On Friday, September 17, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present the Comprehensive Development Plan for northern Central America and south and southeast Mexico to high authorities from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. The Plan addresses the structural causes of irregular migration from a development and integration perspective.
ECLAC’s Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena will present the proposal to the Vicepresident of El Salvador, Félix Ulloa; the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Pedro Brolo; the Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, Maximiliano Reyes Zúñiga; and the First Lady of Honduras, Ana García de Hernández, in the Salón Morelos of Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretariat at 4:30 p.m. local time (GMT -5:00).
Event participants include United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed (via recorded video), and the Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid), Laura Elena Carrillo Cubillas; UN resident coordinators in the four countries, as well as senior officials from those governments, the United Nations and ECLAC.
The Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and south and southeast Mexico involves 20 UN agencies, funds and programs operating in LAC and seeks to change the narrative around migration by linking it to the theme of sustainable development and peace, placing the dignity of migrants and human rights at the center with a human security approach and adopting a focus on the full migratory cycle: origin, transit, destination and return. Furthermore, it explores regional symmetries and integration-based approaches, provides an overview and expands what States already do well with their resources, and it strengthens public capacities.
The proposal is organized around four thematic pillars: economic development, social well-being, environmental sustainability, and comprehensive management of the migratory cycle. The Plan likewise has four cross-cutting pillars: institutional strengthening (including transparency, management and public purchases), technology transition and change, regional integration and public-private alliances.
Its thematic pillars are organized among 15 programs and 114 projects ready to be put into operation, involving an investment of 44.735 billion dollars over five years.
In a joint political declaration signed on December 1, 2018, the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico requested that ECLAC design the Comprehensive Development Plan to tackle the structural causes of migration in the four countries, in harmony with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The Plan is based on a series of principles agreed upon among the countries, including being partners in equality of conditions, decision-making through dialogue and consensus, respect for human rights throughout the migratory cycle, promoting the superior interest of children, non-discrimination and adopting a human security focus.
The CDP is furthermore based on the national priorities of the four governments and the intersections with their national development, sectoral and territorial plans and general government policies. ECLAC and the offices of the UN resident coordinators have also worked on an immediate start-up and implementation strategy for the CDP with the four national governments, as well as a geo-referenced platform for monitoring activities on the ground.
On April 15, 2021, the UN Executive Committee, led by Secretary-General António Guterres, with participation by the principal heads of the agencies, funds and programs of the United Nations System, established the Comprehensive Development Plan as an inter-agency collaborative platform. ECLAC is exploring the establishment of a Multi Partner Trust Fund to facilitate the channeling of resources by partners and investors interested in supporting the CDP.
Members of the press are invited to participate in the presentation.
What: Official Presentation of the Comprehensive Development Plan for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and South-Southeast Mexico.
When: Friday, September 17, 2021, 4:30 p.m. Mexico time (GMT -5).
Where: Salón Morelos, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretariat
Journalists who are unable to attend in person are invited to following the broadcast live at:
For queries, contact ECLAC’s Public Information Unit.
In Mexico City:
Email: marialuisa.diaz@cepal.org.
In Santiago, Chile:
Email: prensa@cepal.org; telephone: (56) 22210 2040.
