Voices for Change: the Consumer Right to Representation

8
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.