BRASILIA – Countries participating in the Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which concluded today in Brasilia, agreed to take as a region to the Second World Summit for Social Development to be held in Qatar in November the proposal to adopt a global pact for inclusive social development, with a view to attaining the social targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and proactively and effectively addressing the challenges of the coming decades.
In the Conference’s resolution, the countries request “the Government of Brazil to disseminate, in its capacity as chair of the presiding officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, the messages from the region contained in the document Latin America and the Caribbean 30 Years on from the World Summit for Social Development: Towards a Global Pact for Inclusive Social Development in the activities of the Second World Summit for Social Development, to be held on November 4-6, 2025 in Doha.”
The delegates from the participating Latin American and Caribbean countries stressed “the importance of eradicating poverty and hunger and significantly reducing the inequalities that persist in Latin America and the Caribbean” and called for “greater regional coordination and cooperation to strengthen efforts to address those issues effectively, efficiently and sustainably, with policies that are tailored to new challenges.”
The intergovernmental meeting – held on September 2-4 in Brazil’s capital – was organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the government of Brazil and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which held its 17th Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean simultaneously.
The closing ceremony featured a greeting (by video) from Wellington Dias, minister of social development and assistance, family affairs and the fight against hunger of Brazil, along with presentations by Osmar Ribeiro de Almeida Júnior, executive secretary of the same ministry; Almudena Fernández, UNDP’s chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Alberto Arenas de Mesa, director of ECLAC’s Social Development Division.
“The wealth of experiences we have seen here – regarding social protection, care systems, food and nutritional security, primary health care, education and productive inclusion – confirms Latin America and the Caribbean’s vitality and leadership in efficacious social policies. This is a living heritage that inspires the world and that we must continue strengthening,” emphasized Osmar Ribeiro de Almeida Júnior, executive Sscretary of the ministry of social development and assistance, family affairs and the fight against hunger of Brazil.
“We leave here with clear tasks ahead. The first is to maintain this cohesion and political impetus until Doha, where we will have a unique opportunity to consolidate commitments and point in a common direction for the period that will follow. The second is to stay the course and accelerate social transformations in our region. We have budgetary problems, we have difficult political debates in our countries, but it is encouraging to see all that has happened in the last thirty years in terms of social advances and to imagine that, by improving this foundation, we can do much more over the next thirty years,” Osmar Ribeiro de Almeida Júnior indicated.
Alberto Arenas de Mesa, director of ECLAC’s Social Development Division, thanked Brazil for hosting the Conference and thanked the rest of the delegations for their participation and collaboration. He also called on behalf of ECLAC’s executive secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, for taking the opportunity offered by the Second World Summit for Social Development to make a renewed and decisive push. “We hope that this Conference in Brasilia has been a step along that path and that it contributes to a global pact for inclusive social development where the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean can be an articulating force,” he stated.
In his remarks, the senior ECLAC official recalled that prioritizing social investment requires political will. “Articulating that political will involves not only exercising leadership, but also building a broad and inclusive social dialogue that contributes to legitimising the strengthening of policies and their institutional frameworks,” said Arenas de Mesa, emphasising that “social protection systems are the backbone of inclusive social development and should be universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient.”
“The discussions in the last two-and-a-half days reminded us that the fight against poverty, hunger and inequalities continues to be the starting point for any social pact,” said Almudena Fernández, UNDP’s chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean. She further emphasised: “Although the challenges have changed, inclusive social development cannot be viewed solely as a sectoral matter or just another social policy, but rather as a compass that must guide the entire development model in our countries. Inclusive social development is not an option: it is a vital condition for the future of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The Conference’s presiding officers is made up of Brazil as chair and Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay as vice-chairs.
Finally, the countries welcomed Paraguay’s offer to host the Seventh Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and UNDP’s 19th Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2027.
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