consumer

World Consumer Rights DayWorld Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) is an annual occasion for celebration and solidarity within the international consumer movement. 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.5World Consumer Rights Day was first observed on March 15, 1983, and has since become an important occasion for organizing citizen action. Consumer organizations around the world use materials produced by Consumers International (CI) to generate local initiatives and media coverage for their work over the coming year.Recent themes promoted by CI for WCRD include: corporate control of the food chain 10(2003), consumer representation (2002), corporate accountability (2001), genetically modified foods (2000), assessment of consumer rights (1999), poverty alleviation (1998) and sustainable consumption (1997).World Consumer Rights Day kits, 2002-20052005: Call for action on GMOs15Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are the focus of the 2005 World Consumer Rights Day. Consumer groups are demanding that governments label all GM products, follow international safety standards, and take action to protect GM-free crops. WCRD takes place on Tuesday 15 March 2005 and will be celebrated all over the world.Public opinion surveys conducted in several countries show that consumers are gravely 20concerned about the safety of GMOs, or do not wish to eat GM food, and yet we do not have an international GM labelling standard. Some countries do not yet grow GM crops, however in countries which do consumers also need guarantees that GM-free crops will be protected.2004: Consumers and waterWater is vital for life. All people need clean water and sanitation delivered in a way that is 25affordable and appropriate to their needs.Water is an issue even in areas where water supplies are plentiful. Health and standards are universal concerns. Even in areas where access and quality are acceptable, controversies rage over privatization and public ownership, investment, regulation, maintenance of infrastructure and water conservation, with civil society taking a leading role in the debates.302003: Corporate control of the food chain: the GM link“Our Food, Whose Choice?” was the question Consumers International asked three years ago, when World Consumer Rights Day 2000 took its first look at genetically modified foods. This year , we return to the issue which remains high on the agenda（议程表）for national and regional consumer action. While key safety and environmental questions remain unanswered, we believe it 35is also important to look beyond these to the ways that corporations are using GM technology to consolidate their control over global food production.2002: Voices for change: The consumer right to representationVoices for change ---this year’s Consumer Rights Day Campaign---focuses on the consumer right to representation. Its main message is simple: people should have influences in the making of 40decisions that affect their access to basic needs and their quality of life.Consumer’s RightsWorld Consumer Rights Day has its origins in former US President John F. Kennedy's declaration of four basic consumer rights:•the right to safety45•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. They are:50•the right to satisfaction of basic needs•the right to redress•the right to education•the right to a healthy environmentTogether these eight rights form the basis for ongoing work by Consumers International and 55consumer groups worldwide.“Consumers by definition, include us all,” Kennedy said in his 15 March 1962 declaration to the US Congress. “They are the largest economic group, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. Yet they are the only important group whose views are often not heard.”World Consumer Rights Day was first observed on 15 March 1983. Two years later, on 9 60April 1985, the United Nations' General Assembly adopted the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, following a decade of hard lobbying (游说) by Consumers International, then known as IOCU, and consumer organisations. The Guidelines embrace the principles of the eight consumer rights and provide a framework for strengthening national consumer protection polices.65With 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 underestimated 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.70How are Consumer Rights defined?1)The right to satisfaction of basic needs - To have access to basic, essential goods andservices: adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, public utilities, waterand sanitation.2)The right to safety - To be protected against products, production processes and services 75which are hazardous to health or life.3)The right to be informed - To be given the facts needed to make an informed choice,and to be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising and labelling.4)The right to choose - To be able to select from a range of products and services, offeredat competitive prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality.805)The right to be heard - To have consumer interests represented in the making andexecution of government policy, and in the development of products and services.6)The right to redress - To receive a fair settlement of just claims, includingcompensation for misrepresentation, inferior goods or unsatisfactory services.7)The right to consumer education - To acquire knowledge and skills needed to make 85informed, confident choices about goods and services, while being aware of basicconsumer rights and responsibilities and how to act on them.8)The right to a healthy environment-To live and work in an environment which isnon-threatening to the well-being of present and future generations.How is World Consumer Rights Day observed?90World Consumer Rights Day depends on local initiatives, planned and carried out by consumer organizations on every continent. Initiatives can take the shape of special campaigns, press conferences, public exhibitions, workshops, street events or new publications, to name onlya few possibilities. World Consumer Rights Day initiatives sometimes continue well beyond 15March, forming the basis for long-term work by groups.95World Consumers Rights Day initiatives can be concerned with the foods we eat, the medicines we take or the products we use in our homes. They can draw attention to dishonorable marketing practices, expose hazardous technologies and production processes, or point out the need for consumer legislation and its enforcement. Whatever their objectives, they share the same underlying aim of bringing about important and needed benefits for consumers.1.This passage gives a general knowledge about the history and purpose of the WorldConsumer Rights Day.2.The theme of 2005 World Consumer Rights Day 2005 is to label all GM products as safe.3.GM foods first became the focus of the World Consumer Rights Day in 2000.4.Consumers should have access to decision making concerning their life quality.5.The World Consumer Rights Day was first celebrated on 15 March 1962.6.The UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection was agreed upon by most countries when it wasadopted.7.The celebrations of the World Consumer Rights Day are planned and carried out by theUnited Nations.8.World Consumer Right Day provides a platform for consumer groups to deal with violationsof consumers’ __________.9.Misleading or dishonest advertisements violate consumer right __________.10.The right to ___________ ensures consumers’awareness of needed knowledge and skills,and of their rights and duties in consumption activities.Keys:1.Y2.N3.Y4.Y5.N6.NG7.N8.interests9.to be informed10.consumer education。