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The UN General Assembly, on 15 December 2025, adopted a landmark resolution establishing the first-ever United Nations Principles for Consumer Product Safety.

The principles affirm the right of all consumers to safe, non-hazardous products sold online or offline, in line with the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection. They underscore that businesses bear the primary responsibility for product safety throughout a product’s entire life cycle.

The principles also empower public authorities to conduct risk assessments, order recalls, remove unsafe listings from online marketplaces, and share safety alerts across borders.

The principles provide a flexible, non-trade-restrictive framework that helps 193 UN member states to strengthen domestic laws, improve enforcement, protect vulnerable consumers, and align product safety with sustainable consumption and circular economy objectives.

“Unsafe products come with human, environmental, and economic costs, disproportionately affecting developing countries with limited regulatory capacity and large informal markets,” noted UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which estimated that 44% of UN member states still lack adequate legal frameworks to ensure consumer product safety.

The move seeks to enhance consumer protection in an increasingly globalised and digital marketplace, as product safety is not a privilege for the few, but a fundamental right for all, according to UNCTAD.