Towards a regional agenda for inclusive social development: Bases and initial proposal

This document is intended to guide the construction of the regional agenda for inclusive social development in particular, the discussions of the second meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will take place in Panama City in September 2018. Its content was presented and considered at a working meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Conference held in Santiago in April 2018, in the framework of the second meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development. The comments made on that occasion were taken into account in the preparation of the present document. A number of elements and milestones are proposed here for discussion by the countries, for consideration in developing the regional agenda for inclusive social development, its goals and its principles. The first chapter addresses the conceptual bases and proposes a definition of inclusive social development in the broader sustainable development framework. The second chapter outlines the critical obstacles to the region’s inclusive social development that the agenda would need to address. The third chapter examines the indications and guidance provided by international standards on social development that are to be taken into account in developing guidelines for preparing the agenda, and offers a preliminary systemization of the commitments adopted at regional and subregional intergovernmental forums on cross-cutting themes and core dimensions of inclusive social development, as well as their means of implementation. This exercise serves to identify areas of agreement and others that will require further work during the discussion of the agenda. Lastly, the fourth chapter sets forth a first proposal on the vision and goals of the agenda and its guiding principles, and identifies key milestones in its formulation.