Commitments of 4th Meeting of Executive Committee of Latin American Regional Conference on Population and Development

At their fourth meeting, held on 9 and 10 October 2019 at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed to:

1. Commend the countries of the region upon the progress made in the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, and call for redoubled efforts to address the remaining challenges to its full implementation;

2. Recognize the contribution of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development to global follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014;

3. Also recognize the contribution of the Montevideo Consensus to the implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in accordance with resolution 723(XXXVII), adopted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean at its thirty-seventh session, and invite member States to foster its implementation as a mechanism for accelerating the implementation of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda;

4. Acknowledge with appreciation the work carried out by the member countries of the working group on indicators for regional follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, under the coordination of Mexico, and urge them to strengthen their joint work with Statistical Coordination Group for the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean;

5. Welcome the document Report of the working group on indicators for regional follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, 1 submitted to the Presiding Officers at this fourth meeting, and appreciate the progress made by the working group in the definition of pending metadata;

6. Extend the mandate of the working group for an indefinite period, until the Presiding Officers decide to dismantle it, in order to continue progressing with the preparation of pending metadata and to act as a forum for experience-sharing and cooperation among countries regarding the measurement of indicators for follow-up to the Montevideo Consensus;

7. Request the working group, with the support of the member countries of the group and the technical secretariat, to prepare, by 31 December 2019, a proposal of ongoing activities to define the pending metadata, including mechanisms and possible resources to ensure their implementation, and to report on the progress of these activities at the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean;

8. Welcome the prototype of the virtual platform to contribute to the regional follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, and request that the secretariat, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund, present the website of the platform based on this prototype, including a detailed proposal for updating its content, at the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development;

9. Ask the Chair of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the support of the secretariat and the United Nations Population Fund, to prepare a proposed timeline for the submission of national reports and of the regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus, in line with global cycle of review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014, and with the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

10. Request the secretariat to prepare a technical study on international migration in the region in the framework of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, to be presented at the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean;

11. Also requests the secretariat, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund, to continue to help strengthen capacities in the countries of the region to conduct the 2020 round of population and housing censuses and to produce, disseminate and analyse sociodemographic and economic information, by providing technical assistance, promoting experience-sharing and South-South cooperation, and drafting technical recommendations in these matters;

12. Invite the subsidiary bodies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Statistical Conference of the Americas, to strengthen synergies and broaden instances for cooperation in areas relating to the themes of the Montevideo Consensus, with the participation of civil society;

13. Request the Chair of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean to report on the progress of the activities of the Conference at the fourth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development and the thirtieth-eighth session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in 2020;

14. Express gratitude for the work done by the countries serving as Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular by Peru in its capacity as Chair;

15. Thank the secretariat for the support provided to the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in organizing their fourth meeting and preparing the corresponding documentation;

16. Also thank the United Nations Population Fund for its collaboration in national and regional activities carried out to implement and follow up the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, and congratulate the Fund on its fiftieth anniversary;

17. Appreciate the participation of civil society organizations and academia in the fourth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and their contributions to it, as well as their unfailing commitment to the dissemination, implementation and follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development;

18. Acknowledge and appreciate the significance of the high-level conference to advance implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, convened by the United Nations Population Fund and the Governments of Kenya and Denmark from 12 to 14 November 2019 in Nairobi, and ratify the commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean to continue to implement the Montevideo Consensus as a road map for the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 25 years after its adoption;

19. Takes note of the distribution in the meeting of the document “Unfinished business: the pursuit of rights and choices for all. Puebla Commitments”, the outcome of the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Nairobi Summit, held in Puebla, Mexico, on 26 September 2019;

20. Welcome the interest expressed by the Plurinational State of Bolivia in hosting the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held in the second half of 2020;

21. Urge the countries to make every effort to send high-level, inclusive, diverse and pluralistic official delegations to the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development, including representatives from ministries and national offices involved in the population and development agenda, and representatives of civil society and academic organizations that support the Montevideo Consensus process.

Mode of engagement:

• Policy and guidance
  Commitments of 4th Meeting of Executive Committee of Latin American Regional Conference on Population and Development. To be delivered by Government of Peru as Chair of Executive Committee.