3.15國(guó)際消費(fèi)者權(quán)益保護(hù)日的來(lái)歷

World Consumer Rights Day

World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated annually by consumer organizations worldwide. It commemorates the historic declaration on March 15, 1962 by John F. Kennedy, the former U.S. President, of the basic Rights of consumers, which include: "the right to safety", to be protected against hazardous goods; "the right to be informed", so that consumer decisions are not influenced by fraudulent or misleading advertising or labeling or other deceptive practices; "the right to choose"— from a variety of competitive products and services; and "the right to be heard", to assure that government policy will always take into consideration consumer interests.

This declaration has led to international recognition by governments and the United Nations that all citizens, regardless of their incomes or social standing, have certain basic Rights as consumers. Officially, World Consumer Rights Day, valued as a socioeconomic progress indicator, was first observed on March 15，1983 and has since become an important occasion for mobilizing citizen action, with recognition of consumer rights taking off around the world. On April 9，1985, the United Nations Assembly General Assembly adopted the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection that provide a framework for strengthening national consumer protection policies around the world.

The guidelines comprised Kennedy's four basic consumer rights plus another four that Consumers International and other organizations had lobbied for: the right to satisfaction of basic needs such as essential goods and services, food, clothing, shelter and health care; the right to redress such as compensation for misrepresentation, faulty goods and unsatisfactory services; the right to education; and the right to a healthy environment. Currently, eight fundamental consumer rights are recognized globally.

World Consumer Rights Day normally has a theme associated with an activity or development that is relevant to consumers. Whatever their objectives, they share the same underlying aim of bringing about important and needed benefits for consumers.

World Consumer Rights Day 2005 will see consumer groups worldwide take action on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in crops and foods and how they limit the choices of farmers and consumers. The campaign will see consumer groups taking action to demand that governments follow international safety standards, enact labeling legislation and put into place liability agreements against potential damage caused by GMOs.

In recent years, progress has been made for recognition and protection of consumer rights in China. At least, March 15 is a day when consumers are filled with pride and satisfaction. However, there are many reports on violation of consumer rights by unethical marketing practices, like fraud, puffing and monopoly. Telecom operators, property developers and banks are still main producers of "take-it-or-leave-it contract" containing arbitrary clauses. When consumers sign such contracts for credit cards, bank loans, mortgages or telecom services, etc., language in the fine print often waives their rights to employ the full extent of the law should the service providers violate the contract. Even when a consumer feels completely violated after getting a lemon, they will be totally surprised that there's small print in there that doesn't allow them to go to court and the only sentence for the victim is that: "Had I known that arbitration clause existed in the contract, I would not have signed it!" 

                    About World Consumer Rights Day

World Consumer Rights Day is an annual occasion for celebration and solidarity within the international consumer movements. But more importantly it is a time for promoting the basic rights of all consumers, for demanding that those rights are respected and protected, and for protesting the market abuses and social injustices which undermine them.
World Consumer Rights Day has its origins in former US President John F. Kennedy's declaration of four basic consumer rights:

-the right to safety
-the right to be informed
-the right to choose
-the right to be heard.
To these, the consumer movement through Consumers International has in recent years added four more rights:
-the right to satisfaction of basic needs
-the right to redress
-the right to education
-the right to a healthy environment.

Together these eight rights form the basis for ongoing work by Consumers International and consumer groups worldwide.

The Guidelines embrace the principle of the eight consumer rights and provide a framework for strengthening national consumer protection polices.

With the UN's adoption of the Guidelines, consumer rights were finally elevated to a position of international recognition and legitimacy, acknowledged by developed and developing countries alike. Yet they can continue to be ignored or trivialised by governments, producers and powerful interests. World Consumer Right Day draws attention to such violations, and provides a platform for consumer groups to address them in the countries where they operate.

How is World Consumer Rights Day Observed?

World Consumer Rights Day depends on local initiatives, planned and carried out by consumer organisations on every continent. Initiatives can take the shape of special campaigns, press conferences, public exhibitions, workshops, street events or new publications, to name only a few possibilities.