CUTS Global Webinar: The G20 Championing the Consumer Movement

Statement by Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD

Your excellency Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS International,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Dear friends,

Last June, I had the pleasure of being in Varanasi, India, during the G20 Development Ministers meeting.

There I said these words that I would like to repeat today: “the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, are not just a set of targets; it is a promise we made to ourselves and to future generations.

It is the last collective roadmap in a world that is more polarized than ever, a world in desperate need of solidarity and multilateralism.”

This, dear friends, is the underlying truth of the world we live in. And yet, in a context of cascading crises, by nearly every measure, we are moving backwards. Backwards on ending poverty.

Backwards on hunger. Backwards on women’s rights. And backwards on development, with only 12 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals on track.

But let me emphasize one thing: it is not just statistics and percentages that lie at the heart of this crisis; it is people, from all over the world.

People as workers, as parents, as entrepreneurs, as students, citizens all over the world and people, finally - as consumers.

It is against this stark background that we meet today, at this CUTS Global Webinar. And this background should remind us that consumer protection is not just a policy or a regulation.

It is the armour that shields us all from harm, deception, and fraud.

It is the foundation upon which trust is built, and it is trust that ultimately fuels the engines of progress and multilateralism.

Indeed, this is an insight that is ingrained in the very name of CUTS – Consumer Unity and Trust Society. 

Only in a society where consumers are protected, can trust be built.

For instance, when a parent buys medicine for their sick child, they trust that it will heal and not harm.

When students invest in an online course, they trust it will pave the way for a brighter future.

When we purchase products labelled as sustainable, we trust that we are contributing to the well-being of our planet.

All these threads are woven into the tapestry of consumer protection.

And yet, the obvious fact is that as our economy develops through uncharted technological waters, it is getting harder and harder to protect our consumers. Unscrupulous elements, for example, are finding new ways to exploit the vulnerable in the digital arena.

We have witnessed a surge in online scams, counterfeit products, and predatory lending, all aimed at the consumers who are struggling to make ends meet in this cost-of-living crisis.

The ‘platformization’ of the digital economy is also creating challenges for consumer’s privacy, quality-assurance, and responsible advertisement.

We must ensure that information made available to consumers is adequate, clear, and timely; ensure that consumer reviews are truthful and that social media influencers respect advertising and endorsement of the rules.

Similarly, to press pause on climate degradation, and meet the Paris targets, we need a profound revolution in how we produce and consume.

According to the IPCC (Ai Pi Ci Ci), 70 per cent of all greenhouse gas reductions must come from demand-side policies.

But consumers will only play this transformative role if they have the right education and awareness raising campaigns, if adequate labelling and information are provided to them, if rights are protected and upheld.

Dear friends,

Today’s webinar is about the G20, and how it can champion consumers worldwide, and address the challenges I just mentioned.

UNCTAD, as focal point on consumer protection within the United Nations System, has supported all G20 Presidencies in advancing consumer protection at the global level, since the first Consumer Summit in Berlin in 2017, followed by Buenos Aires, Tokushima, and Trieste.

The discussions and agreements reached at UNCTAD’s Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer protection law and policy have been instrumental in shaping the G20 consumer exchanges, as UNCTAD hosts the only global annual forum on this issue at the UN.

For example, UNCTAD held the first global discussion on the contribution of consumer protection to sustainable consumption in July 2019. This issue was later addressed as one of the main sessions at the G20 Consumer Summit in Tokushima, just two months later.

In general, the G20 Consumer Summits have been an effective way to mainstream consumer protection issues in the wider G20 discussions, on such wide challenges as the digital transformation and the green transitions.

Following a successful consumer summit, the Declaration of G20 Digital Ministers of 2021, under Italian Presidency, contains a full chapter on consumers awareness and protection in the global digital economy.

This was a great achievement.

It is important, however, that we continue calling for G20 Summits.

This year, India convened an important meeting for G20 Global Food Regulators, an area which is extremely important for consumer protection worldwide.

But we must remain extremely ambitious and call for another G20 Consumer Summit as soon as possible.

I hope all of us today can join our voices into making that a reality. And I wish all of us a very successful meeting. Thank you.