set out
their, and the relevant decision-making
bodies, responsibilities so that their
performance can be judged. They should
put out as much information as possible
about their work (i.e. annual reports and
information on committee members and
their backgrounds). They should
communicate on an on-going basis with
other consumer and public interest groups.
Meetings should be open as far as possible
and regular reviews and audits of their
work should be conducted.
Representatives’ rights: Representatives
need to be given statutory rights so that
they can be independent of decisionmakers.
These rights should cover access to
information, access to decision-makers and
freedom of speech. For specific consumer
committees, committee members should
also have the right to set their own agendas
and appoint their own chairs.
Resources: Having their own adequate
levels of resources will help ensure that
representation is independent. Resources
should be sufficient to cover appropriate
back-up, training and research, as well as
remuneration.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
4 Making it Real: Strategies for
Effective Representation
CI’s 1988 WCRD kit, Doing It Ourselves,
suggested this formula for consumer
representation: “As a consumer group,
your role with politicians, government
officials, elected representatives and
ministers is ambiguous. You must maintain
a delicate balance. You must make friends
and influence people among the powersthat-be.
But you must also be an irritant,
a gadfly, continually pressing for
improvements to the status quo by
suggesting changes and pointing
out shortcomings.”
Effective representation of consumer interests
is a work-in-progress. There is no set formula
or recipe; strategies that work in one area may
fail in another, or at a later date. Because of
this, consumer organisations have developed
a wide range of tools and tactics that have
proven useful in a variety of settings and
combinations. The tips that follow can
empower consumer groups by strengthening
their consultation and feedback skills in
ways that will allow them to speak more
forcefully and more convincingly for
consumer welfare.
Representatives
A consumer representative is a member of a
government, professional body, industry or
non-governmental organisation committee
who voices the consumer perspective and
takes part in the decision-making process on
behalf of consumers. Ideally this person is
nominated by an organisation of consumers,
and is accountable to it. According to the
Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) of
Australia, the role of a consumer
representative involves:
• protecting the interests of consumers;
• presenting how consumers may feel and
think about certain issues;
• contributing the consumer experience;
• ensuring that the committee, agency or
regulator recognises consumer concerns;
• reporting the activities of the committee
to consumers;
• ensuring accountability to consumers;
• acting as a watchdog on issues affecting
consumers;
• providing information about any relevant
issues affecting consumers.
Consumer representatives are not the same
thing as representative consumers. The former
speak with a collective voice as members of
a consumer organisation, community or
public interest group. The latter tend to be
unaffiliated individuals whose role is to
provide the views of “ordinary” members of
the public. While this “lay person” model has
legitimate insights to offer, the “consumer
delegate” model is more likely to make
informed contributions, provide leadership
and confer legitimacy to the consultation
process.
In either case, the key issue is knowing one’s
constituency and understanding what it means
to be representative. It is essential to know
which consumers you serve, including any
groups or minorities within those consumers
who may have different needs or views from
the majority. The consumer representative
must always bear in mind which groups might
be under-represented. Those consumers who
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
use a particular product or service are not the
only people who may have something to say
about it. Non-users may have significant views
– especially when non-use stems from lack of
access to household utilities, health care and
other basic needs. The views of potential users
and of people who have used the product or
service in the past but no longer do so are also
important. Pro-active measures should be
used to seek out the views of the entire
constituency, broadly viewed.
Consultation
Consultation is a basic tool of representation,
as it translates the consumer’s right to be
heard into ideas and action. Effective
consultation requires a mix of methods and
techniques. Not least among them is not
assuming that you know what other people
want and what their priorities are.
Several forms of consultation are particularly
popular with consumer organisations,
including opinion research, surveys and
complaints analysis.
Opinion research falls into two broad
categories. Qualitative research explores
individual attitudes and behaviour, shedding
light on complicated issues where there are no
easy “yes or no” answers. Quantitative
research, often in the form of surveys, gives
numerical results and is useful in answering
straightforward questions and making
comparisons.
Expert analysis specifically commissioned to
answer to consumer concerns is a powerful
tool. Where resources are limited, other types
of opinion research, such as straw polls and
questionnaires, provide useful information
and can indicate directions for further enquiry
and problems to be addressed.
A good starting point is to find out whether
others have conducted work that may provide
the kind of information you need. Consult
with other consumer groups and tap into their
information-sharing networks and expertise.
Check with commercial enterprises, think
tanks, universities, professional bodies,
regulatory agencies and local governments.
Another valuable source of information about
consumer views on products and services is
from complaints. Complaints can bring to light
unmet, and unanticipated, needs, areas where
existing arrangements are going wrong. The
complaints-handling systems of public
agencies and private sector companies are
a good place to begin.
The growing array of consultation techniques
being developed by many citizen and social
movements are also useful for consumer
organisations. There are dozens of avenues for
soliciting the views of the people one has been
entrusted to represent: open meetings, polling,
market research, citizens’ panels and juries,
workshops, consensus conferences, Internet
forums, focus groups, face-to-face interviews,
participation in exhibitions and public events,
etc. Choosing the most appropriate ones
depends on the resources and time available,
and the use to which the results will be directed.
Effective Strategies
Once you’ve sounded out your constituency,
translate your findings into persuasive
arguments and telling questions. What plans
and strategies can a consumer organisation
use to get its views taken into account? What
qualities and skills can help an individual
become an effective consumer representative?
Every issue has its particular set of challenges.
In the field of health care, for example,
consumer voices must counteract the
predilection for “scientific” evidence over
qualitative research. In public utility
regulation, consumer representatives are often
up against debatable claims to commercial
confidentiality. Consumer quests for access to
medicines are hemmed in by international
patent and trade rules. Technical complexities
and industry clout make it hard for consumer
representatives working in food and product
standards to get a foot in the door.
While the scenarios will differ, the following
strategies are applicable to all. So are these
words of advise from public interest lawyer
Jerrold Oppenheim, who addressed CI’s
conference on public utilities, in 1998.
“You must have real power and it must be

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
perceived to be so. Fortunately, there are many
potential sources of power. Information is
power. People are power.”
1. Choose issues with care: “A consumer
group that complains about the quality of caviar
in a country with problems of malnutrition,
poverty and adulteration in staple foods is
unlikely to succeed in Codex work,” cautions Sri
Ram Khanna, author of CI’s training manual for
Codex representation. Focus on issues of real
concern and choose these with care.
Consumer groups attempt to represent the
interest of consumers, but any individual
action rarely represents the interest of all
consumers. Indeed, the conflicting interests of
diverse categories of consumers (as
distinguished by nationality, ethnicity, locality,
employment, income, gender, age, education,
sexual preference, etc.) means choosing
between, or at least prioritising, the interests to
be represented. One widespread problem that
consumer representatives face is that of
responding to the needs of ordinary, unsophisticated,
less aware, less articulate and lower
income consumers. It is also of great
importance to undertake research into the
needs of such consumers.
2. Understand the authority you are aiming
to influence: Research its functions and
responsibilities in relation to other authorities.
Go through its plans and programmes,
particularly in relation to your own plans. Get
a briefing with the authorities to discuss the
ground rules of representation.
3. Set objectives: Objectives must be rooted in
a realistic assessment of the ideal vs. the
possible. Useful questions to ask are: What
would your organisation ideally like to achieve?
What can your organisation realistically
achieve? Answers to the latter question must
reflect the context, time-scale and other
constraints. A useful approach to objectivesetting
is the SMART approach, outlined below:
• Specific: Objectives should be clear and
focused, with a clearly identifiable outcome;
• Measurable: Objectives should be measurable,
producing identifiable evidence or changes
that will confirm their achievement;
• Achievable: Goals should be possible to
achieve because of their clarity and because
they are within your capability;
• Realistic: Goals should be realistic in focus
and targeted outcome, rather than idealistic;
• Timebound: Objectives must be time-related
and strategically prioritised.
Beware Involvement
without Representation
What is the difference between involvement
and representation? This is a question that
Claudia Collado, coordinator of the Public
Utilities programme in CI’s Latin American
office, poses to consumer groups seeking to
assess the effectiveness of their advocacy role.
“Involvement and participation does not
necessarily imply successful representation,”
she cautions. “Participation provides opportunities
to be heard. Representation must
include the possibility of taking decisions in
the name of those who are being spoken for.”
Given that “the consumer voice will always
be a minority voice,” she recommends that
consumer groups consider the following
points in assessing representation on a
regulatory or oversight board:
• Has the consumer group maintained
independence, or is it perceived as having
lost autonomy?
•How much scope exists to disagree and to
go public with opposing opinions?
•Has participation increased interference or
political pressure in the internal affairs of
the consumer association?
• If, despite the best efforts of consumer
representatives, decisions are taken that
go against the consumer interest, will
consumer representatives lose legitimacy
in the eyes of their constituencies?
•Will representation without positive
results undercut the credibility of the
consumer organisation in the eyes of its
members and/or the general public?
• What steps can be taken if representation
turns out to be ineffective?
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
4. Educate authorities about your issue:
Tell authorities why your organisation is
involved and what its position is. Establish
your credentials with authorities. Send
working papers, write-ups and briefings.
Invite authorities to address your group.
Anticipate the questions you may be asked
as a consumer representative.
5. Identify allies: Get to know your consumer
counterparts. Caucus, consult and network
with potential allies outside the consumer
movement. Engage in international dialogue,
making use of CI networks. Take advantage of
broader alliances and coalitions to advance
consumer perspectives.
6. Examine industry involvement: What
issues are local/national industries interested
in and why? What are they doing about it?
Who among national industries is being
consulted? Who among the multinational
corporations is interested?
It is important to understand industry
concerns. When they conflict with consumer
concerns, they need to be countered.
Authorities may hold consultations with trade
and industry while excluding consumer
groups on the grounds that government
officials are responsible for protecting
consumer interests.
It is also important to understand the extent
of industry involvement and its influence on
national governments and international
agencies. At Codex, for example, it is not
uncommon for industry interests to sit on
national delegations and thus sway
proceedings. At the global level, industry
works in a sophisticated manner. Global or
regional industry and trade associations
routinely follow all meetings of interest to
them. To the extent that they advocate the
legitimate concerns of business, this is
acceptable. But when this monitoring function
becomes a vehicle for pushing business
interests at the cost of consumer interests, it is
cause for concern. Whether at the national or
international level, consumer groups need to
identify and check any undesirable industry
influences that can compromise consumer
welfare.
7. Watch your national delegations: It is
important to monitor the positions of national
delegations to international forums (like Codex
or the WTO) and to influence them. Get copies
of national reports to international meetings and
submit and circulate your comments. Seek entry
for consumer representatives on national
delegations. If denied, seek written explanations
and present these to higher authorities for future
consideration. Ask your government to
contribute to expenses incurred in representing
national consumers at international meetings, as
delegates or observers. Seek non-governmental
funding for travel support as part of, or parallel
to, national delegations.
8. Report back: Consumer representatives
must keep their constituents informed of work
done, lessons learned and progress made on
their behalf. Reporting back is an opportunity
for participation, consultation and feedback.
Representatives must be certain that what they
are doing still reflects consumers’ views. If not,
they must identify new priorities to act upon.
Good mechanisms for feedback and support
are also necessary to foster transparency and
accountability between the representative and
his or her constituency. Representation
involves being a part of the compromise that
is achieved. Parties to a compromise must
“deliver” their constituencies. Defending a
compromise may result in allegations of
having sold out by those not party to the
discussions and compromise reached.
Consumer representatives run the risks of
capture and co-optation, a trend often ascribed
to regulatory agencies whose initially dynamic
defence of the public interest often devolves
into ineffective bureaucracies and de facto
acquiescence to the industry they were created
to monitor. The social facts of co-optation and
collegiality must be recognised, as they are
likely to blunt the efficacy of representation.
9. Expect growing pains: As interest in
consumer participation increases, so do the
demands and expectations placed on representatives.
Often, a representative’s initial goal is
simply to legitimate consumer input and get
consumer issues taken seriously. Once this
succeeds, representatives may find themselves

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
flooded by requests for input and commentary
that require an expanding range of skills. The
demand for increasing professionalism
coupled with lack of training and chronic
under-staffing can slow down progress.
Another challenge of consolidation is that
original enthusiasms about consumer
representation can flag in the face of practical
experience. There are critical cultural and
operational differences in the way that
consumer and community groups function,
as compared to government bureaucracies,
professional organisations, industry groups
and others. Some differences stem principally
from the discrepancy in funding and staffing.
Others, like accountability, confidentiality and
potential conflicts of interest, can be dealt with
through the creation of mechanisms and
guidelines for transparency and ethical
conduct.
10. Get training: Representatives are often
“dealing with people who don’t necessarily
want to listen to their point of view and are
often sceptical of the representative’s aims,”
notes the National Consumer Council (NCC,
UK). Training can make a difference. Courses
like the NCC’s A Stronger Voice and those
offered by Australia’s Consumer Health
Forum bolster general representation skills,
including questioning and informationgathering
techniques, evaluation methods,
negotiation and persuasion skills, strategies for
handling conflict, lessons in creative thinking
and the like. Training possibilities for
representation work in campaign and
advocacy areas such as legislation, utilities,
food safety, trade/economics, using the law
and others are regularly offered by Consumers
International to its member groups.
11. Measure success: It is easy to see when
representation systems fall short of expected
standards of openness and independence, or
when their work is going wrong. But
monitoring and judging the substantive results
of consumer representation is hard to do. It is
relatively simple to record the activities of
representatives and representative bodies and
measure their outputs (e.g. numbers of
meetings, submissions to decision-making
bodies, public statements etc.), but there are
Effective Meetings
It is a fact of life that representatives spend
a lot of time in meetings. Here’s a checklist
to make the most of them.
Before meetings:
• Get the appropriate papers and make the
time to review them;
• Find out who will be attending;
•Identify areas of common ground
between you and others in attendance
and try to establish shared interests
before the meeting;
• Identify in advance key objectives for
relevant agenda items, using research,
background information, possible allies,
key difficulties, desirable outcome,
fall-back positions;
• Note likely follow-up action.
During meetings:
•Know the rules;
• Circulate your positions;
• Request amendments or add agenda
items if necessary;
•Keep the committee to its objectives;
•Make your points;
• Record dissent;
•Take notes.
After meetings:
• Reflect and evaluate;
• Report back to your organisation;
• Make or generate news based on
meeting outcomes;
• Collect new information and follow
up contacts;
• Plan for the next stage.
serious problems when it comes to evaluating
influence on decisions and events.
One reason is that there are so many other
factors at work – consumer representation is
only one input to a decision-making process
influenced by a range of other interests and
events. It is often impossible to determine what
effect each player has had on the eventual
outcome. Secondly, there are often long time
lags in policy-making, especially in law-making,
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
and this makes it even harder to unravel who
caused what. The third problem is that all
parties tend to be keen to claim ownership of
any policy change that benefits the public, so
there are often loudly competing versions of the
history of consumer policy and these may get in
the way of tracing real influences.
Because of these difficulties, there are no
ready-made evaluation tools available for
monitoring the success of consumer
representation and consultation. The consumer
movement needs to do more development
work in this field.
Meanwhile, the best approach is to formulate a
set of tests that reflect principles of good
representation, and collect whatever evidence
is available to assess the system and the work
of the representatives within it, according to
those criteria.
Here are six areas to consider:
• Is the representation system producing real
change that genuinely benefits consumers?
Are there concrete examples of successful
and unsuccessful attempts to change policy
and practice?
• Are the representatives in touch with
consumers? Do they have a strategy for
keeping up-to-date with consumers’ needs,
desires, behaviour and views?
• Does the representation system enable all
consumers to be represented, even when
there are differences of interests and needs
in the population?
• Do the representatives conduct their work
openly so that others can see what they do
and the arguments they put forward? Do
they publish reports explaining their work?
• Are the representatives demonstrably
independent? Are they becoming too close
to the decision-makers they deal with?
• If the representation system seems to be less
effective than you expected or hoped, is
there any obvious obstacle?
Use these questions as a starting point. If you
make progress in developing an assessment
system, Consumers International will help you
to share it with others.
Volunteers, Compromise,
Commitment Win
UN Guidelines
In 1975, the 8th CI World Congress passed
the resolution that launched the ten-year
campaign to get the UN to adopt a Model
Code of Consumer Protection. The campaign
was spearheaded by Esther Peterson, the
consumer rights activist who was CI’s
representative to the UN Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) during those years.
In an article written for the 1991 World
Consumer Rights Day publication, Peterson
recalled some of the tools and tactics that
went into this effort.
“A great deal of work was conducted in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. Some developed
countries, backed mainly by business
groups, expressed staunch opposition to the
Guidelines. But that opposition was counterbalanced
by strong pressure from consumer
groups and non-governmental organisations
urging adoption.”
“CI lobbied hard to convince delegates at
ECOSOC to support the Guidelines. There
were many revisions, reflecting a broad
range of concerns and compromises. One of
the best instruments we had in lobbying for
the Guidelines was a document prepared by
volunteer law students describing laws and
regulations spelled out in the Guidelines that
were already in effect in the United States
and other developed countries. Some
developed countries said: “These work for
us; we must see that they are extended to
other countries that need the help.”
“Delegations were visited, meetings were
held, and discussions were conducted. CI
insisted on holding firm to certain principles
as negotiations took place. At one point, the
opposition offered to support the passage of
the Guidelines if references to food, water
and pharmaceuticals were dropped. Of
course, CI would not agree.”
– from “Lobbying for the Guidelines” by Eileen
Nic and Esther Peterson in the 1991 World
Consumer Rights Day kit

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
5 The State of Representation
Results of a survey on representation
conducted among CI members bring no big
surprises and at least one encouraging
finding. Despite the fact that specific
ratings of “excellent” impacts are relatively
few, respondents view the overall impact of
consumer representation as more positive
than negative. This overview is based on
responses to a questionnaire distributed to
CI members and analysed by the UK’s
National Consumer Council for CI.
Designed specifically for World Consumers
Rights Day 2002, the survey paints an
interesting picture of consumer representation
around the globe. Nearly 70 CI member
groups responded to a questionnaire in which
they were asked to describe and rank various
categories and impacts of their activities in
consumer representation. Respondents were
also invited to submit case studies of notable
impact and/or need. Quantitative analysis of
the responses was conducted by Adam Smith
at the UK’s National Consumer Council and is
summarised here. Selected case studies are
included in Annexes B and C, with a copy of
the sample questionnaire in Annex D.
Fifty-four responses were received in time for
the survey analysis: five from Asia/Pacific;
nine from Africa; 17 from Latin America and
the Caribbean; 23 from Europe. The combined
data are significantly skewed by the data from
Europe and Latin America, due to the high
response rates from these regions.
The principal overall conclusion to be
drawn from the survey is that consumer
representation is strongest in the sectors of
consumer policy and protection, justice/
redress, environment, health, food security,
food safety, technical standards and utilities.
This is unsurprising, given that these are the
most obvious and traditional areas for
consumer advocacy.
The survey relays the encouraging news that
most respondents view the impact of
consumer representation as more positive than
negative. This is especially true for the issues
of consumer policy and protection,
justice/redress, sustainable consumption/
environment, food safety and technical
standards and utilities – issues where
consumer representation is most consolidated.
Transport is the only example in which
negative responses predominate. Only the
smallest minority of responses see consumer
representation as being “very poor” across
all areas covered in the survey.
Levels of representation taper off for
competition, trade/economics, education,
communication and information technology,
social issues/poverty alleviation, price
controls, gender/women, financial services
regulation and transport.
In the majority of cases where representation
occurs, it is the responding organisation that
represents consumers. In some cases, this role
is carried out in conjunction with other
organisations. The data from each region was
fairly consistent with the overall data, with the
following exception: in Africa, there is a
relatively low level of representation in
justice/redress, and a high level of
representation in social issues/poverty
alleviation.
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How are consumers
represented?
The options for representation listed in this
questionnaire included public committee,
written consultation, public meeting, citizens’
workshops, as a panel member and as a
technical/ consumer advisor.
The overall data shows a similar pattern to
question one: each process is represented more
frequently in the sectors of consumer policy
and protection, justice, food security and
safety, health, technical standards and utilities.
It is logical that the use of the different
methods of representation is more evident in
sectors where there is a greater level of
representation. Public committees, written
consultation and technical/consumer advisors
are the most common methods of consumer
representation across all areas. There are 213
instances of the use of public committees, for
example, compared with 136 of citizens’
workshops.
Responses from Europe follow a pattern
similar to the overall responses. Public
committees and written consultation are most
popular, followed by panel membership and
technical/consumer advisors, and, finally by
public meetings and citizens’ workshops.
The use of methods in the African region is
evenly split among the issues, with peaks at
consumer policy and protection and health.
Representation on public committees is the
method most employed here, followed by
equal recourse to written consultation, public
meetings, panel membership and
technical/consumer advisors.
The Latin American countries mirror the
general pattern. The exception here is
education, which includes a variety of
methods. Public committees, written
consultation, public meetings, citizens’
workshops and technical/consumer advisors
are employed in fairly equal measure, with
panel membership being the least used.
In Asia-Pacific technical/consumer advisors
and panel membership are the most common,
followed by public committees and written
consultation and public meetings. Citizens’
workshops appear to be used infrequently.
Representation methods seem to depend
as much on a country as on the issue.
The survey suggests that a country may use
only certain approaches to representation,
regardless of the issues. This suggests that
processes of representation may be more
dependent on national culture than
on the issues involved. An extreme example
of this is Fiji, where the only method of
representation used is on public committees.
Other countries may employ the full range
of methods cited in the questionnaire: public
committees, written consultations, public
meetings, citizen workshops, panel
membership and through technical input.
How long have consumers
been represented on
this body?
For easier analysis, responses to this question
were broken up into “less than one year,”
“one-to-three years,” “four-to-six years,”
“seven-to-nine years” and “more than nine
years.” These divisions were chosen to allow
for an analysis of how long consumer
representation has been established in specific
areas. After nine years, representation is likely
to be well established.
The overall data show that the areas where
representation is most firmly established
(that is, for over nine years) are consumer
policy and protection, justice/redress, food
safety and technical standards. These are
also four of the areas where consumer
representation was seen to be most evident.
The general pattern shows higher instances
of all lengths of representation in the
categories of consumer policy and
protection, justice/redress, environment,
health, food security, safety, technical
standards and utilities. But while many
of these areas have had representation for
over nine years, the majority have only had
it for six years or less.
Interestingly, the length of representation does
not necessarily reflect the success of impact.
Take the case of Guatemala, for example,

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
where respondents note that formal consumer
representation has existed for only a year (and
limited to a handful of bodies) but that its
impact is rated as “excellent.”
Responses from the European region reflect
the overall data pattern in terms of the
number of years that consumers have been
represented. Most instances of consumer
representation in place for over nine years
correspond to the areas of consumer policy
and protection, justice/redress, sustainable
consumption/environment, food safety and
technical standards.
The Latin American responses support the
findings of the overall data. In this case,
one-to-three years is the predominant
response, and by a high margin. This suggests
that consumer representation is not as
established in these countries as it is in
Europe. The number of bodies that have
consumer representatives is evenly spread.
In the Asia-Pacific region, consumer
representation is evenly spread between the
“one-to-three” year and “nine-or-more” year
groupings.
In Africa, however, a different situation is
apparent. In fact, representation for three years
or less garners the single highest response rate.
This suggests that consumer representation in
Africa is the least established of the four
regions. There are only a few instances (8)
of representation in place for more than
nine years, and all but one of these fall
within the areas of consumer policy and
protection, justice/redress, sustainable
consumption/environment, food safety
and technical standards.
What is the impact of
representation?
The majority of respondents are happy with
the impact consumer representation is having
in these areas. The overall data shows that the
largest minorities of respondents see the
impact of consumer representation as being
either “OK” or “good,” with “poor” coming
third and “excellent” fourth.
It is significant that only the smallest minority
of responses see consumer representation as
being “very poor” across all the areas covered
in the survey. Indeed, when “OK,” “good” and
“excellent” are combined (grouping together
the more positive instances of the impact) and
compared with “very poor” and “poor” (the
more negative instances), it is clear that most
respondents view the impact of consumer
representation in more positive terms than
negative ones. This is particularly true for the
issues of consumer policy and protection,
justice/redress, sustainable consumption/
environment, food safety, technical standards
and utilities. Transport is the only example in
which negative responses predominate. While
this data is encouraging, it also constitutes the
only subjective part of this survey, since the
rating of impacts may vary among countries
and respondents. However, the fact that
consumer organisations see their work as
having an impact is, of course, significant
in itself.
Although in the European region, “positive”
responses are higher for the areas of consumer
policy and protection, justice/redress,
sustainable consumption/environment, food
safety, technical standards and utilities, this
satisfaction is not as pronounced as in the
global data. The impact of representation is
reported as being “excellent” in only a few
instances. “Poor” is the second highest
response, suggesting that a significant
minority or respondents are unhappy with
the impact of consumer representation.
However, in all but three areas (transport,
competition and price controls), positive
responses about impact outweigh
negative ones.
In Latin America, the two largest minorities
see the impact of representation as “good”
or “OK.” But a sizable minority judges
impact as “poor” or “very poor.” Nonetheless,
positive responses outweigh negative ones in
all but a few cases. Positive responses
predominate in the areas of consumer policy
and protection, justice/redress, environment,
health, food security, food safety, technical
standards and utilities. The exceptions are
education and transport.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
In Africa and Asia-Pacific, positive responses
outweigh negative ones in general terms, and
positive responses also outweigh the negative
in all specific areas.
Specific Experiences
Members of Consumers International were
also asked to submit case studies on the
impact and the need for representation.
Respondents were asked to give an example of
where their organisation had changed a policy,
effected enforcement or had a positive impact
on consumers through exercising the right to
representation, and to describe the situation
before, the actions taken, and the situation
today. Respondents were also asked to submit
an example of where the organisation believes
that better representation would lead to a
significant improvement for consumers.
Some 45 case studies on impact and need
were received. Many of these were quite brief,
simply naming the area in which progress had
been made or greater representation sought.
Others were more descriptive, and a selection
of these is included in Annexes B and C.
While the quantitative analysis above
highlights the similarity of members’ work,
the case studies illustrate their diversity. This
is evident not only in the range of issues
presented, but in the tone and terms in
which these are described.
CI members in Denmark, Australia and
Germany, for example, said they were at pains
to complete the questionnaire, given the
extensive nature of their representation work.
“We are probably not typical,” wrote Benedicte
Federspiel of the Danish Consumer Council,
“because we are represented on all issues in our
ministries, on public committees, through
written consultation, in meetings, etc. We sit on
about 250 permanent councils and committees,
in addition to our ad hoc meetings with a wide
range of institutions, industries, etc.”
Nonetheless, while she judged that
“overall, our impact is good,” she noted that
representation on its own does not guarantee
success, since impact “also depends on
whether the political party or industry in
question wants to give in to consumers or not.”
Equally untypical was the response sent from
a regional branch of Argentina’s Unión de
Usuarios y Consumidores (UUC). “As evidence
of the absolute lack of protection faced by
consumers in our province,” writes Graciela
Yamaguchi, from Posadas, “we are unable to
respond positively to any of the questions on
representation in the CI member survey.” This
comment reflects the difficulties of conducting
consumer representation away from capital
cities and centres of legislative and political
power. Case studies submitted by UUC offices
in Posadas and in Buenos Aires describe similar
quests – obtaining consumer representation on
the regulatory boards of local public utilities. In
Buenos Aires, a consumer representative from
UUC headquarters has been appointed to an
oversight commission of the main water
supplier, and reports that, after just six months,
“it is premature to evaluate results.” In Posadas,
where no regulatory mechanisms exist for
oversight of the state-owned electricity
monopoly, the UUC branch office strategy is
to obtain a voice in mechanisms set up for its
eventual privatisation.
Securing consumer representation in
privatisation processes is a goal cited in
several cases studies, with success stories told
by Slovak Consumer Association, in energy,
and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, with
its participation in the National Economic
Consultative Forum. But winning a seat at the
table does not ensure that the appropriate
representative will sit there. “We have been
successful in having consumer representatives
placed on various committees overseeing the
privatisation of public enterprises,” writes
Alphonse Issi of Cameroon’s Mouvement
National des Consommateurs. “Unfortunately,
those potentially effective appointments have
often fallen upon persons who have no reason
to represent consumers.”
While the eclipse of state ownership may
provide new opportunities for some types of
representation, it closes avenues for others.
Emil Bojin, of Romania’s Association for
Consumer Protection, reports that successful
consumer representation is increasingly
difficult to obtain, in part because “authorities

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
have reduced the number of bodies” where
representation could occur.
Even where formal representation is abundant,
its impact is hamstrung by lack of resources –
a limitation encountered in rich and poor
countries alike. Even the august Consumers
Union (US) cites as a major obstacle to
representation work the “need for funding to
support staff travel and participation in the
policy-making arenas already open to us,
or could be, if we had the resources to
push for it,” writes Carolyn Cairns.
In Niger, for example, inclusion of the
Association de Défense des Droits des
Consommateurs in the Ministry of
Transportation’s National Committee was
a step forward. “Public transportation is
one of the least endowed sectors in Niger,”
writes Mahaman Nouri. “The auto fleet is
dilapidated, regulations are obsolete,
technical inspections are a mockery,
inspectors are corrupt, public roads are in
poor state of repair.” Consumers are the
victims of frequent accidents and high tariffs.
The National Transportation Committee
includes Ministry officials, delegates from
several transportation unions, carriers and
related technical unions, in addition to representatives
from two consumer organisations
(ADDC and ORCONI). The committee is
empowered to regulate a number of
important transportation issues, and is
entitled to drawn on resources provided by
the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture,
Industry and Artisanship. “But no resources
are available at this time,” adds Nouri.
As noted in the quantitative analysis,
strategies for exercising representation are as
likely to be defined by the national context as
by the specific issue. Illustrating this is the
following description from Senegal of the
realpolitick of lobbying, where good
connections and back-scratching were
required to carry the day. “At first, the skills
we needed (to sit on the Water Regulatory
Commission) were technical,” writes Dr
Ahmadou Abdoulaye Aidara of the
ADEETélS. “But subsequent steps demanded
lobbying and defensive action within the
government, and this required playing on
family relations, friendships and frank
collaboration between conflicting interests.”
Even so, representation strategies can backfire,
as the Burundi Consumer Association
discovered when its interventions before the
national Fuel Price Committee were “adversely
exploited” by other commission members. Like
other groups working in utilities, ABUCO cites
timely provision of information as a key need
to improve its defence of consumers before
regulatory bodies.
When representation cannot obtain soughtafter
benefits, or when involvement poses the
danger – or the perception – of co-optation,
defence of consumer welfare may demand a
serious re-thinking of representation from
within as a viable strategy. The case studies
showed that consumer groups are zealous of
their independence. For example, Brazil’s
Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor
(IDEC) lost the battle but won the war when it
was thrown off an advisory committee on
medicines for going public with its doubts
about medicines that were eventually banned.
Once avenues for representation have been
exhausted, alternative strategies may be
employed. Working with the media is often
effective, as is lobbying and other forms of
advocacy that tend to operate from the
outside in. Not least among these is legal
action. “In our experience,” writes Dr Horacio
Luis Bersten of Argentina’s Unión de Usuarios
y Consumidores, “the best type of consumer
representation is via class action suits that
reverse situations it would impossible to
change any other way.” Case studies from
consumer groups in India, Hong Kong,
Macao, Argentina and many other nations
seconded this view.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Representation at the
European Union
The fact that everybody is a consumer
should make consumer representation easy,
but the opposite is true. Everyone is a
consumer, but we are also citizens, workers,
employers, industrialists, farmers, traders,
professionals and so on. The impact of a
political decision for good or ill on
producers, for instance, is usually far
greater than the impact on individual
consumers, and this is one reason why
producers are more willing to spend money
to influence a specific policy point than
consumers.
BEUC, the European Consumers
Organisation, was founded in 1962 and
now represents 33 national consumer
organisations from 23 European countries.
Despite this representation at the European
Union (EU) level, it remains enormously
difficult to ensure that the interests of
consumers are adequately represented in
the decision-making process in the EU.
The Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to the
European Community, does not mention
consumer policy, and it was only slowly that
some elements of a common consumer
policy have been developed. One of the
main challenges currently is to integrate
consumer policy into EU policy as a whole,
as provided in the Amsterdam Treaty,
which entered into force in 1999.
Nowadays, representatives of independent
consumer organisations sit, as a matter of
course, on a wide range of consultative
bodies. These include the Consumer
Committee, which gives input on EU policy
affecting consumers, informs the European
Commission of national developments, and
reports to the Commission’s Health and
Consumer Protection Directorate (DG
SANCO). Many other advisory committees
also have consumer representatives.
Participation in advisory committees is
often important, but only as a small part of
a much wider advocacy process. There is
no permanent consumer representation at
the European Parliament or the Council
of Ministers, the other two main EU
institutions. At the former, consumer
policy is examined by the EP Committee
on Environment, Public Health and
Consumer Policy and by other committees,
notably the Legal Affairs Committee. In
the Council of Ministers, it is overseen by
the Internal Market, Consumer Policy
and Tourism Council, which meets about
four times a year.
As consumer advocates, we see ourselves as
one voice and accept fully the legitimacy
of other voices in public discourse. Public
policy and public welfare would be
poorer without strong and influential
representation of the consumer interest.
– by Jim Murray, Director of BEUC

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
6 Representation at the
Global Level
This chapter outlines CI’s efforts to
represent the consumer interest at the
global level. It is opened by CI President
Louise Sylvan, who outlines CI’s strategy.
Subsequent sections focus on food, trade,
utilities, standards, the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development
and the TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue.
One of the critical goals of Consumers
International is the creation of a strong voice
for consumers in the places where important
decisions are taken globally. Without
representation, the consumer perspective
would be virtually absent from the debates
about many issues that affect consumers in
quite fundamental ways. With the global
market, the importance or consumer
representation to balance business interests
cannot be overstated.
CI’s goal of creating of a strong consumer
voice through global representation has two
basic elements.
1. Creating policy recommendations,
coupled with the force and competence (in
presentations, networking and lobbying) with
which consumer representatives present the
policy positions on behalf of us all. This is not
just a matter of a good speaker, good strategist
or good networker. Critical to the force of
our presentations is the research we have
conducted on the issue – whether that
research has been conducted directly in the
marketplace, done from a desk, or is the result
of the compilation of the many consumer
experiences known to our members.
As an example of influential market research,
look at CI’s 1999 study on Internet shopping,
Consumers@Shopping. This was an absolute
agenda-setter that allowed us to set many of the
parameters of the global debate on e-commerce.
For a wonderful example of desk research,
Unpacking the GATT, published by CI in 1995,
is probably without peer as a demystifying
strategy. A prime example of aggregating
consumer grassroots knowledge and experience
to influence policy comes from the impact
assessments by CI members on WTO
agreements in agriculture and services, released
last October in Geneva. The fact that the WTO
held a seminar there on CI’s behalf, with
excellent attendance by government representatives,
shows how effective this can be.
2. Creating an influential voice in our own
nations before international meetings occur.
The national-global nexus is critical to our
success at international level. Our government
representatives come to these global meetings
generally with positions decided well before
they board the planes. The interplay
between governments and consumer
representatives at a global meeting is
generally as important as the work each of
our organisations has done in the lead-up to
that meeting.
What will be terrific – and we’re not far off
– is when our consumer representatives’
contingent is big enough for our members to
have the time to advise us if our governments
“misbehave” in the presentation of previously
agreed positions when they’re sitting at the
negotiating table. It’s certainly happened – I’ve
watched Australian government delegates
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
present a completely false stance in a
meeting. It can be very useful to criticise the
government publicly at home for their representations
abroad, or to go public with
criticism while the meeting is still on.
Immediate feedback mechanisms like these
are a good way for those of us involved in
CI campaigns and representations to keep on
top of the events as they occur and feel that
we’re almost part of the deliberations.
Over the past five years, CI has deliberately
inserted itself into strategic decision-making
settings. Food and trade are our global
priorities. Food was chosen because of the
large interest and working base of many of
our members – it’s always good to have solid
interest and expertise on the ground – and the
Codex Alimentarius has been the focus of this
work. Trade was selected because everybody
believed that the WTO and trade decisions
would drive a great deal of the world’s power
arrangements over the next decades. That
prediction is certainly true.
How are we succeeding as a global movement
in creating the powerful global consumer
representative voice? We’ve improved, and
we’re learning fast. But we’ve still got a long
way to go. When all the major decisionmaking
bodies and our governments know
that to exclude the consumer movement is
not only not right but will undermine their
credibility, when the right to representation
is written in concrete terms into their
procedures, and when international bodies
and government representatives really believe
that better public policy results from a process
of inclusion of the consumer voice rather than
its exclusion, then we’ll know we’re well on
the way to serving consumers the way that
we should be. – Louise Sylvan
Codex: Long-term strategy
to turn input into influence
The Codex Alimentarius Commission is the
UN body that sets the international food
standards used throughout the world as a
basis for national standards and to facilitate
trade in foodstuffs. CI’s three-year Codex
programme seeks to enhance consumer
influence at national and regional levels by
working through regional networks,
empowering member organisations (through
training and support) and promoting
international representation.
According to its mid-term review, conducted
in 2000, the Codex project has been “fairly
successful in implementing activities that have
resulted in greater consumer input in Codex
decisions, especially in the areas of food
labelling, food hygiene and risk analysis. But
this has not translated into expected influence
on Codex decisions.”Participation in Codex is
far from satisfactory, the evaluation states.
Few member organisations are consulted by
their governments, and access to Codex
documents remains unsatisfactory. Although
progress has been slow, some advances gains
have been made and the project has helped
increase the involvement of members in
policy-making.
In contrast, the project has increased the
capacity of members at the national level and
some consumer organisations have made
good progress in influencing their
governments on Codex issues. Many members
now have a good understanding of the Codex
process. A wide range of activities has
promoted the importance of Codex at the
national level. Well-researched and wellproduced
written materials have supported
campaigns. Urgent issues like GM foods have
been tackled in a comprehensive and
sustained manner. A significant number of CI
members have had the opportunity to
participate personally in a Codex meeting at
the regional or international level.
The project has carried out many activities to
increase recognition by national governments
of the need to get input from consumer
organisations. These activities have increased
the skills of member organisations to work
with National Codex Committees, which
has elevated their status in the eyes of
government officials involved in food
standard issues.
While the obstacles vary from region to
region, the common constraints to sustainable
work in Codex include lack of finances and
expertise, apathy of government, opposition

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
of industrial and commercial interests, and
biases against NGOs. However CI has made
well-recognised efforts to support the Codex
Secretariat in developing mechanisms for
increasing consumer involvement in Codex
and in monitoring implementation of these
mechanisms.
Among the lessons learned are those that
“future project(s) should be wider than Codex
and deal with food safety issues more
generally,” the evaluation concludes. “
[They] should still include the international
representation work of CI at Codex, but this
should be part of a broader project dealing
with food safety more holistically.”
Trade: Changing Mechanisms
Markets have been the stage for consumer
protection laws since the Hammurabi Code
decreed trial by ordeal for dishonest wine
sellers some 4000 years ago. Today,
consumers seek protection from global
markets by seeking their say in international
institutions created to dictate contemporary
rules of play.
The difficulties of building CI representation
in an area like international trade where
consumer groups have not traditionally
worked are three-fold, according to CI’s
Global Programmes Manager, Jayanti Durai.
First, consumers are generally unaware of
the implications of trade rules on their lives.
Second, consumer organisations often do not
feel comfortable in engaging in these issues,
as they aren’t used to discussing trade and
economics issues. Third, policy-makers may
not think that consumer organisations have
anything to say or that what they say
is credible.
Most consumer work is based on bringing
research to light to support a particular point.
In trade work, consumer representatives are
expected to be lawyers or economists, or both.
Consumer organisations are nonetheless
growing more aware of trade and are
beginning to be able to assess its impact.
The main difficulty consumer representatives
now face is that governments appear to think
everyone (trade unions, environment, etc.)
is more important than those who trade is
destined for – consumers. CI’s trade
programme has tried to enlist the media
as one way of getting our views heard.
This paves the way for getting governments
to accept the consumers’ point of view
as credible.
There are also multiple difficulties in
building representation at forums where no
mechanisms exist for NGO, or consumer,
input. Without formal mechanisms for
discussion with decision-makers, the
consumer representative has to traipse around
after each decision-maker attempting to be
heard. Lack of formal mechanisms means no
access to the agenda, which presents many
drawbacks: consumer representatives don’t
know when issues are being discussed, have
no idea of the tone or tenor of discussion to be
able to respond appropriately and can’t
transmit information back to the national
level. This makes it complicated to contribute
content-wise. In the end, those who have
influence in this kind of system are those
who are based in Geneva and can “hang out”
with delegations. Not many NGOs have this
opportunity, notes Durai.
CI’s structure as a confederation of member
groups, each with disparate and sometimes
conflicting interests, is another factor to
consider in exercising representation in
international trade forums and issues.
Obviously, trade has benefited some countries
more than others. Given the varying
experiences in trade, building a common
position is difficult. But if we are clear as to
our values – consumer rights – and our
priorities – the most vulnerable – it is possible
to agree on what we need to say, she writes.
The more research CI conducts and the more
all its members engage, the easier it becomes
to explore and discuss differences and to come
up with common positions.
CI can point to some successes in our
representation work. Consumers are now
regularly on government delegations to WTO,
as is the case of the EU and Uganda. And in
October, “CI wrote a little bit of WTO history,”
reports Durai. For the first time, the WTO
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
organised a meeting between an NGO and
WTO members, allowing CI to share the
results of its Consumers and Global Market
programme. The WTO facilitated a two-hour
seminar in its offices and invited WTO
members and staff to attend. Some 22
governments and many WTO officials were
present at the meeting. “The WTO was
impressed by the interest taken by its staff
and members,” Durai notes, “and is now
keen to repeat the exercise as a step to
improve external transparency.”
With the November 2001 WTO Ministerial
meeting in Doha behind it, CI is now shifting
its focus in trade work toward better
consumer representation in trade policy –
making at the national level, while
maintaining pressure at the global level.
Utilities: Tough
Learning Curve
Representation in the regulation of utilities
(energy, water and telecommunications) is a
deeply felt need of consumer groups in the
developing world. CI has strong programmes
to foster representation. The most consolidated
of these is CONSUPAL (the Spanish acronym
by which the project is known), launched in
1996 in five South American countries and now
extended to Central America. A major advocacy
project has also been conducted in Central
Europe. In Africa, smaller projects focusing
primarily on water have opened taps and
generated research.
In Latin America, efforts to increase
representation focus on consumer
participation in the regulatory processes and
boards that oversee tariffs, access and quality.
Until the 1990s, utilities there were largely
state-owned, as was the case in most of the
developing world. With the State as both
provider and regulator, there was little room
for outsiders. Many services were highly
deficient but, being highly subsidised, they
tended to be cheap.
The privatising trends of the past decade
transformed this panorama, as transnational
corporations bought up local services, often
replacing state monopolies with private ones.
The application of more commercial criteria to
service provision brought skyrocketing tariffs,
an explosion of consumer options (especially
in telecommunications) and an outcry from
users for a greater say.
While consumer representation is a main
goal of the CONSUPAL programme, this
takes places primarily through national
consumer groups in the form of advocacy
training, development of national action
plans, technical assistance, networking and
provision of funds and materials. Nonetheless,
the CONSUPAL coordinator is a well-known
figure in seminars, courses and forums
conducted at national, regional and
international levels.
Despite the lack of international regulatory
bodies, CI sought and obtained representation
in public utilities before the Latin American
Parliament (Parlatino), a permanent
consultative body to regional governments.
A cooperation agreement names CI as an
“advisor” to Parlatino committees on
Consumer Defence and on Public Utilities.
Representation on the former resulted in the
adoption, in 1997, of Parlatino’s Model Code
for Consumer Protection.
Consumer representation in utilities in Latin
America is still “minuscule,” says Collado.
The few concessions made are more windowdressing
than transformative, despite the fact
that many mechanisms for participation are
now available, including public hearings and
the possibility, in some places, of appointing
consumer delegates to regulatory oversight
boards, as in Argentina (water), Rio Grade de
Sul, Brazil (all utilities) and, shortly, Peru
(telecommunications). In Central America,
consumer representation is being generated
within much broader alliances for civil
society participation among NGOs
and unions.
The biggest obstacle to greater consumer
representation is the lack of political will by
governments, Collado believes. Governments
regulate and control and “so they think that
they can represent consumers, too, but this
isn’t true.” Resistance to consumer
representation also comes from the utility

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
operators and owners, including the persistent
double standard between transnational
company behaviour at home and abroad.
A third difficulty is the lack of credibility of
consumer organisations themselves, although
this is changing as activists gain training
and expertise.
The greatest road block along all three paths
is what Collado calls the “asymmetry of
information.” Consumers are “either
denied information, under the pretext of
confidentiality, or given too little, too late
to make an impact in policy design and
subsequent decisions.”
In Vital Networks, its report on public utilities
in four Central European countries (Hungary,
Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Czech Republic),
CI noted that “consumer representation is not
fully satisfactory in any of the countries
investigated. Although improvements had
been made and “ in fairness, they do represent
a step forward…there is a temptation to feel
grateful for such concessions by government.”
Nonetheless, “major efforts will have to be
made to help the new representatives make
their mark…We suspect that the new
representatives can look forward to a difficult
learning process. This has certainly been
the experience in the EU.”
CI at ISO: Small Victories
over the Long Haul
Consumers International was granted the
ability to be represented, as liaison members,
to International Standards Organisation (ISO)
through its recognition by the UN as
international body representing consumers.
This occurred in 1963. Although CI was not
active in standards at that time, it has now
been represented in standards for at
least 10 years.
CI applies for “liaison status A” in the areas
that interests it. This status allows CI representatives
to attend meetings, submit comments
and participate in various ways, except voting.
The chairperson of the specific Technical
Committee extends access to Working Groups
where the groundwork for the standard being
developed is made. CI has no representation
at the strategic level, although it does attend
COPOLCO (the ISO consumer policy
committee) as observers, where it has “a
good working relationship and an ability to
influence,” according to Sadie Homer, CI’s
Standards Officer.
Traditionally, CI has worked on issues of
safety (electrical, cars), contraceptives, and
environmental issues (including ISO 14000)
and ISO 9000 management systems.
Upcoming issues of interest to CI are the
so-called “softer standards” in e-commerce,
alternative dispute resolution (ADR),
complaints handling, services and corporate
social responsibility (CSR).
CI consults among its members in a number of
ways. Member surveys conducted in 1997 and
2001 on priorities and interests/activities of
members indicated that top issues are safety
of goods and services, environmental
standards, contraceptives and global
marketplace standards.
Strategies employed by CI to advance its
positions at ISO are constrained by lack of
resources and time. The Standards Officer
lobbies at COPOLCO and is in communication
with top ISO officials to advance consumer
perspectives and CI’s positions. CI representatives
contribute at technical committee
meetings and working groups, offering
consumer organisation research and data as
objective and unbiased input to influence
standards. “This is easier to do on product
standards than on softer issues,”
notes Homer.
Another important CI strategy is to network
with influential members at the Consumer
Policy Committee of the British Standards
Institute, a CI member, the Australian
standards body, and others for their
support for CI positions at the international
level. At the European Union level, CI works
closely with ANEC, the European Association
for the Coordination of Consumer
Representation in Standardisation, to build
cooperation with its members, many of
whom are CI members.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Agenda-Setting in
E-Commerce at the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) is dedicated to
improving consumer welfare through economic
growth, although not consumer welfare in our
sense of the term but in a more traditional
economic sense. Its 30 member countries all
have missions in Paris, where the organisation
is based. Government representatives attend
the meetings, give their governments’ views,
negotiate issues and report back to their
capitals. The OECD is not a legislative body. It
develops voluntary guidelines, best practice
recommendations and acts as a think-tank and
a policy playground for governments. It is
known for doing sound research.
The OECD gives us a platform to influence
long-term policy and provides access to a
considerable number of the world’s
governments, writes Naja Felter, Trade and
Economics Policy Officer in CI’s Office for
Devel-oped and Transition Economies. Our
relationship with the OECD varies considerably,
depending on the attitude of the
committees we deal with and the efforts we
have put into the relationship with them.
Both business and the trade unions have
formal observer status with the OECD. This
gives them automatic access to all meetings,
documents, etc. They are represented by BIAC
(business) and TUAC (trade unions)
committees. From time to time, there has been
talk in CI about Consumers International
becoming the third observer – “CIAC.”
However, achieving this goal would take a long
time, so we have been looking for other ways
of influencing the OECD committees in which
we are interested.
At the OECD Informal Consultation with Civil
Society Representatives in March 2001, CI’s
key message to the OECD was to improve its
relations to civil society. We suggested that the
OECD expand its consultation process to
include all stakeholders rather than just the
traditional client group, and that consultations
happen at the beginning of projects, giving
stakeholders improved opportunities to
influence and add value to the process and
outcomes. The next step was an official CI
visit to the OECD in June 2001 to establish
and improve relations with several OECD
committees. The visit has resulted in improved
relations with the targeted committees.
The OECD Guidelines on Consumer
Protection for E-Commerce are available at
http://www.oecd.org and are a good example of
CI influencing the policy process of the OECD.
When the Guidelines were adopted in
December 1999, they were the result of many
hours of negotiations in the Consumer
Committee, where CI spoke on behalf of
consumers. The Guidelines are not perfect.
We recently suggested ways of improving
them in our updated shopping report, Should
I Buy? Shopping Online 2001. But they are a
good example of how CI works to improve
consumer protection at the OECD.
Obviously, the OECD doesn’t listen to us only
because we are the international consumer
organisation. They listen because we know
what we are talking about. Our research on
online shopping, privacy protection and
dispute resolution in e-commerce is unique
and provides a strong platform for our
lobbying. Also, we build on the expertise of
the many experts in our membership. For the
OECD e-commerce work, we make good use
of our networks on e-commerce and bring our
experts with us to conferences and workshops
whenever possible so that they can speak and
lobby the government delegates.
We also work closely with other groups. For
instance, in our work on privacy, we benefit
from close cooperation with Privacy
International and the Electronic Privacy
Information Centre.
Other OECD committees have been less open
than the Consumer Policy Committee and
the Working Party on Privacy and Security.
The Trade Committee, the committees on
investment and multinational enterprises
and on biotechnology are all committees
with which we would like to improve our
relations. This will be a goal for CI over
the next years.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
The obstacles to greater CI representation at
ISO are many, according to Homer – starting
with time. Here is the list she dashed off in
response: “Where to begin? Resources/
coordinating resources needed to put
people/ideas together/produce position
papers/feedback/ training.”
ISO systems “need to be understood – they
aren’t easy!” she adds. “You have to know how
to work the system.” Getting consumer groups
to understand international standards, and
what consumer protection they can offer, is
not as automatic as it may sound. National
groups are busy on national issues and finding
time for them to operate internationally is
a challenge.
Resources are also needed to travel to
international meetings. Long-term activity is
required, which is especially difficult when
representatives change, and there must be good
coordination and briefing capacity from CI.
Last but not least, Homer notes that “industry
often dominates meetings and can make life
difficult, but this is changing – slightly!”
Successes in standards
• CI was the main advocate of condom trials
at higher temperatures to cover tropical
climates. CI members (notably IDEC of
Brazil and HKCC of Hong Kong) were
instrumental in preserving a three-year
shelf life, rather than the proposed
extension to five years.
• CI campaigned for the introduction of a
child-sized test finger for household
electrical products. Previously, only
adult-sized test fingers were used,
which would not prevent children being
electrocuted. As a result, microwaves and
vending machines now specify this in
their current product standards. CI is still
campaigning for its introduction across
all relevant standards.
• CI’s proposal for improved warnings on the
dangers of airbags was accepted in the form
TransAtlantic Consumer
Dialogue: A Venue for
Representation
The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue
(TACD) was born out of a statement at the 1998
EU-US Summit where presidents Bill Clinton
and Tony Blair invited civil society to establish
EU-US forums to provide input into the
TransAtlantic Economic Partnership. The
business community had been doing this since
1995 when they set up a TransAtlantic Business
Dialogue (TABD) to monitor and influence the
growing dialogue between the European
Union and the United States government. CI
was contacted as the ideal organisation to
coordinate a consumer counterbalance to the
success of the TABD. CI has served as the
TACD secretariat since then. The TACD was
launched in September 1998 in meeting
that gathered more than 60 consumer
representatives.
With the collapse of the Environment
Dialogue due to funding problems, and the
minimal activity of Legislation and Labour
Dialogues, the TACD has become the only
of a pictogram and text. The warning label
must be applied to all child car restraints.
• At COPOLCO, CI representatives and the
contributions of CI members played a key
part in the approval of two forthcoming
guides: Information for the guidance of
consumers engaged in standardisation
and Addressing the needs of older persons
and people with disabilities.
• The newest ISO/IEC Statement on
Consumer Participation in Standardisation
contains its strongest language yet on the
need for consumer participation and the
role of national standards bodies in
encouraging this.
• In October 2001, CI representatives from
the UK and Uganda joined ISO’s new
NGO Advisory Group on environmental
management standards – the first of its
kind at ISO.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
counterbalance to the strong business
influence on the transatlantic process.
TACD members participate through working
groups on specific issues. The Working Groups
formulate resolutions and recommendations
that are transmitted to the EU and US
governments. Some 65 resolutions have
been adopted since the birth of TACD.
A recent development has been the decision to
focus on a list of priority issues. The current
list of priorities includes the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) and trade in services, GM
foods, the precautionary principle, consumer
protection in e-commerce, and access to
medicines.
As it deals with government policies, the
TACD communicates almost exclusively
with EU and US officials. It does this
through its annual meeting, where
government officials discuss topics on an
agenda set by TACD members. There is a
smaller-scale Leaders Meeting held annually
in which the Steering Committee and Working
Group Chairs meet with a smaller number of
government officials. Through these meetings,
the TACD is slowly establishing relations that
will increase access to government officials
year round. The Dialogue is far from achieving
the kind of access that the TABD and business
community have built up and enjoyed over
the last decade.
There is now an informal arrangement for two
TACD representatives to be invited to every
other EU-US Summit to meet the three
Presidents (US President, President of the
European Commission, and the head of state
representing the EU Presidency). This is a
welcome symbolic gesture, but the ten minutes
allotted to meeting the Presidents makes it
little more than that.
Success for the TACD is hard to measure. For
example, access to medicines for developing
countries has been a priority for TACD and
was discussed face-to-face with government
officials at our meetings. But it is impossible to
tell how much influence, if any, the TACD had
on the EU and US governments’ change of
policy with regards to AIDS medicines and
their own pharmaceutical companies.
The TACD has also raised the interest of many
consumer organisations in the work of the
TransAtlantic Economic Partnership,
familiarised US organisations with the
European Union and its institutions, and
helped EU consumer organisations better
understand the political institutions of the US.
For more information, see: http://www.tacd.org

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Annex A: Organisations
Responding to Survey
1. Albanian Consumer Association, ALBANIA
2. Liga Acción del Consumidor (ADELCO),
ARGENTINA
3. Consumidores Argentinos, ARGENTINA
4. Unión de Consumidores y Usuarios,
ARGENTINA
5. Union for the Protection of Consumers’
Rights, ARMENIA
6. Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC), AUSTRALIA
7. Australia Consumers’ Association (ACA),
AUSTRALIA
8. Verein fur Konsumenteninformation (VKI),
AUSTRIA
9. Independent Consumers’ Union (ICU),
AZERBAIJAN
10. Minsk Consumer Society, BELARUS
11. Belarussian Society for Consumer
Protection (BSCP), BELARUS
12. Que Choisir Benin (QCB), BENIN
13. Comité de Defensa del Consumidor
(CODEDCO), BOLIVIA
14. Instituto Brasileiro de Politica e Direito do
Consumidor (BRASILCON), BRAZIL
15. Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do
Consumidor (IDEC), BRAZIL
16. Association Burundaise des
Consommateurs (ABUCO), BURUNDI
17. Mouvement National des Consommateurs
du Cameroun (MNC), CAMEROUN
18. Association pour la Défense des Droits des
Consommateurs (ADC), CHAD
19. Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios
de Chile (ODECU), CHILE
20. Macao Consumer Council, CHINA
21. Consumidores Colombia (COCO),
COLOMBIA
22. Croatian Association for Consumer
Protection, CROATIA
23. Cyprus Consumers Association, CYPRUS
24. Consumers Defence Association of the Czech
Republic (CDACR), CZECH REPUBLIC
25. Consumer Council, Denmark (DCC),
DENMARK
26. Fundación por los Derechos del
Consumidor (FUNDECOM), DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
27. Tribuna Ecuatoriana, ECUADOR
28. Centro para la Defensa del Consumidor
(CDC), EL SALVADOR
29. Consumer Council of Fiji, FIJI
30. Union Fédérale des Consommateurs
(UFC), FRANCE
31. Verbraucherzentrale Bundersverband
(VZBZ), GERMANY
32. Liga del Consumidor (LIDECON),
GUATEMALA
33. Hong Kong Consumer Council,
HONG KONG
34. General Inspectorate of Consumer
Protection (GICP), HUNGARY
35. Consumer Education & Research Society
(CERS), INDIA
36. Public Foundation – National Consumer
League of Kazakhstan (NCLK),
KAZAKHSTAN
37. Consumer Information Network (CIN),
KENYA
38. Club for Protection of Consumers Interests
(CPCI), LATVIA
39. Consumer Rights Protection Centre of
Latvia (LRCP), LATVIA
40. Consumers Union of Luxemburg,
LUXEMBURG
41. Organisation of Consumers Macedonia
(COM), MACEDONIA
42. Consumers Association of Malawi
(CAMA), MALAWI
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
43. Selangor and Federal Territory Consumers’
Association (SFTCA), MALAYSIA
44. Association des Consommateurs du Mali
(ASCOMA), MALI
45. Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor
(PROFECO), MEXICO
46. Association Atlas AIS, MOROCCO
47. Association de Défense des Droits des
Consommateurs (ADDC), NIGER
48. Forbrukerradet, NORWAY
49. Fundacíon del Consumidor y del Usuario
(FUNDECU), PANAMA
50. Instituto Panameño de Derecho de
Consumidores y Usuarios (IPADECU),
PANAMA
51. Association for Consumer Protection
(ACPR), ROMANIA
52. Association de Défense des Usagers de
l’Eau, de l’Electricité, des
Télécommunications et des Services
(ADEETélS), SENEGAL
53. Association pour la Défense de
l’Environnement et des Consommateurs
(ADEC), SENEGAL
54. Association Sénégalaise pour la Défense de
l’Environnement et des Consommateurs
(ASDEC), SENEGAL
55. National Consumers Forum (NATCOF),
SEYCHELLES
56. Association of Slovak Consumers,
SLOVAKIA
57. Consumer Institute of South Africa (CISA),
SOUTH AFRICA
58. Citizen Alliance of Consumer Protection
(CACPK), SOUTH KOREA
59. Dirección General de Consumo de CCM,
SPAIN
60. Department of Consumers Affairs, ST.
LUCIA
61. Konsument Forum, SWEDEN
62. Swiss Foundation for Consumer Protection,
SWITZERLAND
63. Consumer Affairs Division (CAD),
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
64. Centro de Estudios, Análisis y
Documentación del Uruguay (CEADU),
URUGUAY
65. Consumidores y Usuarios (CUA),
URUGUAY
66. Consumers Union (CU), USA
67. Vietnam Standards and Consumer
Association (VINASTAS), VIETNAM
68. Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA),
ZAMBIA
69. Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ),
ZIMBABWE

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Annex B: Examples of Success
This annex highlights examples of
the impact of successful consumer
representation. For further details,
please contact the person listed.
Armenia: Consumers have their say on
legal changes
The Union for the Protection of Consumers’
Rights and the National Association of
Consumers carried out a survey in 2001 on
consumer concerns in relation to a proposed
consumer protection law. As a result, they
were able to recommend changes in the draft
law to the authorities, and 60 per cent of these
were adopted.
Contact person: Abgar Yeghoyan
E-mail: abgar@freenet.am
Australia: E-commerce and
spam guidelines
Australia, like most other countries, had no
government-endorsed guidelines for the
protection of consumers in e-commerce. As a
result of OECD work on consumer protection
in this area, Australia set up an advisory body
to the Ministry for Financial Services and
Consumer Affairs on which the Australia
Consumers’ Association (ACA) was
represented, along with legal people, the
Internet industry and private businesses
involved in e-commerce. ACA canvassed
hundreds of consumers through its website,
and together with the Internet Industry
Association successfully lobbied the Minister
to take an “opt-in” position on spam
(unsolicited mail). This means that businesses
may not e-mail consumers unless they have
their permission to do so or the consumer is
already a customer. Australia is currently the
only nation to date to have clearly articulated
this position.
See the Australian government guidelines for
consumer protection matters in e-commerce at:
www.ecommerce.treasury.gov.au/
Contact person: Louise Sylvan
E-mail: lsylvan@choice.com.au
Australia: Price gouging prevented
The Australia Competition and Consumer
Commission (ACCC), a governmental body,
introduced a provision into federal legislation to
prevent exploitation of consumers following the
enactment, in July 2000, of a Goods and Services
Tax. It was concerned about the possibility of
exploitation due to lack of awareness of the
effects of the new tax on prices.
The ACCC also set up a government-funded
consumer consultative group to gauge how best
to distribute relevant information to empower
consumers in relation to price exploitation.
Included in this group was a broad range of
national consumer represen-tatives. The group
lobbied compensation for consumers in the
event of exploitation and for intensified price
monitoring of products and services that most
impact disadvantaged or low-income groups.
As a result of this consultation with consumer
advocacy groups, the ACCC produced
explanatory publications and delivered them
to every residential address in Australia.
It produced versions in six languages and
established an indigenous officer to take phone
complaints and enquiries. It also conducted
enforcement actions, resulting in almost $9.5
million in refunds to 528,000 consumers.
This contributed to a low incidence of price
exploitation, due to consumers’ vigilance and
the pressure placed on business to alter prices
carefully and correctly.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Contact person: Nick Atkins
E-mail: web.master@accc.gov.au
Azerbaijan: Tobacco industry curbed
Representation work by the Independent
Consumers Union (ICU) during 2001 within
Parliament helped to stiffen existing controls on
tobacco advertising by making certain types of
advertising illegal. ICU also successfully
campaigned for a ban on local manufacture of
non-filter cigarettes. As a result, it is estimated
that the total number of smokers has fallen by
15-20 per cent.
Contact person: Eyub Husseynov
E-mail: eyub@consumer.baku.az
Brazil: Battling for better condoms
The Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do
Consumidor (IDEC) has campaigned steadily
for higher quality standards for condoms.
It wants rigorous and regular testing of the
various brands on the market, both national and
imported. The first tests in 1992 established that
Brazilian norms were considerably lower than
international levels, resulting in changes to
regulations. Further tests conducted in 1996
found that 13 of 20 brands were still below the
acceptable standard. At IDEC’s urging
additional measures were taken, including
heavy fines on importers of brands that failed
quality controls, and improvements to the
government certification system, including an
ISO norm for products for tropical countries
(See related article, page 41). More tests in 2000
were satisfactory: of the 17 brands tested, only
one failed the quality controls, a victory for the
process of regulation and monitoring.
Contact person: Marilena Lazzarini
E-mail: coex@uol.com.br
Brazil: Presidential election debates
To raise the profile of the consumer’s right
to a stronger voice in the formation of
government policy, the Instituto Brasileiro
de Política e Direito do Consumidor
(BRASILCON) has the following strategy: get
presidential candidates in upcoming October
2002 elections to take up consumer issues as
planks of their electoral platforms. Brazilian
consumer groups conducted a similar exercise
in the past presidential campaign, mobilising its
members to demand formal statements from
candidates on issues of consumer welfare, thus
raising the profile of consumer protection as an
electoral issue.
Contact person: João Batista de Almeida
E-mail: brasilcon@uol.com.br
Burundi: Restoring insurance
payments
Many public officials in Burundi are affiliated
to a health insurance system called the
Government Employees Mutual Aid
Association. This system defrays a certain
percentage of expenses incurred for medication
(between 70 and 80 per cent) and health care (80
per cent). Over time, however, hospitals have
instituted a system for making the patient pay
for expenses that should be covered by this
health insurance. For a Caesarean birth, for
example, the hospitals charge the patient for all
materials used, leaving only the hospital and
doctors’ bills for the health insurance system.
As a member of the Medical Care Rate
Adjustment Commission, the Association
Burundaise des Consommateurs (ABUCO)
has been successful in defending the position
that this health insurance was intended to cover
a greater portion of the bill, that expenses have
been unjustly charged to patients and that all
expenses should be detailed on a single bill.
Contact person: Nestor Bikorimana
E-mail: abuco@cbinf.com
Cameroon: Consumers get voice in
World Bank programmes
The Mouvement National des Consommateurs
du Cameroun (MNC) lobbied successfully to
get consumer protection issues integrated into
programmes for health, social services,
education and governance that form part of the
National Resource Management Programme
financed by the World Bank scheme for Highly
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
Representing consumer interests on the National
Standardisation Committee, the MNC also
successfully pressed for mandatory labelling of
GM foods in the standard on pre-packaged
foods, enacted in 2001.
Contact person: Alphonse Issi
E-mail: issi1943@yahoo.fr

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Chad: Reining in the power industry
The state monopoly power company has long
abused consumers with extremely high prices,
significant delays in connections, an arbitrary
billing system and, above all, its ban against
using other sources of energy without prior
authorisation. “This government monopoly
is not at all troubled by consumer concerns,”
writes Daouda Elhadj Adam of the
Association pour la Défense des Droits des
Consommateurs (ADC). Fortunately, ADC’s
input into draft laws to reform the sector is being
taken into account. At its suggestion, consumers
will be represented on the Electric Energy
Regulatory Agency – “a means of intervention
that will effectively contribute to consumer
access to this basic commodity.”
Contact person: Daouda Elhadj Adam
E-mail: daoudaadam@yahoo.com
Colombia: Campaign gets GM soya
off the menu
Prolonged crisis in Colombian agriculture has
halved domestic production of maize and soya.
As a result, the country now imports 70 per cent
of its maize and 80 per cent of its soya needs.
Imports of both grains have tested positive for
genetic modification, but existing norms regulate
GM content only for GM grain imports to be
used for cultivation. (This amounts to less than
10 per cent of total imports.)
Consumidores Colombia (COCO), with the
support of university staff, civic rights, trade
union and community organisations, tested
imported soya beans supplied for a national food
aid programme (ICBF). When these proved to be
genetically modified, COCO organised a media
campaign, public forums and briefings on the
dangers of GM foodstuffs. As a result, the ICBF
withdrew the GM soybeans from its national
programme for mothers and pre-school age
children. The success of COCO’s efforts also paid
off in greater support for its demands for a seat
on Colombia’s National Codex Committee, to
which it was subsequently admitted.
Contact person: Luis Fernando Mejía Franco
E-mail: consumidorescolombia@hotmail.com
Côte d’Ivoire: Ten Commandments
Waves of price hikes in Côte d’Ivoire put
impoverished consumers in a position of great
vulnerability, but the government was unwilling
to accept responsibility for alleviating their
plight, writes N’Goran N’da of the Federation
Nationale des Associations de Consommateurs
de Côte d’Ivoire (FAC-CI). Further complicating
the panorama was the fact that the government
was reluctant to recognise the role of consumer
representatives in the debate.
One strategy adopted by FAC-CI to gain
legitimacy was to educate the government by
drafting a document outlining its obligations to
consumers. These Ten Commandments
set out the role that consumer representatives
believe the government should play in
consumer protection. Responsibilities cover
market regulation, legislation, price controls,
and mechanisms for consumer representation,
including subsidies to consumer organisations.
Since promoting the Ten Commandments,
requests for FAC-CI to represent consumers on
different bodies have multiplied.
Contact person: N’Goran N’da
E-mail: cia@africaonline.co.ci
Croatia: Consumer protection bill
goes to Parliament
The Croatian Association for Consumer
Protection (CACP) is a founding member of
a coordinating committee that represents
consumers before parliamentary committees. As
such, it lobbied for the consumer protection law
that passed its first reading in March 2001.
CACP also took on the monopoly telephone
company, obtaining improvements in billing
practices and customer service. The most
important impact of representation, writes
Vesna Brcic-Stipcevic, “is to give Croatians
more faith in individual initiatives and more
optimism to rule their lives.”
Contact person: Vesna Brcic-Stipcevic
E-mail: huzp@zg.hinet.hr
Cyprus: Better milk standards
Participating in the Cyprus Standards
Organisation as a member of its committee, the
Cyprus Consumers Association (CCA) was
able to improve the quality of milk delivery.
Formally, farmers would leave small milk
containers by the side of the road for pick-up by
lorry, which would often take hours, causing
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
spoilage. The CCA presented this situation to
the standards body and, after long discussion
and exchange of correspondence, managed to
improve milk handling throughout a farm-toconsumer
process with refrigerated lorries,
hygienic packing and a mandatory sell-by date
on milk cartons. Monitoring procedures were
also improved at supermarkets for better
storage. As a result, consumers in Cyprus are
drinking better quality milk and are more alert
to the expiration date.
Contact person: Dinos Ioannon
E-mail: cyconsas@spidernet.com.cy
Ecuador: Consumer rights are
human rights
In 2001, the Ecuadorian government created
a National Human Rights Plan, drawn up in
broad consultation with civil society. This
included the creation of plans by sector and
the establishment of a Permanent Evaluation
and Follow-up Commission. The Tribuna
Ecuatoriana has been elected as one of the five
civic bodies on the watchdog commission for
the human rights plan and is coordinating its
work on consumer rights. So far, 10 subcommissions
in Quito and 30 in the provinces
have been organised. Funding has been secured
from the UN Human Rights Commission for a
nationwide campaign, with workshops in 25
cities, to publicise Ecuador’s consumer
protection law.
Contact person: María José Troya
E-mail: tribuna@hoy.net
El Salvador: Fair electricity price for
small farmers
New electricity tariffs in 1998 put prices up to
small rural consumers by 900 per cent, badly
hitting some 300 communities that employ
electricity to pump water. The Centro para
la Defensa del Consumidor (CDC) lobbied
congressional authorities for tariff reductions
to benefit some 1,200 rural communities.
Legislation prepared by CDC proposed the
creation of an investment fund through
which the debts of these communities would
be used to invest in electricity and telephone
infrastructure.
Contact person: Armando Flores
E-mail: direccion@cdc.org.sv
India: Freedom of Information act
In 1979, the dam across the Machchu river in
the Morbi area of western Gujarat State
collapsed, flooding villages, killing 1,800
people and destroying property and cattle
worth millions of rupees. The disaster posed
the question: is dam safety a consumer
issue? Yes, said the Consumer Education
and Research Society (CERS). The
Ahmedabad-based consumer organisation
went to court twice to challenge government
decisions attempting to silence enquiries into
the disaster. The incidents raised the issue of
citizens’ rights to information.
CERS and other consumer organisations
proposed legislation and lobbied for a
Freedom of Information Act, which is now
being debated in Parliament. Once passed,
“an atmosphere of openness in government
affairs and its dealings with the citizens will
be ushered in,” writes Manubhai Shah.
Contact person: Manubhai Shah
E-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net
Kazakhstan: Putting consumer
rights back on the agenda
At independence in 1991, Kazakhstan passed
a weak consumer protection law. Its 1995
Constitution undermined this law even further.
In 2001, the National Consumer’s League of
Kazakhstan (NCL) hosted a Regional Round
Table with consumer rights groups from
Central Asia and the Caucuses. The meeting
produced a draft consumer protection bill now
under debate. As a result of its work with
governmental officials, NCL proposals for
consumer education are now under
consideration by the Ministry for
Regulation of Monopolies.
Contact person: Svetlana Shamsutdinova
E-mail: consumer@nursat.kz
Macedonia: Legislation approved
The Consumers Organisation of Macedonia
(COM) says it “has one main target – to
improve consumer protection in the legal
system.” COM took a leading role in getting a
consumer protection legislation passed in 2000.
Among its strategies was participation in a
Ministry of Trade working group to draft the
text, and organising public meetings between

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
consumers and experts to improve its
provisions.
Contact person: Marijana Loncar Velkova
E-mail: marlon@soros.org.mk
Malawi: Protest over petrol prices
High prices of fuel products (petrol, diesel and
paraffin) affect the prices of many consumer
goods and services. The Consumers Association
of Malawi (CAMA) lobbied for a review of
petroleum prices, but the government was
reluctant to comply. CAMA then organised a
demonstration to express its disappointment and
dissatisfaction. Though peaceful, the
demonstration ended in the arrest of several
CAMA officials. But the message reached the
President and he ordered that CAMA be
incorporated in the Petroleum Pricing
Committee.
“When we started sitting on this committee,
we discovered levies on products that did not
make sense,” writes CAMA’s John Kapito.
“We advocated from within for the removal of
levies, thus obtaining lower petroleum prices, to
the delight of consumers.”
“Since we began representing consumers on the
pricing committee, the price of petroleum
products has remained relatively fair, reflecting
international market trends, and no levy has
been enacted without our consent, which
represents the consent of the consumer.”
Contact person: John Kapito
E-mail: cam@malawi.net
Mali: Taking on the bus carriers
In 2000, carriers in the suburb of Kati-Bamako
arbitrarily increased their fares. The population
of Kati rebelled and appealed to the Association
des Consommateurs du Mali (ASCOMA) for
help. They also invited other carriers to take over
the route at a more reasonable price. ASCOMA
interceded with the district authorities, got press
coverage for the issue and negotiated with
municipal and union officials. As a result, the
people of Kati were able to impose their rates on
carriers and stop the abuses. And ASCOMA
now has a branch office in Kati.
Contact person: Coulibaly Salimata Diarra
E-mail: ascoma@datatech.toolnet.org
Niger: Better transport sought
“Public transportation is one of the least
endowed sectors in Niger,” writes Mahaman
Nouri of the Association de Défense des Droits
des Consommateurs (ADDC). “The auto fleet is
dilapidated, regulations are obsolete, technical
inspections are a mockery, inspectors are
corrupt, public roads are in a very poor state of
repair. The surcharges in the public
transportation of people and goods make
consumers victims, in addition to the fact
that accidents are very frequent.”
However, the work of consumer organisations
in general is helping to obtain improvements.
ADDC is a member of the National
Transportation Committee, along with
representatives from government and transport
unions. ADDC’s public campaigns have raised
the issues and sparked debate among users. As
a result, carriers and government authorities
have initiated changes in regulations, including
higher quality standards and road repairs.
Contact person: Mahaman Nouri
E-mail: addc@intnet.ne
Norway: Voluntary conflict
resolution committees
In Norway, there was no other place to take
consumer complaints than to the ordinary court
system. It was a time-consuming process and, if
you lost your case, expensive.
A Public Conflict Resolution Committee was
established in 1979 on the initiative of the
Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet)
under the newly amended Purchase Act.
The committee was independent, but
Forbrukerrådet prepared the cases put before it.
However, many complaints fell outside
the competence of the committee. So
Forbrukerrådet and certain businesses
(insurance, banks, laundries, travel agencies,
etc.) established voluntary conflict resolution
committees.
These committees or “courts” have one or two
delegates, and are chaired by a lawyer. The
decisions taken by these committees can be
appealed to the ordinary court system. But this
rarely happens. An important by-product is that
businesses have improved their practices.
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Forbrukerrådet handles practically all complaints
going to the public and voluntary committees.
Not surprisingly, it receives an enormous
quantity of material about consumer problems
that it uses as a basis for planning its activities.
Contact person: Finn T. Aas
E-mail: Finn.aas@forbrukerradet.no
Senegal: Clear water bills
As the consumers’ representative on the
watchdog body for Senegal’s private water
company, the Association de Défense des
usagers de l’Eau, de l’Electricité, des
Télécommunications et Services (ADEETélS)
spotted a serious inconsistency in billing
arrangements. This error meant that all
consumers were paying value-added tax (VAT)
on their full water supply, despite agreements to
provide a sliding tax scale depending on
consumption. ADEETelS used its access to the
monitoring board to propose reforms that
eventually led to the bills being properly
calculated with the tax exemption.
Contact person: Dr Ahmadou Abdoulaye Aidara
E-mail: adeetels@sentoo.sn
Slovak Republic: Helping
consumers query electricity bills
In 1995 the Association of Slovak Consumers
(ASC) formed its own energy commission to
help consumers understand their electricity bills.
ASC support took the form of written
presentations and recommendations to the
utilities company. Over the past five years,
the number of customer claims and complaints
has fallen steadily. In addition, consumer
representatives were asked to participate in the
tender selection committee for energy.
Contact person: Zuzana Durianova
E-mail: zss@zss.sk
Sweden: Ethics of GM labelling
The Swedish consumer group, Konsument-
Forum has been active nationally on GM issues
since 1995. Its efforts have convinced the food
industry and the government to accept
mandatory labelling of all GM foods, including
food oils and food additives. It has also argued
successfully that antibiotic resistant marker
genes are unacceptable to consumers – a position
later adopted by the Swedish government. It
holds that health or environmental risks are not
the only legitimate consumer concerns; ethical
and global concerns must also be taken into
account in the GM debate. As a result of its
activity at the national level, many of these
concerns are now included in the European
Commission proposal for labelling and
traceability of GM foods.
Contact person: Martin Frid
E-mail: konsument-forum@konsumentsamverkan.se
Zambia: Fair electricity prices
Prior to December 2000, the monopoly power
company ZESCO used an Automated Tariff
Adjustment formula to set tariffs, taking into
account the prevailing exchange rate. In practice,
this meant that ZESCO raised prices twice a year.
The Zambia Consumers Association (ZACA)
wrote to the Energy Regulation Board to advance
consumers’ complaints. The board then ruled
that the automated tariff adjustment formula be
abolished, and that “all concerned parties meet
later to determine another method agreeable to
all parties”. As Muyunda Ililonga writes: “A
public policy was changed, ZACA had made a
mark and the consumers were happy!”
Contact person: Muyunda Ililonga
E-mail: zaca@zamnet.zm
Zimbabwe: Protections in
neo-liberal reforms
In the past decade, Zimbabwe has felt the impact
of structural adjustment policies, which have
removed price controls and subsidies. Active
representation efforts by the Consumer Council
of Zimbabwe (CCZ) have left the Zimbabwean
consumer “better protected now than at the
inception of the new economic programmes,”
writes Elizabeth Nerwande. CCZ is a member of
the National Economic Consultative Forum, a
multi-sector policy advisory forum to the
government. It is also a member of the Tripartite
Negotiating Forum, with government, labour
and business bodies, where it seeks to raise
consumer protection policy as a mainstream
issue. CCZ efforts include lobbying for the
introduction of a small claims court, a
competition commission and legislation to
allow class action suits.
Contact person: Elizabeth Nerwande
E-mail: consumer@africaonline.co.zw

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Annex C: Improvement needed
This annex presents selected case
studies on the need for better consumer
representation.
Argentina: Small claims
court stalled
“The amount of damage cannot be the factor
that decides whether or not there is access to
justice,” says the Liga Acción del Consumidor
(ADELCO), which has been campaigning
since 1985 for the creation of small claims
courts in Argentina. ADELCO was a prime
agent in getting protection of consumer
rights included in the Argentina Constitution,
and it is active in consumer representation
in the areas of justice and redress through
participation in public committees, written
consultations, citizen workshops and
provision of technical inputs. Nonetheless,
the small claims court proposal has been
stalled in Congress for years. In 2001,
however, ADELCO seized a new
opportunity to represent its project to
the city of Buenos Aires, in a project of
municipal reforms.
Contact person: Ana María Luro
E-mail: adelco@speedy.com.ar
Brazil: Consumers seek
standards input
A comprehensive proposal to create an
advisory committee for consumer input into
standards has been presented by the Fórum
Nacional, a national coalition of 24 consumer
organisations, led by Instituto Brasileiro de
Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC).
IDEC, whose work on standards has had
international impact, belongs to the National
Council for Standards and Industrial Quality
(CONMETRO), as member of a tripartite
working group composed of producers,
government representatives (from the
Ministers of Justice, Health, Agriculture
and Science) and consumer delegates.
The proposal would create a new body, the
Brazilian Consumers Committee (CBCON,
Comité Brasileiro de Consumidores) to advise
the National Standards System (SINMETRO)
and to foster participation of consumer
representatives in standards work. The
initiative cites the work of the European
Association for the Coordination of
Consumer Representation in Standardisation
(ANEC) as a model, and notes that
government support for consumer
representation in standards work has
been key to its success.
Among the points raised by IDEC in this
proposal is the need for “symmetry of
information for consumers and producers.”
Contact person: Marilena Lazzarini
E-mail: coex@uol.com.br
Burundi: More timely info
Information must be received in a more
timely fashion in order for the Association
Burundaise des Consommateurs (ABUCO)
to satisfactorily represent the interests of
Burundi’s consumers before the commission
that regulates oil prices. “All too often, we
find ourselves at a disadvantage,” writes
Nestor Bikorimana, “[stuck] between a
private profit-driven sector and a tax-hungry
government which exchange information
between themselves in advance of
commission meetings. Sometimes, ABUCO
only sees the working documents for
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World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
discussion at the meeting itself, leaving us
badly positioned to argue effectively on
behalf of consumers.”
Contact person: Nestor Bikorimana
E-mail: abuco@cbinf.com
Caribbean: Government consumer
bureau seek NGO allies
To encourage the formation of independent
consumer groups, St. Lucia’s Department of
Consumer Affairs recently conducted a series
of public meetings and consultations in
coordination with Consumers International.
The product of these meetings was the creation
of a non-governmental body that will take on
responsibility for advocacy on behalf of local
consumers. The Consumer NGO is now
functioning through a Steering Committee.
The Department of Consumer Affairs also
sought guarantees from the Attorney General
that independent consumer associations will
be afforded due recognition under St. Lucia’s
proposed consumer legislation, through
provisions incorporated into the Consumer
Protection Bill to be presented to Parliament.
The general public is aware of both the
existence of the governmental office and
the fledging NGO group, writes Philip
McClauren, director of the
governmental bureau.
Contact person: Philip McClauren
E-mail: mitandt@candw.lc
In Trinidad and Tobago, too, consumer
interests are represented mainly by the
governmental Consumer Affairs Division.
“One major disadvantage of a government
consumer agency is the perception that it is
not interested primarily in the interests of
consumers,” writes Wendy Williams, its
director. “We have been able to achieve some
measure of representation for consumers
by conducting public consultations and
including consumer views on consumerrelated
government policy. The government
office encourages communities to form
consumer groups, although it is unable to
offer them resources.“ The absence of a
strong consumer movement limits the
participation of consumers in the policy-
making process on matters that affect them,
Williams notes.
Contact person: Wendy Williams
E-mail: consumer@trinidad.net
Hong Kong: Broader definition
of ethical behaviour
“A complaint of unethical conduct was
made by a patient whose doctor had used a
mobile phone for personal business while
conducting a surgical procedure in an operating
theatre,” writes Pamela Chan, of the Hong
Kong Consumer Council (HKCC). These types
of complaints are currently heard by a
commission of doctors, who apply narrow
professional criteria to the definition of
disgraceful, unethical or dishonourable
conduct. The HKCC is lobbying legislators
for better consumer representation on the
complaints-handling body, not only in terms of
the individuals sitting on the commission, but
for greater participation of stakeholders in the
wording of relevant texts.
Contact person: Pamela Chan
E-mail: cc@consumer.org.hk
India: Presenting alternative
models for input on drugs
A recent example of the need for consumer
representation occurred in June 2001, when
Consumer Education & Research Society
(CERS) appealed to the National
Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)
after several brands of aspirin disappeared
from the market following governmentmandated
price cuts. While urging the NPPA
to intervene, CERS also urged manufacturers
to keep supply lines open, “even if it
means, temporarily, selling with small
profit margins.”
Aspirin is back on the market, but parallel
attempts are being made to substitute aspirin
for paracetamol in pain-killer formulations
without educating consumers. Brand names
are confusing and consumers are likely to be
misinformed, to the detriment of heart
patients, who need aspirin, not paracetamol.
To resolve these and other problems regarding
drug pricing and access, CERS is seeking

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
consumer representation on the Drugs
Technical Advisory Board and the Drug
Consultative Committee. CERS also seeks
representation before the NPPA
which, it claims, is an ineffectual regulatory
agency that has allowed “pharmaceutical
companies and retailers to enrich
themselves at the expense of consumers
and their safety.”
One of the strategies CERS is employing to
present its appeal to the Indian government
is to collect background material on the
working of similar bodies in other countries,
particularly in the United States and Europe,
as examples of mechanisms for representation
of consumer interests on similar technical
committees elsewhere.
Contact person: Manubhai Shah
E-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net
Malaysia: “No significant change”
in law on housing abuses
Consultations with its members by the
Selangor and Federal Territory Consumers’
Association (SFTCA) found that inadequate
consumer protection from abuses in the
building industry headed the list of their
concerns. Abuses ranged from poor quality
material and workmanship and abandoned
projects, to breach of terms in sales and
purchase agreements and conditions of
delivery for which consumers had redress
only through the courts. SFTCA campaigned
in the media and lobbied government with
reports and papers. As a result, it was invited
to join the committee debating amendments
to the existing law, along with a range of
industry interests, government agencies
and other consumer groups.
The law has now been amended. But the
changes are insignificant: a house buyers’
court can hear claims, but these are limited to
small awards only. The major issue of the
standard sales and purchase agreement,
on which the committee spent the bulk of
its 100-plus hours of debate, remains
unsatisfactory.
Contact person: M. Soosai Raj
E-mail: ppsdwp@po.jaring.my
Norway: No say at research council
means no consumer research
The Scientific Research Council decides
funding of scientific research in Norway.
Representation is dominated by big industry
NGOs (like the Industry and Manufacturers
Association), trade unions and a few others.
Because consumer affairs are not considered
important enough in political circles, the
consumer sector has no representation before this
Council. As a result, there are no programmes for
consumer research. Consumer representation on
this body could lead to more consumer-relevant
research programmes in the future.
“We have turned to our ministry and asked for
representation, but in vain. Maybe we have not
made enough noise,” says Finn Aas of
Forbrukerradet.
Contact person: Finn T. Aas
E-mail: Finn.aas@forbrukerradet.no
Romania: Seat sought, seat granted
The Association for Consumer Protection wants
to represent consumer views on Romania’s
Economic and Social Council, which advises on
draft legislation. “In Romania, social dialogue
generally involves just three sectors: government,
business and trade unions. The government
regards the consumer interest as sufficiently
represented by the state body in charge of market
inspections, “ writes Emil Bojin. In the area of
food safety, however, it appears that the APC
may have won its appeal for a seat on the
National Codex Committee, although “details
are still uncertain ... [and] officials are quite
reserved” about clarifying things.
Contact person: Emil Bojin
E-mail: apc@fx.ro
USA: Money opens doors
According to Carolyn Cairns of the Consumers
Union of US (CU), more than the need to increase
representation before any particular body is the
need for funding to support staff travel and
participation in the policy-making arenas already
open to it, if resources were available.
Contact person: Carolyn Cairns
E-mail: cairca@consumer.org
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54
Annex D: WCRD Questionnaire
World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
SECTION A: State of Consumer Representation
Depending on how the consumer interest is represented at the local or national level, please complete as relevant. For each issue, there are six questions.
If consumers are not represented on this issue (i.e. the answer to question 1 is ‘No’, then please move on to the next issue.
6. What is the
impact of
representation?
(Circle response:
1 very poor;
2 poor;
3 OK;
4 good;
5 excellent)
5. How long
have
consumers
been
represented
on this body?
4. How are consumers
represented?
(Circle response:
1 on public committee;
2 through written consultation;
3 by public meetings;
4 through citizen workshops;
5 as a panel member;
6 as technical/consumer advisor)
3. What is the name of the
body, committee or
institution where consumers
are represented?
2. Is it your
organisation
which represents
consumers on this
issue?
1. Are
consumers
represented in
policies around
this issue?
Question
(State number
of years)
(State name of body)
(Please circle
response)
(Please circle
response)
Issue
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
Yes No
Yes No
A. Consumer Policy and
Protection
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
B. Justice / Redress
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
C. Sustainable Consumption
/ Environment
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
D. Health
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
E. Food Security /
Agriculture
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
F. Food Safety

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
G. Technical Standards
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
H. Utilities
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
I. Competition
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
J. Trade / Economics /
Finance
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
K. Education
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
L. Communication / Info.
Comm. Technology (ICT)
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
M. Social Issues / Poverty
Alleviation
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
N. Price Controls
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
O. Gender / Women
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
P. Financial Services
Regulation
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q. Transport
Yes No Yes No 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
R. Other national bodies,
please specify
55

56
World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Please can you state any regional bodies where your organisation represents consumers?
Is this in partnership or alliance with other organisations? ❏ Yes ❏ No
If so, which alliance or network?
Please can you state any international bodies where your organisation represents consumers?
Is this in partnership or alliance with other organisations? ❏ Yes ❏ No
If so, which alliance or network?
SECTION B: Case study of Impact of Consumer Representation
Please give one example of where your organisation has changed a policy, effected enforcement or had a
positive impact on consumers through exercising the right to representation. Please limit the example to
300 words.
Please describe:
1. Situation Before
2. Name and Type of Body or situation where you were represented. Is it a government, private sector
or civil society body? Where does this body get its support? Is representation by request, co-option or
voluntary? Who else is represented on this body? Is there a stipend or allowance?
3. Type of representation e.g. on public committee; through written consultation; by public meetings;
through citizen workshops; as a panel member; as technical advisor. What type of input did you
provide? What skills were required e.g. academic, technical, activist, lobbying, advocacy
4. Actions taken and Contribution (with dates) by your organisation. Did being a member of
Consumers International help?
5. Situation Today i.e. what are the results of your intervention or actions
Please send us any relevant position papers, documents, press clippings etc. that are related to the case
you describe below. The best described case studies with documentation evidence will be published in
the WCRD kit (early 2002).
SECTION C: Case study of Need for Consumer Representation
Please give one example of where you feel better representation would lead to a significant
improvement for consumers. Please limit the example to 300 words.
Please outline:
1. Body you want to improve or increase consumer representation at
2. What is wrong with current situation
3. Who (or what interests) is represented at the body currently
4. What level of participation by consumers and other players
5. Constraints on improving consumer representation
6. Strategies tried
7. Type of assistance that Consumers International could provide
8. Impact increased or improved consumer representation would have
Please send us any relevant position papers, documents, press clippings etc. that are related to the case
you describe below! The best described case studies with documentation evidence will be published in
the WCRD kit.

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Annex E: References
and Resources
In addition to responses to the World
Consumer Rights Day questionnaire, a
number of resources were used to produce
Voices for Change.
Consumers International
resources:
Unless otherwise indicated, the following
documents can be downloaded from CI’s
website, at
http://www.consumersinternational.org. Printed
copies can be requested from any CI Office.
Representation of the Consumer Interest
Dr. S. Sothi Rachagan.
Based on a presentation given at the 44th
Annual Conference of the American Council
on Consumer Interest,
1998.
Request from: consint@ciroap.org
(English only)
Codex Alimentarius: Resource Manual 3:
Participation of Consumer Organisations
in Codex Alimentarius
November 2000 (English, Spanish and French)
Popular and Principled: A Handbook on
Campaigning
March 1999 (English only)
Vital Networks: A Study of Public Utilities
in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Czech Republic
and Slovakia
September 2000 (English only)
Successful Tactics for Consumer Group
Representation
Jerrold Oppenheim in Los Consumidores Toman
la Palabra: Electricidad, Telecomunicaciones y
Agua Potable en América Latina,
1998
Request from: consint@consint.cl
Other documents used for
this report:
Consumer Involvement and Representation
August 2001
A research study conducted by MORI
National Consumer Council
20 Grosvenor Gardens, London
SW1W 0DH, UK
Policy Report: Consumer Representation
1998
Consumers’ Association
2 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 4DF, UK
Download at: http:// www.which.net/
Representing Consumers
March 1999
National Consumer Council
20 Grosvenor Gardens, London
SW1W 0DH, UK
Download at: http://www.ncc.org.uk/
A Stronger Voice
Course outline, March 1999
National Consumer Council
20 Grosvenor Gardens, London
SW1W 0DH, UK
Download at:
http://www.ncc.org.uk/strongervoice/world.htm
57

58
World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Consumer Representation Checklist
National Consumer Council
20 Grosvenor Gardens, London
SW1W 0DH, UK
Guidelines for Consumer Representatives:
Suggestions for Consumer or Community
Representatives Working on Public
Committees
4th edition, 1999
Consumer Health Forum of Australia
PO Box 170, Curtin, ACT, 2605, Australia
Posted on: http://www.chf.org.au/
Community Values, Consumer
Representation and Communicating
Guidelines
A presentation by Hilda Bastian
New Zealand Guidelines Conference 1997
Posted on:
http://www.nzgg.org.nz/news/events/conf97/friday
pm.cfm
Guidelines for the Involvement of
Consumers in Guideline Development
May 1999
Women’s Health Action Trust
PO Box 9947, Newmarket, Auckland
New Zealand
Posted on: http://www.womens-health.org.nz
/guidelines.htm
Of Related Interest:
How to Conduct Research
by Diane Terblanche, 2001
Sets out main stages of a typical research
project, types of research methods and data
collection, with special emphasis on conducting
surveys.
Consumers International
Office for Africa
31A Lincoln Road, Belgravia
Harare, Zimbabwe
E-mail: roaf@harare.iafrica.com
Community Toolbox
While focused on community health and
development, content is applicable to most
types of campaigning.
Posted on: http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/ctb/tb-toc.html

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
Annex F: Feedback form
Please tell us what you think of Voices for Change.
Name:
Organisation:
Address:
Country:
Telephone:
Fax:
E-mail:
1 Please tell us what type of organisation you work for:
❏ Consumer organisation
❏ Other NGO
❏ Government
❏ University/academic institute
❏ Inter-governmental organisation
❏ Other, please specify:
2 How did you learn about Voices for Change?
❏ Electronic communication from Consumers International
❏ Announcement in CI’s World Consumer newsletter
❏ Other, please specify:
3 Did your organisation participate in the questionnaire circulated by CI to prepare this edition of
Voices for Change?
❏ Yes ❏ No
4 Please tell us how you accessed Voices for Change.
❏ Received via e-mail
❏ Read selected parts from CI’s website
❏ Printed out entire text from CI’s website
❏ Printed out selected pages from CI’s website
❏ Other, please specify:
59

60
World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
5 What is your main reason for accessing Voices for Change?
❏ Campaigning/activist
❏ Training purposes
❏ Specific inquiry
❏ General knowledge
❏ Academic/research interest
❏ Other, please specify:
6 How useful do you think Voices for Change will be to you/your organisation?
❏ Very useful
❏ Fairly useful
❏ Useful
❏ Not very useful
❏ Not useful at all
7 Please tell us which parts of Voices for Change you find most useful?
❏ Chapter 1: Voices for Change: An overview
❏ Chapter 2: Consumer Representation and Social Justice
❏ Chapter 3: Models of Representation and Consultation
❏ Chapter 4: Making it Real: Strategies for Effective Representation
❏ Chapter 5: The State of Representation
❏ Chapter 6: Representation at the Global Level
❏ Case studies
❏ Other, please specify:
8 Are there ways that Voices for Change could have been made more useful?
❏ No
❏ Yes, please specify:
9 Do you have any other comments on the quality, accuracy or usefulness of Voices for Change?
❏ No
❏ Yes, please specify:
10 If you have used other publications produced by CI for World Consumer Rights Day in the past,
how would you rate Voices for Change?
❏ More useful
❏ Equally useful
❏ Less useful

World Consumer Rights Day 2002: Voices for Change
11 We consider using different formats for our publications. Please tell us which format you would prefer:
❏ Report format (A4 photocopied)
❏ Book format (A5 printed)
❏ Electronic Word file
❏ Available on the Internet
❏ CD-ROM
❏ No preference
❏ Other, please specify:
12 If we were to put all of our reports on the website, would you consider becoming an on-line
subscriber with a password to access them?
❏ Yes
❏ No
❏ Don’t know
13 We will not give your details to other organisations but we may have other publications which are of
interest to you. If you would like more information about other publications/events, please specify your
areas of interest:
14 We welcome further comments on any aspect of our publications or other work. Please add any points
you wish to expand on or raise areas not covered by our questions:
Please return this form to CI’s Communications Coordinator by fax at +44 20 7354 0607 (London) or by e-mail to
consint@consint.org.
Thank you for taking the time to complete this feedback form!
61

Consumers International
Head Office
24 Highbury Crescent
London N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44 20 7226 6663
Fax: +44 20 7354 0607
E-mail: consint@consint.org
Web site: http://www.consumersinternational.org
About Consumers International
Consumers International is a federation of consumer
organisations dedicated to the protection and promotion of
consumers’ interests worldwide through institution-building,
education, research and lobbying of international decisionmaking
bodies. It was founded in 1960 as a non-profit
organisation, and currently has over 250 members in 115
countries. (Consumers International is registered in the UK,
Reg. No. 4337865.)
Regional Offices
Office for Developed and Transition Economies, 24 Highbury Crescent, London N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44 20 7226 6663 Fax: +44 20 7354 0607 E-mail: odte@consint.org
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60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tel: +60 3 7726 1599 Fax: +60 3 7726 8599 E-mail: consint@ciroap.org
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Tel: +56 2 335 1695 Fax: +56 2 231 0703 E-mail: consint@consint.cl
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Tel: +263 4 302 283 Fax: +263 4 303 092 E-mail: roaf@harare.iafrica.com
Visit CI’s website at: http://www.consumersinternational.org