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Latin American and Caribbean Group

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Latin American and Caribbean Group
Formation1964; 60 years ago (1964)
TypeRegional Group
Legal statusActive
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The Latin American and Caribbean Group Member States.

The Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries, or GRULAC, is one of the five United Nations Regional Groups composed of 33 Member States from Central and South America, as well as some islands in the West Indies. Its members compose 17% of all United Nations members.

The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocates seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.[1][2]

Member States

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The following are the Member States of the Latin American and Caribbean Group:[3][4]

Representation

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Security Council

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The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds two seats on the Security Council, both non-permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are:[5][6]

Country Term
 Mexico 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2022
 Brazil 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2023

Economic and Social Council

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The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds 10 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[7][8]

Country Term
 Argentina 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
 Bolivia
 Guatemala
 Mexico
 Brazil 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021
 Jamaica
 Paraguay
 Nicaragua 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
 Colombia
 Panama

Human Rights Council

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The Latin American and Caribbean Group currently holds eight seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are:[9][10]

Country Term
 Bolivia 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023
 Cuba
 Mexico
 Argentina 1 January 2019 – 31 December 2021
 Bahamas
 Uruguay
 Brazil 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022
 Venezuela

Presidency of the General Assembly

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Every five years in the years ending in 3 and 8, the Latin American and Caribbean Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.[11]

The following is a list of presidents from the Group since its official creation in 1963:[12]

Year Elected Session Name of President Country Note
1963 18th Carlos Sosa Rodríguez  Venezuela
1968 23rd Emilio Arenales Catalán  Guatemala
1973 28th Leopoldo Benítes  Ecuador Also chaired the sixth special session of the General Assembly
1978 33rd Indalecio Liévano  Colombia
1983 38th Jorge E. Illueca  Panama
1988 43rd Dante M. Caputo  Argentina
1993 48th Samuel R. Insanally  Guyana
1998 53rd Didier Opertti  Uruguay Also chaired the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly
2003 58th Julian Robert Hunte  Saint Lucia
2008 63rd Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann  Nicaragua
2013 68th John W. Ashe  Antigua and Barbuda
2018 73rd María Fernanda Espinosa  Ecuador
2023 78th Dennis Francis  Trinidad and Tobago
Future
2028 83rd TBD TBD
2033 88th TBD TBD

Timeline of membership

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As the Latin American and the Caribbean changed significantly over time, the number of its members had also changed.

Years Number of members Notes
1966-1973 24 Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
1973-1974 25 Bahamas
1974-1975 26 Grenada
1975-1978 27 Suriname
1978-1979 28 Dominica
1979-1980 29 Saint Lucia
1980-1981 30 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1981-1983 32 Antigua and Barbuda, Belize
1983-Present 33 Saint Kitts and Nevis

Role

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The Group plays a major role in promoting the region's interests. It provides a forum for Member States to exchange opinions on international issues, carry out follow-up on the topics that are being discussed in international organisations, build common positions on complex issues and prepare statements reflecting the joint position of the Group.[1][13]

However, most importantly, the Group allows for the discussion and coordination of support for candidates for different United nations organisations from the region.[2]

Regular meetings of the Group take place in Geneva. The most common topics discussed at these meetings are human rights, environment, intellectual property, labour rights, trade and development and telecommunications.[1]

Locations

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The Group maintains various offices across the globe:[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. n.d. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Regional groups of Member States". United Nations Department for General Assembly and Conference management. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  4. ^ United Nations Handbook 2018–19 (PDF) (56 ed.). Wellington: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. 2018. pp. 15–17. ISSN 0110-1951.
  5. ^ "Current Members". United Nations Security Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Brasil no CSNU". Ministério das Relações Exteriores. <! --Not stated-->. n.d. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Members". United Nations Economic and Social Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  8. ^ "General Assembly Elects 19 Economic and Social Council Members to Terms Beginning 1 January 2020, Adopts Resolution Commemorating Signing of United Nations Charter". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Current Membership of the Human Rights Council, 1 January - 31 December 2019 by regional groups". United Nations Human Rights Council. United Nations. n.d. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  10. ^ "General Assembly Elects 14 Member States to Human Rights Council, Appoints New Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services". United Nations Meetings Coverage & Press Releases. United Nations. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  11. ^ Wanza, Serah N. (27 November 2017). "What Are The Five Regional Groups of the United Nations?". Worldatlas. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  12. ^ "Past Presidents". United Nations General Assembly. United Nations. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries in the United Nations (GRULAC)". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. n.d. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
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