Violence against women in couples: Latin America and the Caribbean. A proposal for measuring its incidence and trends

The present document was prepared by the ECLAC Women and Development Unit for the International Meeting on Gender Statistics and Indicators for Measuring the Incidence of and Trends in Violence against Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (La Paz, Bolivia, 21-23 November 2001). The document reflects the inputs which the participants provided for the working paper submitted by ECLAC at that event. It is a tool for measuring the incidence of violence against women in intimate relationships, as well as the main characteristics of the phenomenon. The first part describes how the problem of vi…

Using universal service funds to increase access to technology for persons with disabilities in the Caribbean

This study examines how Universal Service Funds (USFs) can be better utilised in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to increase access to technology for persons with disabilities. It presents data on disability in the region and addresses key requirements from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It sets out the background, challenges and achievements of existing Caribbean USFs in addition to discussing countries that have enacted but not implemented USF legislation. The study identifies best practices and recommendations for Caribbean SIDS wis…

Development social policy for youth with special reference to young men in Saint Lucia

Summary Highlights some issues raised during consultations about the apparent alienation of some sectors of the youth population in St. Lucia. These include rising levels of involvement of male youth in criminal activity and violence, high dropout rates and increased rates of drug abuse. Examines the education system, noting its lack of responsiveness to the developmental needs of contemporary St. Lucia, the lack of economic opportunities on the island and socialisation trends. Recommends a revision of the curriculum, making the education system more technically oriented, teacher training a…

XVI Foro Ministerial para el Desarrollo: espacio para discutir sobre el poder de la resiliencia y cómo superar los desafíos del desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe

¿QUÉ?: El XVI Foro Ministerial para el Desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe discutirá cómo la región puede avanzar y proteger los logros sociales en el contexto de choques más frecuentes e intensos. Esta reunión se basa en las discusiones iniciadas en el XIII Foro Ministerial en Antigua y Barbuda en 2021, que trató sobre desastres y sistemas de protección social en el contexto de crisis prolongadas. El Foro es coorganizado y auspiciado por el Gobierno de Barbados con el apoyo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en América Latina y el Caribe y la Comisión…

Job creation in Latin America in the 1990s: the foundation for social policy

Summary This paper analyzes labor market trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s, arguing that employment must be the foundation of a social policy strategy for the region. The paper begins with a discussion of the expectations for labor market performance that were generated by the reform process in the region. It then provides an overview of what actually happened with respect to participation rates, employment generation, unemployment and wages. It also suggests some reasons why reality was less positive than was expected. Next it examines a new hypothesis about the d…

Establishing social statistical databases for evidenced-based social policy formulation in the Caribbean

Abstract The paper presents the challenges and lessons learnt from the Project Development of Social Statistical Databases and the Methodological Approaches for a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI); for Small Island Developing States' (NET/00/035);, which was undertaken by the Social Development Unit of the ECLAC/CDCC secretariat. The Project aims to make available to social planners and decision makers in the Caribbean, a body of social statistics comprised of data sets being generated by national central statistical offices of the ECLAC/CDCC member States. The paper situates the Pro…

Policy Brief: implementation strategies for youth mainstreaming in sustainable development processes

In light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this policy brief provides an account of the current status of Caribbean youth policies and considers how youth mainstreaming concepts can be applied constructively to strengthen sustainable development planning and policies in the subregion. This document highlights the findings of an ECLAC assessment of National Youth Policies in the Caribbean. This assessment pointed to the need to secure the means of implementation as a fundamental key driver to achieve the 2030 Agenda. This includes support for the implementation of relevant strateg…

Advancing the Decade of Action for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean

CEPAL acogerá tercera reunión del Foro de los países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible

La Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) acogerá del 22 al 26 de abril la tercera reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, en la que representantes de gobiernos, instituciones internacionales, sector privado, academia y sociedad civil se darán cita para revisar los avances y desafíos de la implementación de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible en la región. El encuentro se realizará en la sede central del organismo regional de las Naciones Unidas, ubicada en Santiago de Chile. El Foro es convocado anualmente por e…

Evento paralelo en el Foro de Desarrollo PNUD - CEPAL en Barbados: La expansión de los registros sociales

Inauguración de la octava reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible

Sr. Félix Denegri, Viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores del Perú, en su calidad de Presidente del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible, Sr. Li Junhua, Secretario General Adjunto de Asuntos Económicos y Sociales de las Naciones Unidas, Señores y señoras Ministras, ministros y representantes de los gobiernos miembros del Foro y de la CEPAL, Autoridades nacionales y cuerpo diplomático, Coordinadoras y coordinadores residentes, Directoras, directores y colegas de la CEPAL, Colegas del sistema de las Naciones Unidas, Representantes de la…

Social protection for the poor in Latin America

Confronted with recurrent macroeconomic shocks, governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have increasingly been concerned about establishing or strengthening systems of social protection and safety net programmes. The goal of these programmes is to help mitigate the impact of shocks on the poor before they occur, and to help the poor cope with the shocks once they have occurred. In this paper, we focus on publicly funded or mandated safety nets functioning as risk-coping mechanisms. The paper reviews the characteristics of a good safety net, in comparison with the main types of safety ne…

Economic growth with equity: challenges for Latin America

The publication of this book was made possible by the contributions of the Ford Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The funds of the latter institution are managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). This is an ECLAC and Palgrave Macmillan copublication. Preface From time to time, Latin American countries experience growth spurts, like in the period 2004-05, when the region achieved the highest biennial growth rate of the past 25 years. However, sustained growth has been elusive in the last quarter …

Public policy for pensions, health and sickness insurance

This document is prepared by Edward Palmer, Consultant of the Project ¨Inclusion of the European Nordic Model in the debate concerning reform of social protection schemes in Latin American and the Caribbean¨ (SWE/05/001). This project that the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is carrying out in the Social Development Division, with the financial support of Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Prepared as a support to the document Shaping the Future of Social Protection: Access, Financing and Solidarity presented in the XXXI ECLAC Sess…

Social policies and socioeconomic indicators for transitional economies

As part of the United Nations Development Programs thematic focus on poverty eradication and Poverty Strategy Initiatives, the UNDP, in cooperation with the Armenian Government, the World Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), organized a workshop on Social Indicators to be held at Yrevan, Armenia on November 13-14, 1997. In accordance with the United Nations Global Conferences and their goals, the workshop pursued as its goal the elaboration of poverty initiatives to alleviate poverty, preserve the human capital and adjust it to new market conditions, wh…

Information and communications technology for people with disabilities

III Foro Internacional sobre la Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Corrupción

La Convención de las Naciones Unidas contra la Corrupción ha ayudado al sector público a avanzar en la adopción de medidas disuasorias para que no se cometan delitos de esa índole. Los Estados partes en la Convención, establecieron un mecanismo de examen entre pares para identificar lagunas en las leyes y las prácticas nacionales de lucha contra la corrupción, logro importantísimo que puede ayudar a los gobiernos a poner coto al soborno y a la malversación de fondos públicos.…

Public policy for pensions, health and sickness insurance: potential lessons from Sweden for Latin America

Abstract This paper discusses the rationale of social insurance and social insurance institutions as they have emerged and developed in economically mature nations. The aim of the paper is to present discuss experience in a perspective that can be useful for discussions in Latin America. Key issues in system and institution design are identified and discussed, and examined with reference to experience from Sweden. The paper contains three major sections and concludes with some final remarks. The first of these discusses the case for publicly mandated insurance. The second discusses mo…

Food Security Issues for Caribbean

ECLAC Will Release the Latest Poverty and Inequality Figures in the Context of the Prolonged Health and Social Crisis Linked to COVID-19

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present on Thursday, January 27, 2022 its annual flagship report entitled Social Panorama of Latin America 2021, which examines the social impact of the crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and provides the most recent statistics on poverty, inequality and social spending in the region. The document will be presented by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, at a virtual press conference held from Santiago, Chile, at 11 a.m. local time (UTC/GMT -3). The study also analyzes the prolonged health crisis’s profound …