Alberto Arenas de Mesa, Director de ECLAC’s Social Development Division, participated in this global event held on November 4-6 in Doha, Qatar, on behalf of the institution’s Executive Secretary.

The five United Nations regional commissions, including the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), should play a central role in the implementation and follow-up of the Doha Political Declaration, the outcome of the Second World Summit for Social Development (Qatar, November 4-6), according to Alberto Arenas de Mesa, Director of ECLAC’s Social Development Division, who proposed this at the global gathering on behalf of the institution’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.

On Tuesday, November 4, Alberto Arenas de Mesa attended High-level Round Table 1 on “Strengthening the three pillars of social development: poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social inclusion,” while on Thursday, November 6, he spoke at a session entitled “The Role of Regional Commissions in Supporting Member States in Implementing the Outcomes of WSSD2,” organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and ECLAC, with support from the United Nations Regional Commissions New York Office.

ECLAC took the region’s proposals to the Second World Summit for Social Development in the form of several jointly produced documents, including the report Latin America and the Caribbean 30 Years on from the World Summit for Social Development: Towards a Global Pact for Inclusive Social Development, which proposed the adoption of a global pact for inclusive social development at the Doha meeting.

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are deeply committed to the goals and outcomes of the Second World Summit for Social Development, the Director of ECLAC’s Social Development Division affirmed. In fact, on September 4 of this year, in Resolution 6(VI) of the Sixth Session of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean held in Brasilia (Brazil), they asked ECLAC to prepare a regional strategy for the implementation and follow-up of the agreements reached in the Doha Political Declaration.

In Brasilia, the countries also underscored “the strategic importance of maintaining public investment in non-contributory social protection policies at levels equivalent to at least 1.5% to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product or 5% to 10% of annual public spending, with a view to advancing poverty eradication in a sustainable manner.”

Alberto Arenas de Mesa noted that the concept of social development has evolved significantly in recent decades, with the adoption of an approach centered on people and their rights, and with comprehensive policies that address both social and economic concerns. Thus, the move from social development to inclusive social development emerges as a central dimension of national development strategies, he stressed. 

In this context, the senior United Nations official highlighted the priorities and opportunities identified by the region’s countries for achieving inclusive social development. There is consensus, he said, regarding the need to have universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient social protection systems that would include comprehensive care policies and quality public policies.

Finally, the Social Development Division Director pointed up ECLAC’s joint work with the region’s countries, which enabled the adoption, for example, of the Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development at the Third Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. This Agenda, he asserted, includes concrete pathways for advancing attainment of the social goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.