Population and Development Conference Focuses on Women's Sexual Rights

Uruguay hosted the Sixth Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, where delegates reaffirmed the 13-year-old Montevideo Consensus as a crucial guide for addressing demographic shifts.

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the focus of public policy in the region must be placed on guaranteeing the sexual and reproductive rights of women, so that they can decide if they want to have children or not, how many to have and when.

Uruguay's Minister of Public Health, Cristina Lustemberg, stressed that public policy must prioritize guaranteeing women's sexual and reproductive rights. This includes ensuring women can decide if, when, and how many children to have. She stated that declining birth rates should not be viewed solely with alarm, emphasizing the state's responsibility to respect women's autonomy over their bodies and life choices. "We will not backtrack on the consensus reached regarding rights linked to the population and development agenda. It cost us too much to achieve them and they are one of the most outstanding features of our region," Lustemberg affirmed.

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We will not backtrack on the consensus reached regarding rights linked to the population and development agenda. It cost us too much to achieve them and they are one of the most outstanding features of our region.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), addressed the challenges of managing aging populations and societies with at least six distinct generations coexisting. He highlighted the difficulty of balancing legitimate, often conflicting, demands with limited public resources. "Governing a society made up of six generations therefore means managing legitimate demands that are not always compatible with each other. Public resources are limited and governments must decide how to distribute them. Managing demographic transformation requires an integral approach and intergenerational solidarity," he stated.

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Governing a society made up of six generations therefore means managing legitimate demands that are not always compatible with each other. Public resources are limited and governments must decide how to distribute them. Managing demographic transformation requires an integral approach and intergenerational solidarity.

Diene Keita, executive director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), presented demographic resilience as the path forward, building on the Montevideo Consensus's vision. She noted that demographic change is reshaping families, health systems, and the world, but emphasized that population is about people, their rights, and aspirations, not just numbers. "People are not a demographic problem to be solved, but the power with which we build the future. That is what we mean by demographic resilience," Keita defended.

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People are not a demographic problem to be solved, but the power with which we build the future. That is what we mean by demographic resilience.