Media Center

Press Release

OAS Signs Memorandum with Consumer Agency of Catalonia, Spain

The Organization of American States (OAS) today signed a memorandum of understanding with the Consumer Agency of the Government of Catalonia, Spain, which lays the foundation for collaboration in protecting and promoting the rights of consumers, which follows a series of agreements that the multilateral institution already has in that area with the Government of Spain.

The OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, said that the signing of this instrument formalizes the "rich collaboration" that the hemispheric institution has had for several years with the Catalan Agency, and other national and regional organizations from Spain in the area of consumer protection. Secretary General Insulza recalled that the agreement is made through the Consumer Safety and Health Network (RCSS) whose operation "was regulated with the full consensus by the General Assembly of Asunción” that the OAS held in June.

The OAS Secretary General recalled that the Catalan Consumer Agency provided financial support to partially cover the costs of post-graduate courses of the RCSS at the University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, through which over 350 senior officials of the region were trained in consumption, metrology, quality, health and sanitary surveillance.

"The Agency has also supported other technical cooperation and collaboration activities. For instance, it contributed to the International Seminar on Product Safety, with an emphasis on products for children, held in Lima in 2013, and to the Seminar on Damage Repair for Defective Products held in Bogotá in 2011," said Secretary General Insulza. More recently, he continued, in July 2014, "the Director of the Catalan Agency participated in the regional workshop on the Substantive and Procedural Aspects of the Inter-American Rapid Alert System, with an emphasis on Risk Evaluation held at the OAS headquarters, sharing thus the rich experience of Catalonia and Spain in the European Warning System known as 'RAPEX'."

The Director of the Catalan Consumer Agency, Alfons Conesa i Badiella, underlined the importance of the agreement, because its ultimate goal is to protect the rights of individuals. In this regard, he explained that it specifically aims to defend the rights to "health, safety, economic interests, training, education and information, which are often unknown and which we must disseminate, and to educate consumers so they know and demand at any time that these rights be fulfilled."

The Permanent Observer of Spain to the OAS, Jorge Hevia, stressed the importance of the agreement, noting that it is part of other agreements signed in this field between his country’s administrations and the hemispheric institution. Ambassador Hevia highlighted Spain’s efforts to cooperate with the OAS, noting that cooperation takes place with the central administration, the autonomous administration, academia and civil society. The Spanish diplomat recalled that “not long ago an agreement with the Spanish Consumer Agency was signed; today an agreement with the Catalan Agency is signed, and soon we will sign an agreement with the University of Cantabria."

The signing ceremony held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, was attended by the Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, La Celia A. Prince, and the Director of the Consumer Safety and Health Network, Evelyn Jacir.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-413/14