The regional dimension acquires ever greater relevance in the face of the current global paradigm changes and is essential for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Regional Commissions have been identified as an important platform to advance the discussions at the regional level for the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. In this context, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, through Resolution 700 (XXXVI) approved in May 2016 within the framework of the Thirty-sixth Session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), created the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development as a regional mechanism for the implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDGs, their targets and means of implementation, as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) subsequently supported the establishment of the Forum in its resolution E/RES/2016/12 in August 2016.

Since 2017, the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development is convened annually under the auspices of ECLAC. This Forum is led by the States of Latin America and the Caribbean and open to representatives of civil society, academia and the private sector. It also involves the subsidiary bodies of ECLAC, development banks, other United Nations agencies and other regional actors. The Forum provides peer learning opportunities, the exchange of good practices and the discussion of common goals and seeks to encourage cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations to guide an inclusive regional process towards sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Four weeks ahead of each annual meeting of the Forum, the ECLAC Secretariat issues a progress report that constitutes a regional contribution to the HLPF on Sustainable Development under the auspices of ECOSOC, and a four-year progress report for the years the HLPF also takes place under the auspices of the General Assembly.

See the timeline of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 

The regional institutional architecture to follow up and review the 2030 Agenda

The existing institutional architecture in Latin America and the Caribbean, including ECLAC and its subsidiary bodies, in coordination with the rest of the United Nations system and other regional and sub-regional spaces in global and regional agreements, constitutes a solid base for collaborative monitoring and analysis of the SDGs, strengthening country capacities and identifying regional trends and gaps in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

This institutional framework sets the standard for monitoring the 2030 Agenda at the regional level and promotes a transparent, coordinated and integrated relationship with clear reporting mechanisms, hierarchy and mandate between the global, regional and national levels. The Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development takes advantage of existing mandates and platforms, avoiding duplication and the creation of additional structures, and, within the limits of existing resources, promotes coordination and coherence in the United Nations system for development and invites other relevant regional and sub-regional organizations and international financial institutions to participate in its meetings, thus establishing a clear link between the region and the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the global level.