Moving from ideas to action at the Summit of the Future: UN Deputy Chief meets with Regional Collaborative Platform in Latin America and Caribbean
Urgent and scaled-up actions, policies and investments for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Latin America and Caribbean region. This was UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed’s call as she met with UN entities and programmes in Chile last week under the auspices of the Regional Collaborative Platform. Held close on the heels of the Seventh Meeting of the Sustainable Development Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean, the UN Deputy Chief called attention to the significance of the upcoming Summit of the Future.
Throughout her visit, Ms. Mohammed engaged with regional ministers and met with Chile’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gloria de la Fuente. She was accompanied by UN officials, including Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder, Assistant Secretary-General for Development Coordination Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Development Coordination Office, Roberto Valent.
At the Regional Collaborative Platform, UN officials highlighted integrated solutions to accelerate progress on the SDGs, despite the region facing political instability, increasing violence, and setbacks in achieving the 2030 . The Summit of the Future was highlighted as a crucial opportunity to advance multilateral solutions and propel collective ambitions to shape the future. Mobilizing governments, stakeholders, and the international community ahead of the Summit of the Future was crucial to a reinvigorating the call for multilateralism in the region.
”The Summit of the Future offers hope of a better tomorrow,” emphasized Ms. Mohammed. “The Summit must be an accelerator for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, in full and on time. It must spur urgent and scaled-up actions, policies and investments. And it must catalyze efforts, so that our global institutions can meet the needs of developing countries - in Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond”, she expressed.
“Countries from Latin America and the Caribbean are showing their leadership for sustainable development in many forums - from Colombia hosting the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity in October to Antigua and Barbuda hosting the Small Island Development States Conference next month. And we already see that the Summit of the Future will be no exception”, Ms. Mohammed noted.
The UN Deputy Chief acknowledged the efforts of the Regional Collaborative Platform in making a difference, turning ideas into action, from individuals to communities. “As we have crossed halfway to 2030, leveraging regional expertise is key to connecting global agendas with country level priorities and delivering the promise of the SDGs”, she said.
Discussions revolved around a coordinated UN approach between Resident Coordinators, UN country teams, and UN entities at the regional and global level to work on six key transitions as critical investment pathways to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Regional Collaborative Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean
As a result of the reforms led by the United Nations Secretary-General, the Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP) in Latin America and the Caribbean was established in 2020 to position an efficient and agile United Nations development system in the region which is demand-driven and results-oriented. The Platform aims to ensure coordination, collaboration and the best use of United Nations expertise and assets. It brings together leadership, accountability and clarity to United Nations development system goals, activities and results in the region and amplifies United Nations country teams’ support at the national level in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The RCP LAC is chaired by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are the Vice-Chairs. The RCP LAC is composed of 24 United Nations entities, across the three United Nations pillars represented at the level of Regional Directors. A Joint Secretariat encompassing ECLAC, UNDCO, UNDP, was also established to provide support to the members of the Platform.
