60. The Committee was informed that this item was placed on the Agenda at the request of the 23rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission[10]. In recognition of consumers' rights to express their interests in the Codex decision making process, the Commission urged member governments to continue to take the opportunity to provide a forum for the exchange of experiences on the ways and means of developing consumer inputs into National Codex Committees and Codex Contact Points. Based on this premise, the Commission requests to be informed of progress made by member governments in this direction[11]. Furthermore, the Commission at its 23rd Session requested the Codex Committee on General Principles to develop a checklist of measurable objectives to assess consumer participation in Codex work at the national and international levels.
61. The Committee was invited to report on progress made to involve consumers in the work of their Codex Contact Points and National Codex Committees, and to provide information/comments on the Proposed Draft Guidance on Measurable Objectives to Assess Consumer Participation in Codex..
62. The Observer from Consumers' International (CI) acknowledged the efforts being made by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to enhance effective participation of all stakeholders, particularly consumers, in Codex activities. The Observer further acknowledged the steps being taken by several member countries to enhance effective consumer participation in Codex activities at the national level. The Observer however called for greater involvement of consumer representatives particularly in training workshops organised by member countries, FAO and WHO, which are related to Codex work and the inclusion of consumer representatives in national delegations to meetings of Codex committees.
63. The Observer presented the draft Guidelines for Codex Contact Points and National Codex Committees-African Region, noting that the document, when adopted would enhance effective participation of all stakeholders and also promote participation in the work of the Commission of Codex member countries in the region. Although the draft was adapted from the one prepared for the Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia, it differed in certain areas to make it applicable to the African Region. The Observer requested the Committee to consider and recommend the draft to the Commission for adoption.
64. The Secretariat pointed out that the draft document must be progressed through the stepwise procedure of the Commission and would have to be circulated to all member governments for comments.
Benin
65. The government recognised the three consumer organisations in Benin. However, the organisations encounter difficulties in attending meetings, because the government is unable to fund the participation of representatives of consumer organisations at Codex meetings. The Delegation appealed to Consumers' International to seek for extra funding to be able to provide assistance to the organisations.
Ghana
66. The Delegation informed the Committee that the Food and Drug Legislation required that the composition of the supervising Board should include two government appointed individuals who would represent consumers' interests in the activities of the Board. Other private individuals also served consumer interests on sub-committees in the development of national standards. However, all these individuals so appointed or co-opted did not represent or belong to any consumer association. Their representations were therefore informal.
67. There were currently four consumer associations in Ghana and it was hoped that the National Codex Committee, when activated, would be able to bring the consumer associations under one umbrella, which would effectively take part in Codex matters at the national and international levels.
Kenya
68. Consumer organisations participate in the development of national food standards. However, due to their limited resources, the Consumer Organisations have not effectively been able to participate in the development of international standards, such as Codex standards. Strengthening of the Consumer Organisations would improve their involvement in Codex work.
Mozambique
69. Consumer associations were yet to be involved in the activities of Codex. In fact, the National Codex Committee itself was yet to be inaugurated. The activities carried out so far have been devoted to capacity building for national food control. It was envisaged that following the establishment of the National Codex Committee, the consumer representation would be addressed. While some NGOs representing consumers had been formed in the country, they were yet to be recognised both by consumers and the government.
Senegal
70. The interest of consumers is paramount in the work of the Commission. The call for transparency in the development of food standards in Senegal is for the benefit of consumers. In Senegal, consumers are involved in food standardisation. The Delegation entreated all delegations to give support to the Guidelines prepared by the Consumers' International by using objective criteria of representation and legitimisation of consumer organizations at national level.
South Africa
71. In response to the Proposed Draft Guidance on Measurable Objectives to Assess Consumer Participation in Codex, the Delegation of South Africa provided the following information:
· South Africa has established a National Codex Contact Point.Swaziland· South Africa has established a National Codex Committee, with representation from the umbrella consumer organisation - the National Consumer Forum.
· South Africa does not hold public consultations when developing national positions for Codex meetings.
· In South Africa the National Consumer Forum is provided with Codex documents and is invited to submit comments. However, the Forum has not been invited to participate in Codex meetings because the government was not in a position to fund the Forum.
· In South Africa independent consumer NGOs have not participated in the actual development of national positions for Codex meetings.
· South Africa only deals directly with the one umbrella consumer NGO.
72. Members of consumer organizations were members of the National Codex Committee and are involved in the Codex decision-making processes. However, no consultations existed because currently there was no standards organisation in Swaziland.
Tanzania
73. The Delegation informed the Committee that the participation of consumers in the work of Codex was supported by the provisions of the standards preparation legislation which required the involvement of consumers and all other interested parties at all stages in the elaboration of standards. Weak structure of consumer organisations, coupled with the lack of the necessary expertise, limited the effectiveness of the organisations and their participation in Codex work. In an effort to overcome these problems, a Regional Consumer Sensitisation Workshop was held in Arusha (October 2000), in which five participants from Kenya, one from Uganda and fifteen from Tanzania participated.
Uganda
74. In Uganda, consumer organizations were represented both on the National Codex Committee and the Technical Committees responsible for the elaboration of standards at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), which is the national body mandated to formulate Uganda standards. Furthermore, the UNBS which is also the Codex Contact Point and the consumer organizations exchange information at regular intervals as a way of improving communication and building trust between the two organisations.
Consumers International (CI)
75. In response to issues raised by delegations, the Observer from Consumers International highlighted actions which the organisation had undertaken and which were being contemplated to meet the identified challenges. The Committee was informed that over the last two years, Consumers International-Regional Office for Africa (CI-ROAF), had been supporting its members to work under national umbrella bodies in order to increase their effectiveness, credibility and representation. Some achievements in this regard included:
· The establishment of an umbrella body in Nigeria by regrouping eighteen consumer organisations under the name of All Nigeria Consumers Movement Union (ANCOMU).76. The Committee was also informed of the lobbying efforts of CI to integrate Consumer Policy in the recently ratified Cotonou Development Convention between 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific and 15 European countries. The Observer encouraged governments to include consumer policy in their priority areas to be able to benefit from resources which may be made available under this convention.· The establishment of an umbrella body in Cote d'Ivoire, regrouping fifteen consumer organisations under the name of Federation des Associations de Consommateurs Cote d'Ivoire (FAC-CI).
· Support was granted to the National Consumer Forum of South Africa, which represented twenty-five consumer organisations.
· The establishment in Senegal, of the Conseil National des Associations de Consommateur (CONAC) involving four consumer organisations.
77. The Observer from Consumers International reiterated the various capacity building activities it had undertaken to improve the expertise of consumer orgnizations, including the organisation of training workshops, sponsoring of delegates to participate in Codex meetings, providing publications such as the manual Codex Alimentarius for Consumers. The Observer requested governments, FAO and WHO to continue involving consumer organisations in workshops organised by them.
78. Many the Delegations welcomed the document and in principle supported the draft guidelines. The Committee agreed to initiate work on the development of Guidelines for Codex Contact Points and National Codex Committees - African Region, subject to approval by the 24th Session of the Commission. The Committee also agreed to attach the document to this report (see Appendix II).
