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Press Release

Government of Colombia Supports Consolidation of Consumer Safety and Health Network

The Vice President of Colombia, Angelino Garzón, reaffirmed today in the framework of the International Seminar on Damages Repair for Defective Products of the Consumer Safety and Health Network (CSHN), organized by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia, the Government's commitment to the consolidation of the CSHN, and presented the new Consumer Law of the country. This initiative will further efforts to alleviate the injustices concerning the rights of citizens, especially those related to the right to life, to health, to live out of poverty and free from injustice, the speculation on prices, and the right to education.

Vice President Garzón said that Colombia "is a country in progress that makes extraordinary efforts to advance in its sustainable economic development path, to reduce poverty, which is closely linked to the issue of consumers." "This whole process is linked to policies of safety and the fight against corruption based on full respect for human rights, in coordination and friendship with other nations and international organizations. Therefore, this initiative will identify the priorities and policies of the Government of Colombia," he said in reference to the RCSS.

The opening ceremony of the seminar, held on November 15 and 16 also was attended by the Superintendent of Industry and Trade of Colombia, José Miguel de la Calle, who emphasized the importance of the new regulations and to intensify the work being done under the Consumer Safety and Health Network

The OAS Director of Social Development and Employment, Evelyn Jacir de Lovo, congratulated the people of Colombia on the new law and thanked the Superintendent of Industry and Commerce for organizing the seminar. "We believe that Colombia, with this new legal framework and with the determination of its Government, will become an engine for the Consumer Safety and Health Network," he said.

The Delegated Superintendent for Consumer Protection and Metrology of Colombia, Alejandro Giraldo Lopez, for his part, welcomed the OAS initiative to “coordinate the creation of the CSHN because we now have timely information related to the warnings on product safety." Similarly, the Regional Advisor on Consumers and Workers' Health of PAHO, Julietta Rodriguez-Guzman, stressed the importance of the Network, "as a joint effort that has led to promote initiatives related to safe products. With this we are pointing to a common goal: to care for and protect people's health by promoting the health of consumers," she said.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-960/11