Awareness-raising week for consumers

An Awareness-Raising Week for Consumers will take place in Moldova between March 10 and 15, organized by the Standardization and Metrology Service in connection with the World Consumer Rights Day. Observed yearly on March 15, the World Consumer Rights Day this year will have as theme “Junk Food Generation: The Consumers International (CI) campaign against marketing unhealthy food to children,” Info-Prim Neo reports. According to officials of the Service, as an informed and active consumer is the driving force in any market economy and as all producers, sellers and service providers depend on consumers, the basic activities dedicated to the World Consumer Rights Day will aim at informing the consumers about their rights. Meetings will be held during this week in shopping centers to inform and consult consumers and economic entities from Moldova’s districts. Specialists of local and central public administrations and representatives of public consumer protection associations will take part in the meetings. The activities dedicated to the World Consumer Rights Day will end with a national conference on March 14 in Chisinau. World Consumer Rights Day was first observed on 15 March 1983. Two years later, on 9 April 1985, the United Nations' General Assembly adopted the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, following a decade of hard lobbying by Consumers International and consumer organizations. The 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, and the right to be heard. Moldova’s consumer protection policy and objectives for the next years are included in the National Strategy for 2008 – 2012. The national legislation is now developing and has passed a law on consumer protection adopted in 2003.