Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

1. Responding to the multiple crises, has the governing body of your organization taken any decisions or adopted any new strategies to enhance effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions and to reinforce the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and poverty eradication? (200-800 words)

ECLAC’s programme of work for 2024 is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and geared towards poverty eradication and the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions to reinforce the SDGs, while leaving no one behind. At the meeting of the Committee of the Whole of ECLAC, convened with the Commission’s member States on October 17, 2023 the Executive Secretary presented ECLAC’s proposals to respond to the sustainable development challenges faced by the LAC region, in the context of a transforming globalization process and the reconfiguration of supply chains. In addition to addressing slow growth and stagnant productivity in the LAC region, this includes prioritizing policies and investments with multiplier effects for the SDGs as a means to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs and in alignment with the political declaration of the SDG Summit. To achieve these objectives ECLAC presented a set of strategic sectors with potential to drive growth and which present opportunities to incorporate productive development policies. Examples include the energy transition for which the region can leverage its reserves of critical minerals, electromobility, circular economy, bioeconomy, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, medical devices manufacturing, ICT-enabled service sectors, sustainable tourism and comprehensive care systems. In order to mobilize the necessary investments, financing for development is a crucial challenge for ECLAC’s predominantly middle-income member States. ECLAC continues to develop policy proposals to address debt and financing challenges, in addition to supporting regional cooperation efforts on tax matters (see answers in section 4).

2. In the past year, has your organization organized any intergovernmentally mandated conferences, forums or events that contributed to the achievement of the SDGs, or in the process of planning and organizing any such mandated events to be held next year?

Event Name:	15th session of the Regional Conference on Women/ 64th Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
Event Dates:	7-11 November 2022 and 8-9 February 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Relevant SDGs:	All 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 5
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	The Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is a subsidiary body of ECLAC and is the main regional intergovernmental forum on women's rights and gender equality within the UN system. It is organised by ECLAC as Secretariat of the Conference and, since 2020, with the support of UN-Women. LAC is the only region in the world where, for the past 45 years, the Regional Conference on Women has brought together governments, international agencies and civil society organizations, particularly women’s and feminist organizations, to analyse progress and challenges in ensuring women’s rights and achieving gender equality. The Conference resulted in a Regional Gender Agenda, a comprehensive road map to move towards a care society. The care economy is one of several key sectors proposed by ECLAC to enhance growth dynamics, reduce gender inequalities and facilitate the integration of women into the labour market.
Website (if applicable)	https://conferenciamujer.cepal.org/15/en https://www.cepal.org/en/events/64th-meeting-presiding-officers-regiona…; https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/48738-buenos-aires-commitment-fifteenth-session-regional-conference-women-latin-america https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/48362-care-society-horizon-sustai…;

Event Name:	Third Edition of the Regional Water Dialogues in Latin America and the Caribbean
Event Dates:	1-3 February 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago de Chile
Relevant SDGs:	SDG 6 and its interlinkages with other SDGs
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	ECLAC hosted the third edition of the Regional Water Dialogues in Latin America and the Caribbean, a high-level ministerial event in preparation for the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York. The meeting assessed progress towards SDG 6 in the framework of the "Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development,’ 2018-2028,” and launched a Regional Water Action Agenda.
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/events/eclac-will-organize-third-edition-regio…;

Event Name:	Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development
Event Dates:	25-28 April 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago de Chile
Relevant SDGs:	All 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	The Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development is State-led and open to the participation of LAC countries. It is convened under the auspices of ECLAC and guided by the principles established for all follow-up and review processes by the 2030 Agenda. It involves States, the private sector and civil society, as well as subsidiary bodies of ECLAC, development banks, other United Nations agencies and regional integration blocs. The sixth meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Argentina and included panel discussions on the progress made towards the five SDGs under review at the 2023 HLPF, namely SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. It further featured the presentation of the document "Halfway to 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and recommendations for acceleration", a session on ”Strategies to advance implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Caribbean” and one on the “Path to the SDG Summit. Transformative initiatives: creating opportunities to strengthen commitment to the 2030 Agenda and its full implementation at all levels”, just to highlight a few.
Website (if applicable)	https://foroalc2030.cepal.org/2023/en

Event Name:	Regional Voluntary National Review and Voluntary Local Review Workshop for Latin American and Caribbean countries
Event Dates:	25 and 27 April 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago de Chile
Relevant SDGs:	All 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	Within the framework of the Sixth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, ECLAC and DESA organized a regional workshop on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and the relationship between VNRs and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) for LAC countries. The goal of this workshop was to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of countries in the formulation and preparation of their VNRs and VLRs as part of their national strategy to implement and monitor the 2030 Agenda as well as to enhance vertical integration across the local, national, regional and global levels. To complement this workshop, ECLAC, DESA and the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Paraguay further organized a side event on Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Role of Voluntary Local Reviews in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. The main goal of the side event was to share good practices and experiences, as well as innovative approaches to overcoming challenges faced in the formulation and preparation of the VLRs to implement and monitor the 2030 Agenda at local level.
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/events/regional-voluntary-national-review-and-…;
	https://www.cepal.org/en/events/side-event-localization-sustainable-dev…;

Event Name:	XXXV Regional Seminar on Fiscal Policy
Event Dates:	15-17 May 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago Chile
Relevant SDGs:	SDG 8, 10, 16, and 17
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	The event was attended by Ministers and other senior authorities from the Ministries of Finance of 14 LAC countries. The Executive Secretary presented the report Public debt and development distress in Latin America and the Caribbean, which analyses the constraints on growth and development caused by public debt and its implications for fiscal policy. The document was prepared in response to the Executive Committee decision (2022/45) where the UN Secretary General requested ECLAC in partnership with DESA and UNCTAD to report on the debt situation of Latin America the Caribbean. A special session was also convened on the regional fiscal cooperation platform promoted by Colombia, Chile, and Brazil, with the support of ECLAC as technical secretariat.
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/events/xxxv-regional-seminar-fiscal-policy

Event Name:	XII Meeting of the Statistical Conference of the Americas
Event Dates:	26-28 September 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago, Chile
Relevant SDGs:	SDG 17 and the monitoring of all SDGs
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	ECLAC hosted the 12th meeting of the Statistical Conference of the Americas, convening authorities from National Statistical Offices (NSOs) to discuss regional statistical development. At several plenaries and side events, leading regional experts presented on strengthening statistics on the environment, climate change, and natural disasters; progress on implementing platforms to access statistical and geographic information; estimation models for disaggregating official statistics among other themes. Officials released a Statement on the use of data held by the private sector for official statistical purposes. Given the potential in leveraging private sector data to produce official statistics in a more efficient and timely manner, the Statement encourages NSOs to collaborate with the private sector, while protecting data security and confidentiality.
Website (if applicable)	https://cea.cepal.org/12/en/news/official-statistics-are-indispensable-public-good-proper-functioning-societies-and-democracy

Event Name:	Fifth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in LAC
Event Dates:	3-5 October 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago, Chile
Relevant SDGs:	SDG 1, 8, 10, 16 and17
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	ECLAC hosted the Fifth Session of Regional Conference on Social Development in LAC and the XV Ministerial Forum for Development in LAC. The Session was co-organized by ECLAC, the Government of Chile and UNDP. ECLAC presented the position document “Institutional Frameworks for Social Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: a Central Element in Advancing towards Inclusive Social Development,” which compares regional social institutional frameworks and recommends strategies to strengthen capacities and improve the quality of social development policies. Participants discussed: (1) rethinking the social compact and financing universal social protection systems; (2) the mandates and structures of social development ministries; (3) interlinked institutional frameworks for social policy; (4) integrated information systems for decision-making; and (5) institutional frameworks for social policy, governance, and cooperation in times of crisis. Over 100 delegates from 18 LAC countries participated.
Website (if applicable)	https://crds.cepal.org/5/en

Event Name:	Fifth meeting Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development - Special session “10 years of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development”
Event Dates:	14 and 15 November 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Santiago de Chile
Relevant SDGs:	All 17 SDGs, including SDG 3 and 10
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	The Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (RCPD) is a subsidiary body of ECLAC for the follow-up and review of population and development issues, such as international migration, indigenous peoples people of African descent, population ageing, and sexual and reproductive health, among others. It holds its meetings every two years and its Presiding Officers meets at least once between regular sessions. Representatives of government, international institutions, the private sector, academia and civil society will gather to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development and its instrument for follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014”.
Website (if applicable)	https://crpd.cepal.org/5m/en

Event Name:	Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Caribbean Region of the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
Event Dates:	8 – 10 August 2023
Event Location (City, Country):	Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Relevant SDGs:	SDG 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17
Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)	Building on the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway and the Mauritius Strategy for Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS, the General Assembly in Resolution 77/245 reaffirmed its call to convene the fourth International Conference on SIDS (SIDS4) in 2024. Under the theme “charting the course towards resilient prosperity”, the conference will gather government leaders, partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to discuss solutions to SIDS-specific challenges in meeting the SDGs. SIDS4 will produce an inter-governmentally agreed, focused, forward-looking, and action-oriented political outcome document to guide a bold new Programme of Action for SIDS. ECLAC is contributing to the global and Caribbean preparatory processes for SIDS4 by preparing a regional report on progress in implementing the SAMOA Pathway, which was a key input into the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Caribbean region convened with DESA and OHRLLS.
Website (if applicable)	https://sdgs.un.org/smallislands/regional-preparatory-meeting-caribbean…;

3. In the past year, has your organization published or planned to publish any analytical work or guidance note or toolkits to guide and support the implementation of SDGs at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.

Resource Name	Halfway to 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean: progress and recommendations for acceleration
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	All 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17
Publishing entity/entities	ECLAC
Target audience	Given the participatory and inclusive nature of the 2030 Agenda, this publication is geared towards all relevant stakeholders, which work towards the achievement of the SDGs in the LAC region, including member States, specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, other relevant regional and subregional entities and international financial institutions, local authorities, civil society, youth, academia and the private sector.
Description (max 150 words)	The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are halfway through the time frame set for achieving the SDGs. The progress towards the Goals and targets was drastically hampered by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has taken a heavy toll across the globe since 2020 and undermined efforts to achieve the Agenda in many regions of the world, including Latin America and the Caribbean, hardest hit by the pandemic. The last biennium has also been marked by global developments that have adversely affected progress towards the SDGs, such as the conflict in Ukraine, trade tensions and geopolitical conflicts, forced migration and a resurgence of inflation. This report reviews overall progress towards the achievement of all the SDGs, with a more in-depth focus on progress towards five of them, SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. It states that getting back on track to meet the SDG targets by 2030 requires not only greater investment and financing but also a paradigm shift in public policymaking. Finally, the report analyses the institutional processes that have been put in place for the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs.
Language(s)	Available in English and Spanish
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/48824-halfway-2030-latin-america-…;

Resource Name	The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: Halfway to 2030. Goals, targets and indicators
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	All 17 SDGs
Publishing entity/entities	ECLAC
Target audience	Given the participatory and inclusive nature of the 2030 Agenda, this publication is geared towards all relevant stakeholders, who work towards the achievement of the SDGs in the LAC region, including member States, specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations, other relevant regional and subregional entities and international financial institutions, local authorities, civil society, youth, academia and the private sector.
Description (max 150 words)	As part of the effort to promote ownership of the 2030 Agenda, this document presents the global indicators for the SDGs. This toolbox is intended to contribute to the monitoring and alignment of efforts to accelerate trajectories towards the achievement of the Goals. It includes the main actions by ECLAC in support of the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda in the LAC region. It is based on the latest reports on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda in LAC, as well as on various analytical documents by ECLAC on economic, social, environmental and institutional development issues. For a concrete recent country example, please see as well ECLAC’s publication Prioritization of the SDGs in Cuba: articulation of the 2030 Agenda with the National Development Plan and identification of sustainable development priorities, to be available in Spanish at https://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/49071-priorizacion-ods-cuba-arti…;
Language(s)	Available in English and Spanish
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/68017-2030-agenda-and-sustainable…;

Resource Name	New narratives for rural transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards a renewed measurement and classification of rural areas
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	All 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17
Publishing entity/entities	ECLAC and IFAD
Target audience	Member States, Local authorities, academic sector, development practitioners
Description (max 150 words)	Rural areas have experienced major economic, social, demographic and cultural transformations in recent decades. Rurality is no longer synonymous with agriculture, and heightened interactions between rural and urban areas have had a significant impact on the identities of their populations and the characteristics that define those territories. In Latin America and the Caribbean, however, these transformations have remained relatively invisible to statistics and public policy because of the prevalence of dichotomous and static approaches to the measurement and characterization of rural areas. This study presents new methods for defining and categorizing rurality and analyses their public policy implications. A redefinition that recognizes the diversity and wealth of rural areas offers opportunities for the design of innovative rural development public policies that could accelerate the attainment of the SDGs. Also recommended in this context is ECLAC’s recent publication Monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 7 indicators in Latin American countries to be found at https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/48709-monitoring-sustainable-deve…;
Language(s)	Available in English and Spanish
Website (if applicable)	https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/67978-new-narratives-rural-transf…;

4. In connection with the 2023 SDG Summit, the United Nations development system announced 12 High-Impact Initiatives where transformative progress is possible despite challenging global circumstances. Please share if your organization is contributing to any of these High Impact Initiatives and how various actors are being rallied behind them to mobilize further leadership and investment to bring progress to scale.

Digital Public Infrastructure (Scaling inclusive and open digital ecosystems for the SDGs)
Energy Compacts (Scaling up ambition to deliver on SDG7)
Food Systems Transformation (Transforming food systems for a sustainable world without hunger)
FutureGov (Building public sector capabilities for the future)
Global Accelerator (The Global Accelerator on jobs and social protection for just transitions)
Local2030 Coalition (Pushing key transitions and achieving the SDGs by 2030)
Nature Driving Economic Transformation (Leveraging the power of biodiversity and nature to drive equitable economic progress)
Power of Data (Unlocking the data dividend for the SDGs)
Spotlight Initiative (To eliminate violence against women and girls)
The SDG Stimulus (Scaling up long-term affordable financing for the SDGs)
Transforming4Trade (Paradigm shift to boost economic development)
Transforming Education (Learning to build a better future for all)

ECLAC contributes to the themes covered by the High-impact Initiatives through its regional thought leadership, technical cooperation and convening role. Examples include:

Nature Driving Economic Transformation: Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean with mainstreaming biodiversity in the productive, economic and financial sectors https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/48544-experiences-latin-america-and-caribbean-mainstreaming-biodiversity-productive

This study addresses challenges, opportunities and lessons learned as to how mainstreaming biodiversity in the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, financial, manufacturing, infrastructure and tourism sectors is a catalyst for the transition towards comprehensive development, in line with the 2030 Agenda, and a fundamental tool for the implementation of the new post-2020 global biodiversity framework

Power of Data: In the framework of the XII Meeting of the Statistical Conference of the Americas, ECLAC introduced two new platforms for data compilation and access:

CEPALGEO – a geospatial layer added to the CEPALSTAT platform with a portal of Earth observation products and resources on geospatial methodologies: https://geo.cepal.org/cepalgeo/home/index.html?lang=enPortal of Inequalities in Latin America, which graphically presents regional inequality using data from CEPALSTAT: https://statistics.cepal.org/portal/inequalities/incomes.html?lang=en&indicator=3291

Several regional data assets and statistical tools for Member States and general users are available at the “Statistical knowledge management hub on SDG in LAC” to be found at: https://agenda2030lac.org/estadisticas/index.html

In particular:

Regional data bank on SDG Indicators: https://agenda2030lac.org/estadisticas/regional-data-bank-statistical-follow-up-sdg-1.html?lang=en
The “Information System on UN-LAC support to the National Statistical System on SDG monitoring and reporting”: https://agenda2030lac.org/estadisticas/support-sdg-monitoring-and-reporting.html

The following regional data bank provides a repository of ECLAC publications:

Library Digital Repository: https://repositorio.cepal.org/home

SDG Stimulus

Public debt and development distress in Latin America and the Caribbean, which analyses the constraints on growth and development caused by public debt and its implications for fiscal policy. The document was prepared in response to the Executive Committee decision (2022/45) where the UN Secretary General requested ECLAC in partnership with DESA and UNCTAD to report on the debt situation of Latin America the Caribbean.
ECLAC serving as technical secretariat to the Regional Tax Cooperation Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean, which was approved by 16 countries at First Summit for an Inclusive, Sustainable and Equitable Global Tax Order convened by the Government of Colombia. https://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleases/authorities-16-countries-approve-creation-regional-tax-cooperation-platform-latin

Local2030 Coalition

ECLAC supports Latin American and Caribbean countries in various ways to bolster local action and promote the territorialization of the 2030 Agenda:

ECLAC’s Community of Practice on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries (see point 4 below for more information) encompasses regular discussions to share good practices and experiences as well as innovative approaches to overcoming challenges faced in the formulation and preparation of VNRs and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), improve vertical integration at local, national, regional and global levels, and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The annual Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development is a multi-stakeholder platform for debate, peer learning and multisectoral, multi-level analysis that discusses priority topics for sustainable development in the region, including specific panels and side-events on the localization of SDGs.
ECLAC supports countries by establishing links between the national and the subnational governance levels, generating regional guidance and tools to strengthen the localization of the 2030 Agenda, and offering capacity-building to local authorities to create synergies between the local and national dimension.

ECLAC is collaborating with DESA on a variety of fronts to foster the localization of the 2030 Agenda and the development of VLRs in the region, such as a trinational program in the Chaco region of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, and synergies between the VNR and VLR processes in Honduras.
The previously mentioned SDG Gateway includes relevant information on SDG implementation at the local level and has a dedicated section on local governments: https://agenda2030lac.org/en/local-governments

Digital Public Infrastructure

Representatives of government, the private sector, the technical community and civil society participated on November 16-18, 2022 in the Eighth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean in Montevideo, organized by ECLAC and Uruguay. The Conference defined a set of policy priorities at the regional level to drive digital transformation with a vision of sustainable development, in the framework of the Digital Agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC 2024). The meeting’s panels addressed issues such as investment, infrastructure and connectivity; governance and regulation and a regional digital market; innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation; digitalization for greater inclusion; competences and skills for societies in transformation; cybersecurity and critical assets; digital trade and SMEs; green transition in a digital world; smart cities; digital government and citizen participation; and cooperation and strategic alliances for a new digitalization, among other topics: https://conferenciaelac.cepal.org/8/en

Food Systems Transformation

ECLAC has participated actively in preparatory process going to UN Food Systems Summit 2021 (UNFSS 2021), which established the basis for the initiative on Food Systems Transformation. This included the co-organization of a consultations meeting with regional non-governmental stakeholders (as a side event during the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development – 2021, 17 March 2021) and High-Level Policy Dialogue (15 July 2021) intended to identify common grounds in Latin America and the Caribbean towards the Food Systems Summit. It also co-organized a side event on bioeconomy for a biodiversity-and-science-based sustainable development of food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, during the FSS Science Days (6 July 2021; and collaborated with the other UN Regional Commission in the elaboration of a policy brief and a video on the transformation food systems.

ECLAC is also involved in the promotion of the post-Food Systems Summit agenda, at both the regional and national levels, through the Regional LAC Food Systems Task Force (see below), especially in the promotion of policy dialogues, the elaboration of publications and joint technical studies, and the biennial follow-up and review process. Regarding the latter, a regional consultation for the FSS + 2 – Stocktaking Moment 2023 was held during the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development – 2023, co-organized by the Task Force and the FAO housed FSS Hub.

The High Level Policy Dialogue highlighted ten elements for the transformation of food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean that guide current work of the Commission on the topic: i) recognizing the relationship between the natural and human environment; ii) Guaranteeing sustainability in land and water use and the ecosystem services on necessary for agricultural production; iii) promoting the sustainable use of agrobiodiversity resources to increase the resilience of agriculture to climate change, provide new alternatives for rural livelihoods, and diversify diets with more nutritious foods; iv) Incorporating social inclusion and equity criteria in public policies related to food systems, to reduce poverty, gender and territorial gaps, and ethnic inequalities; v) Promoting climate action in agriculture with a focus on adaptation aimed at building resilience and promoting synergies between adaptation and mitigation actions; vi) Improving the quality and impact of investments, including those in science, technology, and innovation; vii) Guaranteeing family farming access to the new digital and biotechnology food systems-related relevant technologies; viii) Promoting circular bioeconomy processes to increase resilience and sustainability, make more efficient use of resources, diversify development options, and increase value addition; ix) Promoting healthier eating patterns, to reduce the double burden of malnutrition and the economic costs of associated health problems; and x) Promoting more sustainable production and consumption patterns that help reduce losses and waste throughout the food distribution chain, from farm to fork.

ECLAC recognizes that transforming food systems to make them more sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and produce safe and nutritious food is key to strengthening their contribution to the economy, to ensure food and nutritional security, for the reduction of poverty and ethnic, gender and territorial inequalities, for health and nutrition, for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, for climate action, and for a people-centered inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spotlight Initiative

During the years 2021 and 2022, ECLAC carried out a Course on Measuring Gender-Based Violence against Women and Girls and Femicide within the framework of the commitments of the Gender Equality Observatory, in particular, Agreement 7 of the Brasilia Consensus of the Regional Conference on Women. In addition, with Spotlight funds executed by UNDP, a study on the quality of measurement of femicide/feminicide and violent deaths of women due to GBV was carried out in 2021 with the supervision of ECLAC’s gender division. The study identified the main advances and challenges for 2019-2020 and highlights promising national practices from the LAC region.

Transforming Education

ECLAC is collaborating with UNESCO and UNICEF on an initiative to strengthen and extend the use of digital technologies in education to move towards hybrid models of education. The evidence shows that digital technologies can complement face-to-face education (tailoring the teaching/learning process to the student’s needs and improving education pertinence and quality), expand access, and reduce coverage gaps, especially at the secondary school level and in remote areas. There are four main actions needed to move this initiative forward: (1) ensuring universal access to digital infrastructure and equipment; (2) developing the digital skills of teachers and caregivers (mediation in the digital environment is important for children and adolescents); (3) making high-quality educational content and resources (such as online platforms and repositories) freely available, easily accessible and, where possible, aligned with formal curricula; (4) and securing the financial sustainability of the transformation strategy.

5. In addition to the above, has your organization been part of any other initiatives or multi-stakeholder partnerships that enhance effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions and reinforce the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially in the areas of poverty eradication (SDG1), food systems transformation (SDG2), climate action (SDG13), governance (SDG16), partnerships (SDG17), which will go under in-depth review at the HLPF in 2024, or related to the Secretary-General’s proposals in Our Common Agenda?

Initiative/Partnership Name	Satellite Monitoring System for Greenhouse Gases
Partners (please list all partners)	Center for Mathematical Modeling of the University of Chile (CMM), one of the correspondents of the Low Earth Orbit (LEOs) Observation program of the Copernicus System of the European Union; EUROCLIMA
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	13, 17
Member States benefiting from it	33 member States of ECLAC
Description (max 150 words)	ECLAC launched the Satellite Monitoring System for Greenhouse Gases, which allows to observe trends in the flows and concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases of anthropogenic origin, in Latin America and the Caribbean at the regional, sub-regional, national and urban levels. This real-time information platform facilitates coherence and ambition between policies and results and contributes to the fight against climate change and air pollution in Latin America and the Caribbean, and enables comparative analyses of the impacts of climate policies and actions to mitigate gas and particle pollution at different territorial levels.
Website	https://www.cepal.org/en/subtopics/climate-change/satellite-monitoring-…

Initiative/Partnership Name	Strengthened Collaboration between ECLAC and CAF
Partners (please list all partners)	CAF – The Development Bank of Latin America
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	17 (1,5,8,9,10,13,15)
Member States benefiting from it	33 member States of ECLAC
Description (max 150 words)	On the occasion of the CLXXVII board meeting of CAF being held at ECLAC’s premises in Santiago on 7 March 2023, CAF and ECLAC signed a partnership agreement to strengthen their collaboration regarding the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with emphasis on joint initiatives in the areas of climate change, disaster risk management, environmental conservation, social policy, gender equality, energy transition in addition to key means of implementation, which include trade and regional integration and financing for development
Website	https://www.cepal.org/es/comunicados/caf-la-cepal-fortalecen-la-coopera…;

Initiative/Partnership Name	Celso Furtado Working Group
Partners (please list all partners)	Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	17 (1,5,8,9,10,13,15)
Member States benefiting from it	Brazil in addition to other 32 member States of ECLAC
Description (max 150 words)	The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding that, among other areas, formalizes the creation of a new joint Working Group, named after Celso Furtado, with the aim of promoting academic research, the publication of studies, and training on key issues for the development of the Brazilian, Latin American and Caribbean economies, including in the context of sustainable productive transformation. The working group was launched on the occasion of the visit of Aloizio Mercadante President of the Brazilian Development Bank who delivered a lecture as part of the Keynote Lecture Series organized to commemorate ECLAC’s 75th anniversary.
Website	https://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleases/latin-america-and-caribbean-must…;

Initiative/Partnership Name	Mechanism for the participation of civil society in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development
Partners (please list all partners)	Civil society organizations of LAC
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	All SDGs, especially SDG 17
Member States benefiting from it	The 33 Member States of ECLAC
Description (max 150 words)	The meeting of the mechanism for civil society participation was held in the framework of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development and generates an annual space for dialogue for a great diversity of civil society organizations from the entire LAC region on the implementation, monitoring and regional review of the 2030 Agenda as well on how to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
Website	https://foroalc2030.cepal.org/2023/en/programme/meeting-mechanism-civil…;

Initiative/Partnership Name	ECLAC's Community of Practice on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries
Partners (please list all partners)	Member States, RCOs, youth, civil society, the private sector, academia, local authorities, parliamentarians and other stakeholders
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	All 17 SDGs
Member States benefiting from it	The 33 Member States of ECLAC
Description (max 150 words)	ECLAC’s Community of Practice is an informal space for exchange among peers and sharing of good practices and lessons learned with regards to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in general and the VNR process in particular. It includes government officials, professionals, researchers and technical experts as well as representatives of ECLAC and the rest of the UN system, including RCOs. Occasionally, it invites representatives of youth, civil society, the private sector, academia, local authorities, parliamentarians and other stakeholders. Since December 2019, 54 virtual meetings of the Community of Practice were held to support the region’s countries in the process of preparing VNRs, covering a wide range of topics, such as the localization of the 2030 Agenda, data and statistics and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
Website	https://www.cepal.org/en/topics/2030-agenda-sustainable-development/ecl…;

Initiative/Partnership Name	Regional LAC Food Systems Task Force.
Partners (please list all partners)	ECLAC, FAO, IFAD, PAHO/WHO, UNEP, UNICEF, UN Women, WFP (chair 2022-2023).
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	SDG 2, SDG 4, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 10, SDG12, SDG 13, SDG 15, SDG 16, SDG 17.
Member States benefiting from it	All countries of the region are potential beneficiaries. Currently, support is being provided in the implementation of FS National roadmaps to Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, México, Panamá and Uruguay (coordinated by FAO), Honduras (coordinated by IFAD), Belize, Peru and the Dominican Republic (coordinated by PAHO/WHO), Chile (coordinated by UNEP), and Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Haite (coordinated by the WFP).
Description (max 150 words)	The task forces aims to contribute to the promotion of the post-Food Systems Summit agenda, at both the regional and national levels. Activities of the TF include National coordination with stakeholders involved in the preparation of pathways for updating, identification of priorities, action planning and follow-up. The national work is articulated through the Resident Coordination Office; Organization of dialogues, exchange of good practices, lessons learned, training needs and capacity building according to demand; Communication with the Hub for mutual updating of information, including participation in Task force meetings; Coordination with global coalitions for dissemination and facilitation with priority countries in the region; Development of publications and joint technical studies, including in coordination with academic entities and research centers at the regional and national level; Preparation of reports and other communication products for visibility of its activities; Monitoring compliance of workplans and commitments generated by the countries through the TF.
Website

Initiative/Partnership Name	Update of the e Plan for Food and Nutrition Security and the Eradication of Hunger 2025 of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Plan SAN-CELAC).
Partners (please list all partners)	ALADI, ECLAC, FAO (coordination) and IICA.
Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)	SDG 2, SDG 4, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 10, SDG12, SDG 13, SDG 15, SDG 16, SDG 17.
Member States benefiting from it	Members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Description (max 150 words)	The Declaration of VII Summit of CELAC reaffirms the commitment to food security, agriculture, and sustainable development. The Declaration highlights the importance of updating the CELAC Plan for Food security and nutrition and the Eradication of Hunger 2025 (CELAC FSN Plan 2025), "considering the new international context and the challenges facing our region". To achieve this technical assistance from global organizations like the FAO and regional bodies such as ECLAC, IICA, ALADI was requested. Under the coordination of FAO, the agencies have worked closely with CELAC’s Pro-Tempore Presidency in the elaboration of a draft proposal that is currently (November 2023) under consultation. The proposal identifies pillars and lines of action to promote integrated approaches, such as those related to rural development, economic inclusion, gender equality, adaptation to climate change, among others, to advance sustainable development. The Plan will be presented for approval CELAC member states at the beginning of 2025.
Website

6. In the Political Declaration adopted at the 2023 SDG Summit, Member States committed to using the review of the high-level political forum at the 78th session of the General Assembly to further strengthen the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, harnessing data to track progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, strengthening analysis of the interlinkages across the Goals and targets, including policy implications of their synergies and trade-offs. Please provide your organization’s recommendations, if any, in this regard.

Strengthen follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at HLPF
Harnessing data to track progress in implementation
Strengthening analysis of the interlinkages across Goals and targets, including policy implications of their synergies and trade-offs.

Strengthen follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at HLPF

ECLAC plays a crucial role by channeling the national interests of their Member States to the global level and provide clear policy guidance and support to accelerate action for the SDGs across different policy areas at local, national and regional levels to foster more integrated solutions.
The seventh meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development to take place from 15 to 19 April 2024 at ECLAC Headquarters in Santiago de Chile will strengthen the follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the regional level and present an important milestone on the way to the HLPF and the Summit of the Future in 2024. It will be aligned with the 2024 HLPF theme of “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions” and include panel discussions on the progress made towards the five SDGs under review, namely SDG 1, 2, 13, 16 and 17. It will also include multi-stakeholder dialogues with a subnational and local perspective to achieve the SDGs at all levels by 2030 and a regional consultation on the Summit of the Future. It will further feature the presentation of the seventh report in regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda in the LAC region.
In the framework of this Forum, ECLAC will organize a regional workshop for the nine 2024 VNR countries from the LAC region, namely Belize and Brazil presenting for the second time, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Peru for the third time, and Argentina, Colombia and Mexico for the fourth time. The goal of these annual technical workshops is to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of countries in the formulation of their VNRs as part of their national strategy to implement and monitor the 2030 Agenda.
Complementary, ECLAC’s Community of Practice for VNR countries offers a monthly space for an honest and open exchange and peer-learning and accompanies LAC countries throughout the entire VNR cycle. The VNR process is much more than a report itself presented at the HLPF, therefore ECLAC’s support of the VNR process does not stop at the HLPF but accompanies countries from the region within the entire cycle of implementation of the 2030 Agenda. ECLAC further provides targeted support and technical assistance to Member States upon request in the process of drafting the VNR reports.

Harnessing data to track progress in implementation

The SDG Gateway, the Regional Knowledge Platform on the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, is an online portal developed by ECLAC together with United Nations system in the region, where all information related to the SDGs can be found, including activities, information resources, statistics, regional data, specific analytical tools and knowledge products. The Gateway is a systemwide effort to gain coherence and better integration regarding the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the acceleration of action for the SDGs. For more information, please see the dedicated website: https://agenda2030lac.org

Regional SDG statistical profiles by target: https://agenda2030lac.org/estadisticas/regional-sdg-statistical-profiles-target-1.html?lang=en
Regional progress towards the SDG targets: https://agenda2030lac.org/estadisticas/regional-progress-sdg-targets.html
Strengthening analysis of the interlinkages across Goals and targets, including policy implications of their synergies and trade-offs

As detailed in answers to Question 1. ECLAC is working on the promotion of strategic sectors with potential to drive growth and the synergistic implementation of multiple SDGs, across the economic, social and environmental pillars of development.

Other suggestions

To make the HLPF more policy-oriented, it should go beyond review and create a space for more in-depth policy discussions. The number of VNR countries presenting at the HLPF every year could be reduced, or the time dedicated to the VNR presentations (3 days for around 40-45 presentations) could be extended to allow a more profound discussion between countries.
More space should be given to the meaningful engagement of non-state actors, including civil society, academia, and the private sector at the HLPF, including in the interactive discussions following the VNR presentations. ECLAC has been consulting with different civil society organizations (CSOs) from the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, for example in the context of the Regional Workshop of the GSDR 2023 in Lima, Peru in November 2022, to foster a more meaningful engagement of non-state actors in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in general and the VNR process in particular.
Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) gained a lot of momentum in recent years and ECLAC recommends to further elaborate how these complementing reviews at the local or subnational level could be better connected to the VNRs and integrated in a more formalized way into the HLPF. They could also be included in a dedicated section of the official DESA VNR database: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/vnrs

ECESA Plus Member

ECLAC

Year of submission: 2023