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Secretary General Insulza Calls for Deeper and Stronger Cooperation in the Consumer Safety and Health Network (CSHN) of the OAS

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, today urged a deeper and stronger cooperation between member states in the Consumer Safety and Health Network (CSHN), an instrument of the OAS that eases access to relevant information on products considered unsafe in world markets.

“The Consumer Safety and Health Network is an initiative that has been built little by little, starting with dialogue and cooperation between countries, and the exchange of experiences,” said Secretary General Insulza, who said the great achievement of the CSHN, which separates it from similar instruments, is that “from the beginning the consumer protection agencies have sat together at the same table with the health, monitoring agencies, and even the metrology, normalization and quality control agencies.” The leader of the multilateral institution delivered his address at today´s inauguration of a workshop on the CSHN on risk assessment, aimed at consumer protection organizations, representatives of the private sector, and national representatives.

In terms of the importance of the Network, the chief representative of the OAS said “only by uniting our efforts across the Hemisphere can we guarantee that the products sold in world markets are safe, in the framework of a global trade in consumer goods that is increasingly dynamic, unpredictable, and hard to control in an isolated way.” “This mechanism of cooperation has played an important role in unifying the voice of the Americas on this issue,” added the Secretary General.

The Secretary General cited several concrete examples of this role, among them the coordination of the CSHN efforts with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to automate the exchange of information between the regional and global systems of alerts. Moreover, he highlighted the participation of the Observer countries of Spain and Portugal in the initiative, given that they “have worked hand in hand with the countries of the Americas for some time now.”

For his part, Francisco Becerra Posada, Assistant Director of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), which collaborates with the OAS on the Network, highlighted that “although large challenges remain, there are many achievements of the Network to highlight.” Among the successes, the Assistant Director mentioned “the disruption of the paradigm on consumer protection as a purely economic matter, while on the contrary it has a great and direct impact on wellbeing and health;” the holding of awareness raising activities; and “the creation of a true system of exchange of regional information.”

Raúl Salazar Cosio, Alternate Representative of Peru to the OAS, who holds the Chair of the CSHN Steering Committee, emphasized the importance of product safety for the stability of regional markets. “In a context of the intense and dynamic economic and commercial advance that the region is going through, the objectives of the Network are adequate complements for the continuity of this positive process,” said Ambassador Salazar Cosio, who added that “the dynamism of this Network for us is a work model.”

Breno Dias da Costa, Interim Representative of Brazil to the OAS, in his position as President of the SIAR Working Group of the CSHN, said “consumer protection is a priority issue for Brazil.” Ambassador Dias da Costa emphasized that “the Mission of Brazil to the OAS has dedicated itself to supporting in the scope of the Organization the efforts of Brazilian organizations in this area, and more specifically, with respect to the promotion and development of the Consumer Safety Network and the Inter-American Rapid Alerts System.” “We are enthusiastic about the future implementation of the System and we hope that this rapid alert tool allows for the successful exchange of information on products that present risks to the health of consumers.”

The Permanent Observer of Spain to the OAS, Jorge Hevia, called the workshop “a good example of the kind of cooperation and collaboration that my country carries out with the Organization of American States, because this initiative includes the participation of representatives of the central administration as well as autonomous administration and representatives of civil society.” Moreover, he highlighted the role of the Catalan Consumer Agency, and the Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety, and Nutrition, in the establishment of cooperation links between Spain and the OAS in “an issue of the utmost importance.”

The Consumer Safety and Health Network (CSHN) is a tool that allows consumers and authorities of the region to: exchange information and experiences and disseminate information on these issues. It also stimulates education on product safety and their impact on consumer's health to authorities and consumers. The Network provide easy access to relevant information on products deemed unsafe by markets from different parts of the world that count with advanced warning systems and is an area for the training of officials on the safety of consumer products.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-308/14