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Parliaments from South America and the Caribbean mobilize around the SDGs

Participants at the Regional Seminar on the SDGs.

Participants at the Regional Seminar on the SDGs. Photo: ©Parlatino

About 120 MPs from the Parliaments of Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Panama City on 1 and 2 December 2016 at a Regional Seminar on the SDGs organized by IPU and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino). The IPU President, Saber Chowdhury, delivered the inaugural address.

The seminar provided a platform for MPs to exchange ideas about the opportunities and challenges associated with achieving the SDGs.  The parliamentarians discussed how parliaments can effectively engage in policymaking to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs in the region and their own countries. Particular emphasis was placed on the issue of economic, social and environmental inequalities and how these impede progress towards sustainable development.

The IPU’s Self-Assessment Toolkit on the SDGs was launched on this occasion and immediately sparked a great deal of interest among parliamentarians. The outcome document of the seminar urges IPU and Parlatino to continue to promote parliamentary action on the SDGs, including through the Toolkit.