The Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development contributes to laying the foundations for sustainable development in the region, centered on people, and with equality and a human rights perspective

He Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development contributes to laying the foundations for sustainable development in the region, focused on people, and with equality and a human rights, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, intercultural perspective, taking into account migratory status, reaffirmed today authorities and delegates from 21 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, from United Nations agencies and regional, multilateral and civil society organizations at the closing of the Fifth Session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development.

During the meeting, which brought together more than 570 people – 340 of them members of civil society organizations – participants confirmed that the full, effective, accelerated and resourced implementation of the Montevideo Consensus will contribute significantly to the execution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development after 2014 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

After two days of intense debates held at the Cartagena de Indias Convention Center, the representatives affirmed the crucial importance of strengthening the management of public policy aimed at guaranteeing the full exercise of rights and development of autonomy and quality of life of people with disabilities and emphasized that these issues are inherent to the population and development agenda.

The closing ceremony, held on Thursday, July 4, was chaired by Javier Medina Vásquez, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), representing the organization’s Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs; Susana Sottoli, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Constanza Bejarano Ramos, Director of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs; and Adriana Mendoza, Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, the country that holds the Presidency of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“It is with great satisfaction that we come to the close of this Meeting. On behalf of the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, I reiterate my deepest gratitude to the Government of Colombia for the warm welcome and reception it has given us over these days,” said Javier Medina Vásquez, Deputy Executive Secretary of ECLAC.

He added that the development of the meeting has left valuable reflections, in a global and regional scenario that is considerably more complex, uncertain and conflict-ridden than three decades ago, also characterized by polarization and intolerance.

“In this context, the Montevideo Consensus is an instrument for developing a shared vision of the future, which reflects the comprehensiveness proposed by the Cairo Programme of Action in 1994. It is also the most progressive document in the world,” Javier Medina stressed.

For her part, UNFPA Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Susana Sottoli, noted that “it is in the interest of all nations to pursue population-centered development, because it creates the conditions for healthy and empowered individuals and societies. In the midst of recent complex crises and growing polarization, uniting the world in the pursuit of this practice has never been a more urgent priority,” she said.

She also urged that this dialogue continue to support the progress made and find solutions collectively and promote inclusive policies and practices that allow us to address inequalities, accelerate the actions needed to ensure that no one is left behind, and live in a world where all people, women, girls, adolescents, without distinction, can fully exercise all their rights.

The Director of Economic, Social and Environmental Affairs of the Colombian Foreign Ministry, Constanza Bejarano Ramos, meanwhile, stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean is a progressive, innovative and resilient region.

“This spirit of solidarity is the same one that drives our progress in the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus, but we have also witnessed the challenges we still face and the intraregional heterogeneities in terms of the degree of implementation of the Consensus. These challenges do not distinguish borders and become a shared responsibility,” he said.

In the resolution Approved at the end of the meeting, the signatory countries resolved to create the open-ended group of friends of the Presidency on the rights of persons with disabilities and the population and development agenda within the framework of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as the Cartagena Group. The purpose of the Cartagena Group is to examine strategies to advance the inclusion of persons with disabilities within the framework of the Conference, thus contributing to the promotion and protection of their human rights.

The resolution requests countries to report on their progress and public policy actions regarding the inclusion of persons with disabilities as part of their presentations on national progress in implementing the Montevideo Consensus at the Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in 2025.

It also highlights the intergenerational and intercultural solidarity promoted by the Montevideo Consensus and looks forward to the approval of the Pact for the Future and its annexes and the Declaration on Future Generations, which would be adopted within the framework of the Future Summit, which will take place on 22 and 23 September 2024 in New York.

The Presidency of the Board of Directors of the Regional Conference on Population and Development was held by Colombia, while the Vice-Presidencies will be held by Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Cuba, Guyana, Honduras, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Suriname and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.