[governance] Fwd: Re: [igf_members] Proposal: Human Rights Roundtable

[Jeremy Malcolm]

On 18/10/12 15:18, parminder wrote:
>  
> (1) Consumer rights are not considered as human rights. Consumer
> rights are based on private contracts, although the consumer as the
> structurally weaker party in such contracts is provided some special
> general protections which are embodied in consumer rights. Human
> rights are based on the social contract. (There are those who go even
> further and claim that they are kind of part of our 'natural
> condition' but I dont buy that.)  I do not think we should include
> consumer rights as part of human rights. It greatly dilutes the
> discourse of human rights, and their legitimacy.

Contextually, consumer rights are human rights, particularly when the
issues are related to basic needs for human life such as food, water,
housing, and safe environment. Deutch (1995)
<http://www.ohlj.ca/archive/articles/32_3_deutch.pdf> elaborates the
basis for the basic consumer rights as human rights, or least as new
human rights. Through international consensus, consumer rights have been
given due recognition through the adoption of the United Nations
Guidelines on Consumer Protection 1985 (expanded in 1999), which merits
on the rights-based approach to emphasise on social justice for
consumers who do not have or have limited access to basic goods and
services.

The abuse of consumer rights has a malign effect on all sectors of the
economy and consequences at all levels. In this context, enabling equal
access to justice and ending impunity can be accomplished through the
promotion and defence of eight basic consumer rights: The right to
safety; to be informed; to choose; to be heard; to satisfaction of basic
needs; to redress; to consumer education; and, to a healthy and safe
environment.  The right of all citizens to a basic level of Internet
access (in the sense that there is a corresponding duty on the state to
provide the same) is also being increasingly recognised though has been
debated back and forth on this list.

-- 

*Dr Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Policy Officer
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for consumers*
Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599

*Your rights, our mission – download CI's Strategy 2015:*
http://consint.info/RightsMission

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