The Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF) and Germany’s international development agency GIZ plan to hold a national consumer rights conference in early April under the theme “strengthening consumer rights to promote integrity in market practices.”
The conference will be held both in person and online on April 4 to raise awareness of consumer rights in Cambodia and draw attention to emerging issues for consumer protection in emerging economies, both in practice and policy.
The conference will also provide an opportunity to share different experiences and perspectives from the government, private sector, academia and other organisations, especially on the establishment of consumer associations.
The conference also aims to build partnerships between public institutions and the private sector to ensure the effective implementation of the National Consumer Protection Programme (NCPP).
CCF director-general Phan Oun said consumers in every country should be safe from unethical and unjust business practices, and even if there is a legal framework and mechanisms for resolving complaints, all businesses must act responsibly.
“This is the first national consumer conference to recognise and raise awareness of consumer rights in Cambodia and join the world in celebrating World Consumer Rights Day.
“This event draws attention to the ongoing issues of consumer protection in an evolving economy, both in terms of implementation and policies, and provides an opportunity to hear different views from the government, private sector and other organisations. Therefore, it is an important contribution to the participation of many stakeholders in the implementation of the national consumer protection programme,” he said.
He said the conference will be attended by 165 participants including officials from relevant ministries and institutions, development partners, business owners and representatives of business associations, NGOs, university leaders and interested consumers.
Oun noted that the conference will be divided into two parts, with the first part in the morning programme as a forum to provide an overview of the implementation of consumer protections in Cambodia and to hold discussions on current key issues, as well as suggest possible activities in the future.
The second part of the afternoon programme will be a workshop titled “Promoting Consumer Rights”.
