Executive Summary: Regional Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean

Executive Summary: Regional Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean

May 31, 2016

The 2016 Regional Human Development Report for Latin America and the Caribbean focuses on the increasingly pressing challenges facing the region. In times of global economic fragility, eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities in all their dimensions require a twofold strategy. Protecting the achievements of the last decade – to prevent millions from falling back into poverty- while promoting comprehensive policies adapted to populations suffering from discrimination and historical exclusions.

We see multidimensional progress as a space for development regulated by certain limits: “nothing that diminishes the rights of people and communities or jeopardizes the environmental sustainability of the planet can be regarded as progress.”

Latin America and the Caribbean is a diverse region and does not follow a single pattern of development. This Report is separated into two volumes, which share the same narrative: the Regional Human Development Report - the first volume - covers the entire region, while deepening the analysis on Latin America; and the Caribbean Human Development Report - the second volume - approaches the multidimensional challenges of sustainable development and human progress taking into consideration the particularities of the Caribbean.