The 3rd ASEAN Consumer Protection Conference (3rd ACPC) Highlights: Building a Fair and Future-Ready Marketplace for Consumers in ASEAN
ASEAN , 28 June 2022
Jakarta, 28 June 2022
The 3rd ASEAN Consumer Protection Conference (3rd ACPC) took place on 28 June, under the theme “Building a Fair and Future-Ready Marketplace for Consumers in ASEAN”. Consumer protection agencies, consumer associations, international organisations, academicians, private sectors, and the general public from within and beyond ASEAN, attended the conference.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Economic Community Satvinder Singh, expressed that, “the conference is timely as ASEAN is currently addressing emerging issues resulting from the advent of the digital economy and the increase of cross-border trade. Digital transformation pushes ASEAN focus on e-Commerce, develop regional B2C dispute resolution, and to further strengthen consumer movement in ASEAN.”
Dr Moe Moe Thwe, Chair of the ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection (ACCP) remarked that “we are already living in a new era where the concerns on consumer protection raised are pressing. We need to expedite the implementation of our initiatives and action plans across sectors, grow consumer movement and inspire a new generation of well-informed consumers who will have no second thought about taking action to deal with the challenges of the new economy that is before us to preserve the environment and sustain the planet that we live in for future generations.”
In her keynote speech, Ann Claire C. Cabochan, Assistant Secretary for the Consumer Protection Group of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Philippines stated, “although consumers in ASEAN are moderately empowered, new consumer protection challenges and the continuing global and economic crisis we are facing due to the persistence of the pandemic, requires us to further empower consumers. We must collectively plan to address these challenges should we seek to build a fair and future-ready marketplace in ASEAN.”
The 3rd ACPC covers three thematic sessions which are; (i) Laying the Foundation for Inclusive Digital Transformation in ASEAN; (ii) Scanning the Horizon – Towards the ‘New Normal’ for B2C Dispute Resolution in ASEAN; and (iii) Empower Consumers – Strengthening the Consumer Movement in ASEAN
Several ACCP Key Deliverables were also launched during the conference, which is intended to build consumer knowledge on basic consumer rights and sustainable consumption, as well as support online consumer redress:
- The ASEAN Learning Management System for the online Interactive and Distance Learning Tools for Consumers;
- The ASEAN Online Consumer Complaints Function; and
- The ASEAN Toolkit on Sustainable Consumption Guidance
The deliverables can be found on the ACCP Website at www.aseanconsumer.org. Additionally, the Philippines Online Dispute Resolution System was also launched at the conference.
The conference was co-organised by DTI of the Philippines, the ACCP, and the ASEAN Secretariat. The convening of the conference was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, under the “Consumer Protection in ASEAN” (PROTECT) project.
View the conference here:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3rdACPC_LIVE_YT
