BRASILIA, Brazil, CMC – Four Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are represented at the Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Representatives from Barbados, Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago have joined their counterparts from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay at the meeting, which ends on Thursday.
They have reaffirmed their resolve to continue working towards achieving actual inclusive social development and to leverage the region’s rich history of social innovation to forge a joint position on this issue in multilateral forums. This includes a proposal to adopt a global pact for inclusive social development in Qatar in November.
The intergovernmental gathering is organised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the government of Brazil, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is holding its 16th Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean simultaneously.
ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, celebrated the Regional Conference’s 10th anniversary and its consolidation as a space where multiple stakeholders debate the challenges related to poverty, inequality, and structural gaps faced by the region.
He stated that, in the Latin American and Caribbean context, characterized by three traps that hinder its development, the region remains the most unequal in the world.
“As is widely accepted and supported by evidence today, inequality hinders economic and job growth, and it is corrosive to social cohesion and the credibility of institutions,” he said.
“A global pact for inclusive social development must be closely articulated with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the pillars addressed at the Summit of the Future, promoting a transformative and comprehensive vision. The details of this proposal arising in Latin America and the Caribbean are explained in the position document Latin America and the Caribbean 30 Years on from the World Summit for Social Development; Towards a Global Pact for Inclusive Social Development, which is being presented at this Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development,” the ECLAC official added.
Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Almudena Fernández, indicated that “Latin America and the Caribbean are facing an unprecedented polycrisis, where social, economic, and climate challenges are intermeshed and mutually amplify each other.
“In this context, social protection is not an expenditure – it is our best investment in stability, cohesion, and the future. No country can face these challenges alone; now more than ever, we need collective leadership and regional cooperation.
“From Brasilia, we send a clear message to the world: this region has the knowledge, the experience, and the political will to transform the uncertainty into a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable development agenda,” Fernández added.
In a statement, Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations, agreed that “Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with a vibrant history of social innovation, has a pivotal role to play.
“Your leadership and experience are essential in aligning policy priorities with deliberations and outcomes of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha in November. I strongly encourage your governments to participate at the highest levels in the forthcoming Summit,” she said in a video message.
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