CELAC ACTION PLAN 2017

Punta Cana, Dominican RepublicJanuary 25th, 2017The Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), gathered on the occasion of the Fifth Summit of CELAC, taking place in the city of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on January 25th(2017), resolve to adopt the following Action Plan, which contains the mandates that will guide the work for the 2017 administration;FOOD SECURITY, NUTRITION, AND ERADICATION OF HUNGER AND POVERTY1.Givecontinuity to the implementation of the 2025CELAC Plan on Food Security, Nutrition, and Eradication of Hunger(2025 CELACFSNPLAN), with the support of FAO, ECLAC, and ALADI, aimingits implementation, among others, to the compliance with the 2030 Agenda, inaccordance withthe national strategies of each CELAC country to develop the aforementioned CELACFSNPlan. In this framework, make a special request to the FAO to renew the cooperation program promoted with the countries of the region. 2.ContinuestrengtheningSouth-South and Triangular cooperation as a complement to North-Southcooperation, identifying new available sources of technical and financial support, and encourage spaces for national dialogue tostrengthen the CELAC FSN Plan and the Working Group on the Advancement of Women, acknowledging the intraregional importance of the development of the small and medium size agricultural enterprises (SMEs) and of the familyfarming groups, based on the recommendations of the Work Meeting to advance inthe implementation of the 2025 CELAC Plan on Food Security, Nutrition and Eradication Hunger, which took place on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rdof August 2016, in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. 3.Continue supporting theactionsaimed at addressingall forms of malnutrition, particularly in early childhood, including the development of training activities for public officials responsible for adopting measures for the gradualimplementation of the right to healthy nutrition, and for communityorganizations that provide food services.24.Promote the dialogue on public policiesaimed at improving food and nutritionsecurity, and advance on the pillars of the CELAC FSN Plan. Promote the exchange of experiences and good practices emanating from the reports, national diagnoses and proposals of strategic actions carried out by the different countries regarding theCELAC FSN Plan, in particular those with a solid experience on thecurrentstate of food security and nutritionand associated public policies.5.Commissionthe national coordinators to move forward on the implementation of the Strategic Regional Coordination Agenda on social matters, based on the organizational proposal presented at the Meeting of Ministers of Social Development of CELAC, held in Caracas at the end of 2015, and was established as Annex II of the Final Declaration. 6.Convene,in Venezuela,during the secondsemesterof 2017: a) Technical Meeting to follow-up the 2ndMeeting of Ministers on the Regional Cooperation Strategic Agenda on Social Mattersof CELAC 2015-2017, and b) 3rdMeeting of Ministers and High Authorities ofSocial Development to EradicateHunger and Poverty.FAMILYFARMING1.Give continuity to the decisions adopted duringthe Ad Hoc Working GroupMeeting on FamilyFarming, andin the CELAC Ministerial Meetings on Family Farming, among those the most recent one, namely, the 3rdMinisterial Meeting, held in San Salvador, El Salvador, on dates 9th, 10th, and 11thof November2016, with the purpose of evaluatingthe progress of the completedwork and to present future actions and programs.2.Follow up on the implementation of the 2017 Action Plan,emanated from the 3rdMeeting of the Ad-Hoc Working Groupon Family Farming, which pursues the development of institutional programs and actions that strengthen Family Farmingand Sustainable Rural Development on a national scale. 3.Hold the 4thMinisterial Meeting on Family Farmingand Rural Development, in November2017, inVenezuela, withsupportfromthe United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).3THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GENDER EQUITY AND EQUALITY1.Reiterate our support for the interest of the Republic of El Salvador to continue coordinating the Working Group on the Advancement of Women for the development of the next meetings, together with the future Pro Tempore Presidencies of CELAC, as well as the host countries for said meetings.2.Implement the Gender Strategy of the 2025CELAC FSN Plan and request the Working Group, in coordination with the PTP,the creation of a monitoring system for this strategy, adopted during the 3rdMeeting of the Working Group on the Advancement of Women.2 BIS.Welcome the commitment of the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, El Salvador and Haiti to conductpilot schemes for the implementation of the Gender Strategy, including mechanisms for the follow-up and evaluation for the monitoring of the Plan, with the support of the CELAC Working Group on the Advancement of Women, and the guidance of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2 TER. Followup with the commitments made in the CELAC FNS Plan with the aim of supporting Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the goals aimed at ensuring food security, promoting sustainable agriculture and achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. 3.Convenethe 4thMeeting of the WorkingGroup on the Advancement of Women, on the basis of the Declaration of Commitments emanated from the 3rdMeeting of the WorkingGroup: “Food Security and Rural Women in the frameworkof the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development”,held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 16th, 17thand 18th, 2016; venue and date to be determined. POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT 1.Promote dialogue and exchange on the progress made and the obstacles faced duringthe implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and 4Development, which is theregionaldocument of reference for thefollow-up ofthe International Conference on Population and Development after 2014. 2.Actively participate, in accordance with our priorities, inthe 3rdRegional Conference on Population and Development ofLatin America and the Caribbean, to be held in El Salvador in October 2017, with the purpose of following up onand reviewing the national progressin theimplementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development. 3.Supportthe Republic of El Salvador as president of the 3rdRegional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT1.Continue the efforts to strengthencooperation among Member Statesto implement the Decade of Latin American and Caribbean People of African Descent Action Plan, as agreed duringthe 1stand 2ndMeeting of the WorkingGroup on People of African Descent of CELAC,heldin Brasilia, on December 4thand 5thof 2014,and October 22ndand 23rdof 2015, respectively, following up withmandateincluded in the 2016 CELAC Action Plan.2.Convene the 3rdMeeting of the Working Group on People of African Descent during 2017, venue and date to be determined. PREVENTION AND FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION1.Follow-up on the recommendations and commitments emanated from the 1st, 2ndand 3rdSpecial Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Preventingand Combating Corruption, and focusthe work on the accomplishment of the Declaration of Panama, adopted in October 2015, in particular with regard to the effective implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, through its evaluation cycles.2.Commission the aforementioned WorkingGroup with the analysis of the policies and programs aimed towards the recovery of assets, in accordance with the provisions of chapter V of the United Nations Convention against Corruptionand support the existing efficient mechanisms.