Twelfth COMPAL International Consumer Protection Forum for Latin America

Since 2011, UNCTAD's COMPAL Programme has been hosting the annual International Consumer Protection Forum, which has grown to be the major public forum on consumer protection issues in Latin America with over 300 participants. It aims to provide a space for policy makers and other relevant stakeholders such as businesses, consumer associations, academia, practitioners and the public at large to exchange views on current and future challenges and trends to the welfare of consumers.

The twelfth edition of the International Consumer Protection Forum will be devoted to digital and financial issues through three sessions and will be held in Spanish only.

According to a recent UNCTAD research, dispute resolution is a driver of consumer trust in markets, especially digital markets. Latin America hosts some sophisticated mechanisms for online dispute resolution for consumers, although their interoperability across borders remains a challenge. The first session will share ongoing government initiatives at the Ibero-American level, including those found in the European Union, MERCOSUR and the Pacific Alliance. 

E-commerce platforms are taking a central role in consumer relationships. This contributes significantly to consumer welfare online, but, as UNCTAD identified, it also brings with it physical security risks, challenges to information rights, the need for delineation of liability regimes between platforms and providers, and concerns over access to fair and effective dispute resolution. The second panel will focus on consumer protection in the context of digital platforms.

Over-indebtedness affects access to essential financial services and can hamper consumers’ dignity. The United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection provide specific recommendations to protect financial consumers, while UNCTAD provides analysis of emerging issues such as inclusion, financial education and literacy and over-indebtedness. The third session will discuss the opportunities and challenges on over-indebtedness faced by authorities in Ibero-America.

To follow the meeting, tune in to the YouTube channel of the Argentinian School of Consumer Education by clicking HERE.

Past editions of the COMPAL International Forum on Consumer Protection were hosted in Guayaquil, Lima, Santo Domingo, Bogotá, Cuzco, Guanacaste, Mendoza, Guadalajara, El Salvador, Lisbon and Asunción.