Voices for Change: the Consumer Right to Representation

14
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