Social Inequality is a Trap for Latin America and the Caribbean’s Development and Inhibits the Exercise of Rights

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• Social development

31 October 2024|Press Release

Authorities participated on Thursday in Barbados in the Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the framework of the XVI Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Social inequality is a trap for Latin America and the Caribbean's development and inhibits the exercise of people's rights. This was one of the themes underscored at the Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which took place this Thursday, October 31, 2024 in Barbados.

The event was held in the framework of the XVI Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, co-organized and sponsored by the Government of Barbados with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean and ECLAC (on October 30-November 1, 2024).

In Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, Ministers for Social Development and equivalent bodies from Latin America and the Caribbean discussed the challenges associated with implementation of the Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development (approved in 2019) along with the messages that the region will take to the Second World Summit for Social Development, which will be held in 2025.

The meeting was inaugurated by José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC; Javiera Toro, Social Development and Family Minister of Chile, the country serving as Chair of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean; Kirk Humphrey, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs of Barbados; and Michelle Muschett, Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of UNDP. Also participating in the session were Wellington Dias, Minister for Social Development and Assistance, Family Affairs and the Fight against Hunger of Brazil, and Yorleny León Marchena, Minister of Human Development and Social Inclusion of Costa Rica.

"The Second World Summit for Social Development, which will take place in 2025, marks a critical milestone for reviewing the progress made to date, analyzing the present and adopting decisions for a future with less inequality and greater social mobility and social cohesion. There, the region will have the opportunity to make its presence known, setting out its needs, priorities and proposals, and therefore, we see this Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers as a key space for sharing ideas about the social challenges facing the region and the world and for defining common messages," José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs said.

At the meeting, Chile's Social Development and Family Minister reported on progress in implementing the resolution agreed upon at the Fifth Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Santiago in October 2023, and she addressed the region's urgent challenges for achieving social development, emphasizing that "there can be no economic growth or environmental protection without a deep commitment to social inclusion, well-being and equality, as proposed by the 2030 Agenda."

"The social policies we adopt must take the care perspective into account in a central way. With the population ageing, the care crisis is intensifying and becoming a factor for greater inequality. In Chile, we want to address this challenge by implementing a national support and care system," she stated.

Meanwhile, Kirk Humphrey, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs of Barbados, referred to the climatic and financial vulnerabilities faced by the Caribbean subregion and stressed the need to ensure a "shared prosperity" that would especially reach the most vulnerable people. "Crises are a part of the reality in the Caribbean," said Humphrey, who called for pursuing comprehensive solutions based on regional cooperation.

"We must take urgent and coordinated action to ensure that all the countries in our region, regardless of their level of development, can access opportunities to build a more equitable and resilient future. There is space for transformation and for reimagining cooperation. UNDP is ready to support the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on this path, working hand in hand with ECLAC, the broader United Nations family and other strategic partners," said Michelle Muschett, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme.

After the opening segment, Alberto Arenas de Mesa, Director of ECLAC's Social Development Division, presented the document Reducing Inequality and Pursuing Inclusive Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges, Priorities and Key Messages in preparation for the Second World Summit for Social Development.

This report presents the evolution of the regional and global social agenda since the World Summit for Social Development in 1995, reviews the critical constraints for inclusive social development, and proposes a series of priorities and messages that Latin America and the Caribbean can take to the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025.

"In the 30 years since the World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, inclusive social development has played an increasingly central role in the region's policies, institutions and performance. However, big challenges remain as new risks are emerging, and these must be addressed with new agreements and better policies to achieve inclusion and ensure the exercise of social rights, as recommended in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," the publication summarizes.

In Barbados, ECLAC asked countries to consider at least 10 messages and priorities for speaking with a single voice at the global gathering in Qatar:

1. Inclusive social development contributes to economic and productive development and environmental protection, and vice versa.

2. The social inequality development trap inhibits the exercise of rights.

3. Inequality reduces social cohesion, fractures social compacts and erodes democratic governance.

4. Social inequality is multidimensional and should be measured accordingly.

5. Inclusive social development requires strengthening institutional capacities and social policy governance.

6. Social protection systems must be universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient.

7. Labor inclusion is the linchpin of inequality reduction.

8. A minimum investment standard in non-contributory social protection is necessary to end poverty.

9. Social dialogue and fiscal covenants are essential to achieve and sustainably finance inclusive social development.

10. The Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development is a renewed framework for multilateral cooperation.

"We at ECLAC are at your disposal to make progress on building quality social policies, as our Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development proposes. Let's especially not fail to prioritize the strengthening of the social institutional framework and the creation of technical, operational, political and prospective (TOPP) capabilities of institutions that would allow for undertaking important transformations, in conjunction with harmonious governance that incorporates and articulates all stakeholders," José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs concluded.

The Presiding Officers, chaired by Chile, is also made up of Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Venezuela as vice-chairs.

To date, five sessions of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean have been held: the first in Lima in November 2015; the second in Montevideo in October 2017; the third in Mexico City in October 2019; the fourth, in October 2021, was virtual and chaired by Antigua and Barbuda; and the latest one took place in Chile in 2023. The Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean will take place in Brazil in 2025.