Third ordinary meeting of the conference of South American ministers of transport, communications and public works

The third ordinary meeting of the Conference of South American Ministers of Transport, Communications and Public Works was held from 6 to 8 November 1996 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Representatives of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela took part. Representatives of the following organizations were present as observers: the Latin American and Caribbean Federation of National Associations of Cargo Agents, the Latin American Railways Association, the Latin American Association for Automated Highway Transport, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Road Federation/German Agency for Technical Cooperation (IRF/GTZ); and other representatives from both the private and public sectors.

The Costa Concordia disaster and the cruise industry: An analysis of risks and challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean

This FAL Bulletin analyses the relevance of the cruise industry for the region and particularly for Caribbean countries. The article begins with an overview of the tourism industry, followed by a discussion of the relevance of the cruise industry for the region, and finally an approach to maritime education and training.

Implications of the Termination of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) for Latin America and the Caribbean

Available [in Spanish] at: http://www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/0/23120/P23120.xml&xsl=/comercio/tpl/p9f.xsl&base=/tpl/top-bottom.xslt

Ten Years of Operation of the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism: Outcome for Latin America and the Caribbean

Dispute settlement mechanisms help to create a fairly predictable and accurate environment in which economic agents can pursue their activities in the international arena. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has now been in operation for 10 years and it is fitting, at this point to assess the progress achieved by Latin America and the Caribbean, the region that made most use of this mechanism during the period, and whose countries have made significant gains against protectionism in key export sectors. These successes constitute important precedents which will influence upcoming multilateral negotiations and future trade disputes.This article reviews the work carried out by the DSB, the role of the leading stakeholders in the system (the United States and the European Union) and progress made by countries of the region in a global context marked by the complexity of trade issues and the legal framework that regulates them. The findings presented in this article are based on the study "Una década de funcionamiento del Sistema de Solución de Diferencias de la OMC: avances y desafíos".

Regional report on measuring disability: Overview of the disability measurement procedures in Latin America and the Caribbean. Task Force on Disability Measurement Statistical Conference of the Americas (SCA)

Introduction .-- I. Inclusion of international guidelines in disability measurement processes in Latin American and Caribbean countries .-- II. State of the art in disability measurement in the region’s countries .-- III. Main difficulties facing countries in terms of collecting information .-- Conclusions.

Prevention of Money Laundering and of the Financing of Terrorism to Ensure the Integrity of Financial Markets in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper reviews the current status of the international fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, highlighting the importance of its prevention for economic and financial stability in Latin America and the Caribbean. It synthesizes the recent history of international legislation and agreements with respect to the issues, and presents the framework of public and private sector actors engaged in combating these threats. It reviews Latin American and Caribbean countries’ compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) (40 + 9) Recommendations, and analyzes the region’s performance with respect to their third round Mutual Evaluation Reports.

Results of the International Comparison Program (ICP) 2011 for Latin America and the Caribbean

The International Comparison Programme (ICP) is a worldwide statistical project whose purpose is to collect comparative price data from a broad list or basket of products and to compile detailed values for spending-side gross domestic product (GDP) in order to calculate purchasing power parities (PPPs). Using PPPs, rather than market exchange rates, to convert macroeconomic aggregates aids comparison of production across economies and of the well-being of populations in real terms, insofar as they are compared on the basis of the purchasing power of each of the participant countries.

The equity gap: Latin America, the Caribbean and the Social Summit

The World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6 to 12 March 1995, brought together a large number of heads of State and Government and official representatives from States Members of the United Nations and culminated in the adoption of the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development. These two documents —the first containing policy statements, the other dealing with their practical application— imply commitments at the national, regional and international levels. Barely two years have passed since this summit was held, too short a period to permit an evaluation of the impact of the actions that the Latin American and Caribbean Governments set out to undertake. On the other hand, most of the countries were already implementing a variety of official policies related to the great objectives of the World Summit for Social Development. Al reunirse ahora los países miembros de la CEPAL para examinar, por vez primera, los avances hacia la aplicación de los resultados de la Cumbre,1 la Secretaría ha centrado su estudio en tres aspectos. Primero, en examinar, desde la óptica latinoamericana y del Caribe, la situación actual en materia de pobreza, empleo e integración social, los principales temas de la Cumbre. Segundo, en el ámbito de las políticas, en reseñar las tendencias que resultan más relevantes para el cumplimiento de los compromisos antes mencionados. Tercero, en proponer algunas orientaciones adicionales sobre el contenido y alcance de las políticas tendientes a facilitar el pleno cumplimiento futuro de dichos compromisos. Se procura con ello orientar el debate de los gobiernos y de la sociedad civil en América Latina y el Caribe acerca de cómo se están instrumentando en la región los compromisos de la Cumbre de Copenhague.

Economic relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Republic of Korea: Advances and opportunities

This document was prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for the official visit of Geung-hye Park, President of the Republic of Korea, to several countries in the region. The Republic of Korea’s success in economic and social development offers many lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean and the developing world as a whole. From being one of the poorest countries in the world in the early 1960s, in six short decades the Republic of Korea has succeeded in transforming itself into a high-income economy, a major manufacturing, scientific and export power and a highly cohesive society with impressive levels of educational achievement.

Preliminary document of the regional instrument on access to information, participation and justice on environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

This technical document has been prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as requested by the countries signatory to the Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in the Santiago Decision adopted at the fourth meeting of the focal points appointed by the Governments of the signatory countries of the Declaration held in Santiago, Chile, from 4 to 6 November 2014.

Access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean: situation, outlook and examples of good practice

Includes bibliography

The economics of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean: Paradoxes and challenges. Overview for 2014

Foreword by Alicia Bárcena.

The cost of hunger: Social and economic impact of child undernutrition in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) jointly with the World Program of Food (WFP) and recognized experts of the region developed a methodology that, using secondary information, estimate the opportunity cost derived from undernutrition. This methodology has been successfully applied in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, where the cost of undernutrition was estimated at 6.7 billion dollars in 2004. The present study covers four countries in South America: Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. The results indicate that the cost of the malnutrition in these countries reached 4.3 billion dollars in 2005, which is equivalent to 3.3 per cent of the GDP of these countries. The results strongly point out that child undernutrition is not only a problem of health or an unacceptable situation ethically, but it is a national problem, given the enormous social costs and the loss of opportunities that it imposes on the national economy.

Economic and Social Panorama of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States 2015

This edition of the Economic and Social Panorama of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is a contribution by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) to the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to be held in Quito in January 2016. This document continues the work carried out since the first summit of CELAC held in Santiago and is a testimony to our ongoing commitment to work in collaboration with the countries of the region.