Representatives of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean reaffirmed the Montevideo Consensus as the basis for a comprehensive roadmap for national and regional action in the area of population and development, during the closing of the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Developmentwhich ended this Thursday at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
In their resolutionsthe countries recognized the strategic role of Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development as a framework for the implementation of actions that contribute to responding to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the living conditions and the exercise of rights of the population, the multiple axes of inequality and the three dimensions of sustainable development —economic , social and environmental—, with a view to recovery and social and economic transformation.
Likewise, they called for reinforcing compliance with the priority measures of the Montevideo Consensus through the implementation of specific actions, the adequate allocation of resources, and the creation and strengthening of institutional mechanisms for their implementation and follow-up, especially for the attention of populations severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The closing ceremony was led by Raúl García-Buchaca, Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Analysis of Programs of ECLAC; Harold Robinson, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and David Guachalla, Vice Minister of Planning and Coordination of Bolivia, in his capacity as President of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and development.
At the meeting, which brought together more than 1,300 people – half of them in person – the authorities stressed that, in the midst of an unprecedented international context such as that marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to strengthen multilateralism, international solidarity and cooperation to achieve the full implementation of the Montevideo Consensus, the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014 and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
The three-day event was attended by more than 220 delegates from 30 member countries of ECLAC and one associate member, in addition to a hundred representatives of the United Nations System, 18 cooperation agencies, together with more than 640 representatives of civil society, academia, and the private sector. Added to this were the thousands of people who followed the meeting on social platforms and the public broadcasts of the sessions.
“We have once again reaffirmed our commitment to the Montevideo Consensus which, together with the 2030 Agenda, are essential and highly valid tools to undertake the tasks for a transformative recovery that places equality, sustainability and people at the center” , affirmed Raúl García-Buchaca, Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Analysis of Programs of ECLAC, in his closing speech.
Harold Robinson, UNFPA Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, for his part, highlighted the “strong reaffirmation” by the countries of the validity of the Conference, and stressed that the Montevideo Consensus, which has been taken as the instrument that changes the historical route of Latin America and the Caribbean, “will only be useful at the moment in which our collective destiny becomes.”
David Guachalla, Vice Minister of Planning and Coordination of Bolivia, meanwhile, stressed that At the fourth meeting of the Regional Conference on Population and Development, nine years after the first meeting, “Bolivia receives the post and assumes the Presidency of the Board of Directors with great respect, gratitude and commitment, a task that we will carry out with the greatest responsibility.”
The document of resolutions approved by the countries encourages the governments of the region to place special emphasis on strengthening their sociodemographic and vital statistics systems, and to develop and strengthen the capacities of national statistical systems and national statistical offices to produce the population data, disaggregated by sex, age, area of residence (urban-rural), income, ethnic-racial identity, migratory status, disability and other relevant characteristics in the diversity of the population, that are necessary to make an accurate assessment of the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus.
Likewise, it congratulates ECLAC for the development and implementation of the virtual platform to contribute to the follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, a space that brings together the main initiatives reported by the countries and the achievements made with respect to the population, their living conditions, the exercise of their rights and their development. In other words, it seeks to systematize the processes and results achieved in the region to comply with the commitments assumed in relation to the Montevideo Consensus.
It also recognizes the crucial role of civil society organizations, the private sector, and the academic sector in the implementation, follow-up, evaluation processes, and dissemination of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development.
The Presidency of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development was in charge of Bolivia, while the Vice Presidencies will be in charge of Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Add Comment