Bringing Argentina together
In December 2001 the President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa asked Catholic Church leaders and UNDP to promote dialogue and consensus among different, often opposing, social groups. This was an historic moment for UNDP in the country, when it liaised with key partners to bring the country together at time of acute political and institutional crisis. Today, UNDP supports Argentina in its efforts to reduce poverty, protect the environment and promote gender equality, among other issues.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
In the past 50 years, UNDP has been working hand-in-hand with governments and people to support democratic transitions, governance, and sustainable development in the region that has more than 40 percent of the world’s biodiversity. In the process, we have helped governments lift millions of people out of poverty.
UNDP’s Regional Bureau on Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC) has 26 offices covering 42 countries and territories. Each state has its own needs and strengths, but many share common challenges. The majority are now middle-income countries, but Haiti is still the hemisphere’s poorest country. Small-island developing states in the Caribbean face debt, migration, and youth unemployment. The region as a whole is commodity-dependent and has high levels of inequality. And climate change undermines hard-won progress in the social, economic and environmental realms.
RBLAC has resources for governments and civil society groups facing these tough challenges. Our upcoming 2016 Regional Human Development Report on “Multidimensional Progress: Well-Being Beyond Income” will be a crucial entry point for policy-makers seeking to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
COUNTRY SNAPSHOTS
Peru
UNDP Peru
Peru: Remembering the Past
With UNDP support, the Government of Peru built the Place of Memory, Tolerance and Social Inclusion to help the nation deal with its open wounds, document the past and remember over 60,000 people who died or disappeared during the 1980-2000 internal conflicts. UNDP also supported Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission 15 years ago to investigate violence and abuse during the two decades of conflict.
Guatemala
UN MINUGUA
Women and Peace in Guatemala
Guatemalan women won an important role in the peace process, by creating a vision of an inclusive state. UNDP accompanied this process, helping to strengthen the capabilities and influence of women's organizations. We supported the founding of the National Women's Forum, which proposed guidelines for action to meet the commitments made in the peace agreements following Guatemala's civil war. We also supported the creation of the “Defensoría de la Mujer Indígena,” which incorporates indigenous women's needs in policy-making.
Mexico
UNDP
Milk and Meat in Mexico
In the 1980s, UNDP, together with FAO, assisted the government of Mexico in increasing milk and meat production in the country by setting up training programmes for technicians, professionals and farmers in the field of animal husbandry. In this 1986 photo, a livestock technician bottle-feeds calves to monitor the difference between mother-fed and bottle-fed calves. Today, UNDP works with Mexico to promote a green economy, empower women and youth, and mitigate climate change.
Cuba
UN Photo/UNDP/AIN FOTO/Juan Pablo Carreras
Reducing disaster risk in Cuba
Cuba does a notable job of preparing before natural disasters strike. Risk-reduction management centres, set up by the Government with support from UNDP, have helped limit the impact of hurricanes. Right after Hurricane Sandy hit Santiago de Cuba in 2012, workers gathered to build back better, with more disaster-resilient material.
El Salvador
UNDP El Salvador
Fostering ICT in El Salvador
Following the January 2001 earthquake in El Salvador, UNDP supported the creation of an innovative on-line information system called "Reconstruir". Aimed at consolidating and disseminating information generated by the various actors involved in the reconstruction, it also fostered accountability. This was one of the first times in Latin America that information and communication technologies (ICT) played a large part in a national reconstruction process. Today, El Salvador continues to place new technologies at the service of its citizens, encouraging civic participation and improvement in public services.