Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

<strong>Draft</strong> <strong>first</strong> <strong>regional</strong> <strong>report</strong> on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development
Chapter III
than for other age groups, was not immune to the adverse macroeconomic environment and rose during
the reference period, heavily influenced by developments in Brazil. 36 The Caribbean has one of the world’s
highest youth unemployment rates, something that can be put down to a number of factors, such as the
low quality of education and training, which are not suited to the needs of the labour market. 37 Improving
the supply of jobs for the young also helps to fulfil other priority measures of the Montevideo Consensus
on Population and Development, as it facilitates poverty reduction, empowers youth, lets people make
better life plans and, consequently, means parenthood is more likely to be postponed.
(b) Priority measures relating to the participation of adolescents and youth
in society and decision-making
A recent ECLAC study (Trucco and Ullmann, 2015) revealed a deficit of legitimacy in institutions and doubts
about the ability of today’s democracies to represent the interests of majorities and solve their problems. Indices
of conventional and electoral participation among young people are low and there is little interest in politics.
Indeed, democracy is associated in the youth imaginary with individual liberty and freedom of expression, while
collective deliberation and genuine choice between alternative governments, which are another key dimension
of democracy, are relegated to the background. Conversely, young people tend to have a greater proclivity than
adults to mobilize around core issues of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, such as
health care, education and better jobs and opportunities. This is found alongside a greater willingness to engage
in direct action in the form of mobilizations and in other ways, even if the majority are unenthusiastic or reluctant
when it comes to participating in traditional or formal mechanisms. A striking finding is that the countries with
the highest levels of trust in institutions at the beginning of the century (Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile) went through
a process of disengagement and distancing from institutions, while others experienced the opposite. These
variations aside, the region’s countries have implemented a wide range of actions to encourage such participation,
both that of voters in elections (and elected representatives) and that of citizens in mechanisms for dialogue and
for consultative and even deliberative participation (Trucco and Ullman, 2015, p. 248).
One aim of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development is to promote and facilitate full
participation by adolescents and young people in their societies. The countries have <strong>report</strong>ed on a number
of initiatives implemented since 2013 to promote and institutionalize such youth participation over and above
exclusively political participation. Besides public bodies that work directly with the young (youth secretariats,
national youth institutes and the like) and seek to represent them within governments, different representation,
participation and consultation mechanisms have been implemented, such as youth cabinets and parliaments,
adolescent and youth advisory councils (which are often sectoral, particularly in the areas of health and
education), youth conferences and open national or local consultations on a variety of issues. 38 Given that
the country <strong>report</strong>s do not include indicators B.3 and B.4 and there are no metadata for these as yet, it is
impossible to prepare comparative tables for the region. Mexico presents data on young people’s participation
in decision-making positions, and the findings for the recent period are rather discouraging. 39 Because of this
lack of information, a quantitative <strong>regional</strong> follow-up of this priority measure is unviable as yet and stands as
a challenge for the next Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development <strong>regional</strong> follow-up <strong>report</strong>.
36
Indicator A.14 disaggregated by age (15-24) and 8.5.2 of the SDGs for Latin America and the Caribbean: 14.5% in 2010 and 17.2% in 2016.
37
ECLAC, 2017a, p. 63.
38
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: Presidential Council for Youth and Students and the Youth Committees of the Communal Councils. Chile: Youth Cabinet of the
National Youth Institute, Adolescent and Youth Advisory Council of the Ministry of Health and the “My opinion is my right” campaign, aimed at debating and
gathering inputs for the National Policy on Childhood. El Salvador: youth centres (where policies for the young are implemented), the Children’s and Adolescents’
Advisory Council (CCNA) and the National Young Persons’ Council (CONAPEJ). Mexico: Children’s and Adolescents’ Opinion (OpiNNA), a systematic standing
mechanism whose purpose is for the voice of this group, in its different age bands, to form part of public opinion that must be given a hearing and be reflected in
public actions (Government of Mexico, 2018), and the Mexican Dual Education Model, which promotes tie-ups between education centres and the labour market.
Panama: Children’s and Adolescents’ Advisory Councils at the municipal level. Peru: Children’s and Adolescents’ Advisory Councils (CCONNA), whose promotion
by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations raised the participation of the reference group in public policy cycles for issues involving or concerning it
from 4% in 2013 to 7.3% in 2015. Uruguay: Departmental Youth Boards and Juy! National Youth Conference. In addition to all these initiatives, there are youth
parliaments in Suriname, Jamaica and Guyana (in this last, young people are also involved in preparing the new National Youth Policy mentioned earlier) and the
CARICOM Youth Ambassadors programme in the Caribbean.
39
According to the national youth participation index, young people’s participation in the federal government declined constantly between 2014 and 2016: in the
former year, 3 of every 10 decision-makers were young, but the figure had dropped to 1 in 10 by 2016, the lowest level since 2012.
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