Countries Will Commemorate Tenth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

Representatives of government, international institutions, the private sector, academia and civil society will gather on November 14-15 at the main headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, the most important intergovernmental agreement in this area for the region, and its instrument for follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”.

The special session “10 years of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development” will take place in the framework of the fifth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is a subsidiary body of ECLAC focused on follow-up and review of matters relating to population and development, such as international migration, indigenous peoples and Afrodescendent populations, ageing, and sexual and reproductive health.

In the context of the special session, a high-level panel discussion entitled “Challenges of scaling up implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, 10 years after its adoption” will be conducted by members of government, civil society and international organizations who have played, and still play, a key role in the process of institutional consolidation of the Montevideo Consensus and of the Regional Conference on Population and Development.

The fifth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development will begin after that, featuring the presentation of the document Population, Development and Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: draft second regional report on implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, prepared by ECLAC with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In addition, governments will present their voluntary national reports on implementation of the Montevideo Consensus, and the technical secretariat – held by ECLAC – will present progress on the development of a virtual platform to contribute to regional monitoring of the Montevideo Consensus.

The meeting will also include two thematic panels on which government, civil society and academic speakers will analyze progress and challenges with respect to public policy on population and development, and regarding gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

On November 13, civil society meetings will be held along with side events on numerous issues related to the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development. The side events will continue on November 14-15.