Eighth United Nations Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection

Important notice

If you have cold- or flu- like symptoms or you are awaiting a COVID-19 PCR test result, you must not come to the UN premises.

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 and have been present at the UN premises in Geneva within the previous 14 days, you are requested to inform the UN Medical Service (phone +41 (022) 917 25 20), or if your attendance was for an official meeting, you may contact the meeting organizer.

If you develop cold- or flu- type symptoms while at the UN premises, please contact the UN Security Control Centre: +41 (0) 22 917 29 00 or 112 from any fixed phone in the Palais. Security personnel will assist you and contact the UN Medical Service.

Eighth United Nations conference to review all aspects of the set of multilaterally agreed equitable principles and rules for the control of restrictive business practices

The UN Set on Competition is a multilateral agreement on competition policy that:

• Provides a set of equitable rules for the control of anti-competitive practices.

• Recognises the development dimension of competition law and policy.

• Provides a framework for international operation and exchange of best practices.

Every five years, a conference is held to review the UN Set on Competition. Following the revision of the United Nations guidelines by the General Assembly in 2015, the conference will, for the first time, also consider issues directly related to consumer protection.

The conference provides an occasion for members of government, heads of competition and consumer protection authorities and senior officials from both developed and developing countries, including least developed countries and economies in transition, to establish direct contacts and promote voluntary cooperation and the exchange of best practices.

It is the highest-level meeting on competition and consumer protection at the multilateral level and an opportunity for the global community to continue advancing the welfare of consumers in open markets, leaving no one behind.

The conference will hold high-level consultations on the following issues:

1. Implementation of the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection and the Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restrictive Business Practices
2. Strengthening consumer protection and competition in the digital economy
3. International enforcement cooperation among consumer protection authorities in electronic commerce
4. International cooperation under section F of the Set: Adoption of the guiding policies and procedures
5. Improving consumer product safety worldwide: Good data for good policy
6. Competitive neutrality
7. Combating cross-border cartels
8. Review of capacity-building in and technical assistance on consumer protection and competition law and policy
9. Voluntary peer review of consumer protection law and policy: Peru
10. Voluntary peer review of competition law and policy: West African Economic and Monetary Union

In accordance with past practice, the conference is expected to provide guidance to UNCTAD on its future work programme in this area, including technical assistance and capacity-building for developing countries, the least developed countries and countries with economies in transition.

Contributed papers

In order to facilitate deliberations and the informal exchange of experiences and best practices on the issues to be discussed, member States and observers are requested to submit written contributions.

These papers will be made available at the meeting in the form and language in which they are received. Papers should be submitted by 18 September 2020 to the contacts provided below.

Participation an registration

This meeting is open to all member states of UNCTAD. Member states are requested to submit the credentials of their representatives and advisers to the UNCTAD secretariat by 02 October 2020. Other organizations, including specialized agencies, intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental organizations in the general and special categories, as well as academia, research institutions and the private sector, may participate as observers, and are requested to inform the UNCTAD secretariat of the names of their representatives by the same date.

Online registration, for attendance and inclusion in the list of participants, is mandatory. Early registration is advisable so that timely approval may be given for the issuance of a badge required for access to the Palais des Nations. Registration requires uploading an official letter of nomination to represent an organization at this meeting. For government representatives, a note verbale or an email from the permanent mission in Geneva will suffice.