Conflict Resolution Center holds workshops on the manual of monitoring and inspection procedures

Nablus, Publication and Information Unit:
The Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, in cooperation with the Ministry of National Economy in Ramallah, held a workshop on "Preparing a manual of procedures for monitoring and inspecting counterfeit and falsified goods". The workshop is delivered through the project "Active citizenship in activating consumer protection procedures in the West Bank", funded by Catholic Relief Services.
The meeting was attended by representatives of all the various regulatory bodies: the Ministry of Health, represented by pharmaceutical control, the Ministry of Agriculture, the customs police, the Consumer Protection Association, the Standards and Metrology Institution, and the chambers of commerce and industry.
For his part, Issam Odeh, the project coordinator, stressed the need to involve all specialists in preparing the manual, given its importance and effectiveness in Palestinian society, and the need to join efforts to produce an aware consumer and a trader committed to the standards and specifications in force, away from fraud, deception and falsification.
He explained that many awareness and educational activities and events have been carried out for a large body of consumers at every level, in order to spread the benefit and achieve distinctive results for everyone, noting that there is continuing cooperation between the Centre and the Ministry of National Economy for the second year, aimed at improving the reality of consumer protection and developing the monitoring and inspection teams.
For his part, Ibrahim Al-Qadi, director general of the General Administration for Consumer Protection at the Ministry of National Economy, stressed the need to join efforts between all the regulatory bodies to protect the consumer, the trader and the producer, which in turn requires a manual of procedures for monitoring and inspecting the counterfeit and falsified goods that are widespread in Palestinian markets and that affect the health and safety of the Palestinian consumer.
He added that this manual will bring about a new reality in the Palestinian markets and give traders and suppliers the chance to compete fairly in offering goods of high specification and quality.
For his part, Dr. Youssef Shandi, the legal expert responsible for preparing the manual, reviewed the reality of the Palestinian markets and the proportion of counterfeit and falsified goods, as well as the extent of the need for this manual in the light of these high proportions of counterfeit and falsified goods.
He also explained the difference between the concepts of falsification, counterfeiting and fraud and how to deal with them, in addition to providing a legal document giving a solid basis for the monitoring and inspection teams to limit such goods and punish those who breach the rules.
Shandi divided commercial fraud into fraud as to the nature of the product, and fraud as to the product's type, composition and content, quantity and size, and the failure of the method of use or the warnings to match the goods, which is what emerges from the tests carried out on the product and its source.
He presented the methodology for preparing the manual and the structure that will be followed, covering an introduction on consumer protection in Palestine and the relevant legislation, definitions and general provisions, detailed and procedural provisions, the bodies competent to implement them and the limits of each body's powers and their sequence, the application of seizure and impoundment procedures and other forms of importance to the inspectors of the consumer protection department.
At the close of the workshop a key questionnaire was distributed to the participants concerning the manual of procedures for monitoring and inspecting counterfeit and falsified goods, in order to gather their views and needs during its preparation. He explained that this is the first workshop and will be followed by others discussing the drafts of the manual in detail.