9 February 2011: Representatives of UN agencies met in Santiago, Chile, from 8-9 February 2011, under the auspices of the UN Regional Coordination Mechanism for Latin America and the Caribbean, and agreed to work together on preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).

The agencies will produce an inter-agency document to assess progress and challenges in terms of sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, 20 years after the UN Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED, or Rio Earth Summit). The report will include strategic guidelines to improve production and consumption patterns, with a view to moving towards economies based on sustainable development and the eradication of poverty.

The decision was made at the meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism, chaired by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro, who also chairs the Mechanism, and Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which is a coordinator of the Regional Mechanism.

The meeting was attended by representatives from: the International Labour Organization (ILO), Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Population Fund (UNPF), World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Office of Project Services. In addition, senior officials from the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Women, UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) also attended.

The Regional Coordination Mechanism was established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1998 to promote coherence among UN agencies’ activities in each region. [ECLAC Press Release]