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Background

In May 2014, the member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) decided, pursuant to resolution 682(XXXV), to establish the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean as a subsidiary body of the Commission. The Conference’s objectives include to promote the development of national policies on social development; to further international, regional and bilateral cooperation among national offices and institutions; to examine multidimensional poverty and make progress on poverty measurement, inequality and structural gaps, in conjunction with the relevant subsidiary bodies that conduct studies in this field, in particular the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Commission; to exchange experiences in relation to social matters and support and provide technical inputs for the summits of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and other regional forums; and to contribute from the perspective of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to the discussions and proposals considered by the Commission on Sustainable Development (now superseded by the high-level political forum on sustainable development).

At its first session, which took place in Lima from 2 to 4 November 2015, the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean adopted resolution 1(I), which states in a preambular paragraph that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers an opportunity for all the countries in the region to progress towards eliminating poverty and reducing inequality.

At its second session, held in Montevideo from 25 to 27 November 2017, the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean adopted resolution 2(II), paragraph 11 of which states that the Regional Conference undertakes to foster the building of a regional agenda for inclusive social development based on public policies that address the region’s structural inequalities and the new challenges arising from technological change and the necessary transition to an environmentally sustainable economy, with a focus based on rights, gender equality and the life cycle and an approach of universalism that is sensitive to differences, within the general framework of the social dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At its third session, that took place in Mexico City from 1 to 3 October 2019, the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean adopted resolution 3(III) in which the document Critical obstacles to inclusive social development in Latin America and the Caribbean: background for a regional agenda was approved, requesting the Secretariat to disseminate it widely and encourage its discussion and analysis, with special attention to structural and emerging challenges for inclusive social development. This will help advance and strengthen the implementation of the social dimension of sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region.

At their fourth session, held virtually on January 13, 202, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, agreed to welcome the proposal for a work plan for the implementation of the Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development in order to strengthen the development of working groups in relation to social inclusion in a post-COVID-19 environment.

At their third meeting, held in Santiago on 23 April 2019, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean welcomed the initial proposal for a regional agenda for inclusive social development and endorsed the work plan for preparing the final version of the regional agenda for inclusive social development, for consideration and approval at the third session of the Regional Conference.

At their second meeting, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Panama City on 12 September 2018, agreed to welcome the document Towards a regional agenda for inclusive social development: bases and initial proposal and adopt the plan of work proposed therein for the preparation of such an agenda.

At their first meeting, held in Santo Domingo on 1 November 2016, on the occasion of the eighth Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed to recognize the work of the secretariat in achieving progress towards fulfilment of the agreements set forth in resolution 1(I); to welcome the document The social inequality matrix in Latin America, prepared by the secretariat; and to request the Chair of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean to report at the next meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development on the Conference’s most salient conclusions for the regional implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.