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Follow-up and Implementation: Mandates |
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INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORTATION |
MANDATES |
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MANDATES
Promote the development of infrastructure that enables the deployment of interoperable, resilient, secure, and reliable telecommunications networks with open architecture and which are technologically neutral, as well as regulatory policies that expand coverage, facilitate connectivity, promote competitiveness, and drive digital innovation. (Regional Agenda for Digital Transformation, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Support digital infrastructure- and connectivity-related studies, national and regional networks, and projects currently underway that enable us to achieve greater integration within the region, and between the region and other continents and regions of the world. (Regional Agenda for Digital Transformation, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Expand next generation broadband connectivity based on national capacities, promote enabling environments for new technologies, and strengthen interoperability by advancing regional harmonization on radio frequency allocation. (Regional Agenda for Digital Transformation, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Address the wider economic, social, and environmental dimensions of resilience, including challenges resulting from COVID-19 and constraints to sustainable post-pandemic recovery, including limited fiscal space; unsustainable debt-burdens, where applicable; lack of access to financing; challenges to food and nutrition security; and limited capacity to mitigate and adapt to the challenges of the climate crisis. (Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Develop an evidence-based Action Plan that takes into account the sociocultural, economic, and structural challenges facing the Americas region and includes, among others, identifying measures for national and international coordination and cooperation, taking into account the global commitments assumed by the states with respect to health and resilience, with a view to:
h. Strengthening the capacities of health authorities and infrastructure and national epidemiological surveillance systems, as appropriate, to prevent, prepare for, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks and events with epidemic characteristics, through the fulfillment of the commitments under the International Health Regulations and other international instruments, and through international cooperation and technical assistance from international organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization; (Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
To harness the role of oceans and other bodies of water to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to contribute to global efforts to combat plastic pollution, we commit to:
c. Foster the implementation of pathways, including in the International Maritime Organization, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, inter alia, by establishing green corridors that use cleaner fuels and collaborating on reducing greenhouse gas emissions of regional sea ports; (Our Sustainable Green Future, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Promote energy efficiency in new public and private infrastructure plans as well as encourage the rational, efficient use of energy, contemplating the opportunities for energy integration to facilitate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, considering all relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG7, promoting the use of efficient energy-saving and energy-labeling technologies to achieve net zero emissions, as appropriate, following the requirements, circumstances, and each state’s legislation. (Accelerating the Clean, Sustainable, Renewable, and Just Energy Transition, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Share best practices on inclusive and equitable energy-efficient transportation infrastructure and urban designs. (Accelerating the Clean, Sustainable, Renewable, and Just Energy Transition, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Work with the private sector, multilateral development banks, and multilateral climate funds, as appropriate, to identify, facilitate access to, and finance quality energy efficiency and clean and sustainable energy infrastructure plans and projects, which use innovative technologies and follow international best practices for environmental and procurement standards that promote respect for human rights and reach underserved communities and public entities, considering the level of development and the mechanisms that best adapt to the reality of each country. (Accelerating the Clean, Sustainable, Renewable, and Just Energy Transition, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
Increase efforts to ensure inclusion and diversity in all aspects of governance, through the following actions:
e. Establishing and/or strengthening mechanisms and providing sufficient ongoing training and resources for the review and enforcement of anti-discrimination policies and laws in hiring practices, access to justice, finance, housing, employment, social protection, infrastructure, and services, and other social and economic opportunities; (Inter-American Action Plan on Democratic Governance, IX Summit of the Americas, Los Angeles, 2022).
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Requesting that the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG), together with other relevant regional and international bodies, develop an infrastructure platform to facilitate the exchange of experiences, training and cooperation programs for project monitoring and development, feasibility and risk analysis studies, transparent bidding procedures, and government procurement. (Lima Commitment. Peru, 2018)
To reaffirm that the promotion and further development of physical infrastructure projects at the national, subregional, and regional levels are priorities for the public policies and development strategies of our countries, as appropriate, which contribute to sustainable development, social inclusion, and increased trade. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To promote the exchange of experiences and the participation of the public and private sectors, taking into account current and future national, subregional, and regional physical infrastructure programs and projects that connect and integrate the Americas, which should, in accordance with our respective needs and full respect for our domestic laws, contribute to the development of synergies of national physical infrastructure agendas. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To examine financing mechanisms with a view to encouraging and strengthening the further involvement of national, subregional, regional, and international financial institutions, and that of the private sector, in projects to promote physical integration of the Americas as well as horizontal cooperation between our countries to that end. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To promote, on the basis of the corresponding national policies and regulatory frameworks, compatibility and harmonization of institutional regulations that facilitate investment in infrastructure in the Americas. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To promote and/or optimize electrical interconnection and foster the development of renewable energy generation in the Americas. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To encourage the transfer of available technologies in energy under voluntary and mutually agreed terms, as well as the exchange of best practices. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To foster increased connection of telecommunication networks in general, including fiber optic and broadband, among the region’s countries, as well as international connections, to improve connectivity, increase the dynamism of communications between the nations of the Americas, as well as reduce international data transmission costs, and, thus, promote access, connectivity, and convergent services to all social sectors in the Americas. (Integration of Physical Infrastructure in the Americas, Cartagena, 2012).
To promote and encourage, when pertinent, the creation of agencies and fora for the identification and feasibility assessment of investment projects in basic infrastructure. (Plan of Action Mar del Plata, 2005).
Recognizing that the development of physical infrastructure is an important complement to economic integration; that advances in the area of infrastructure will release new driving forces toward a broad and deep integration, setting in motion dynamics that should be encouraged; and that infrastructure projects geared to integration should be complemented by the adoption of regulatory and administrative regimes that facilitate their implementation:(Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Recognizing that states have the sovereign right to regulate their own telecommunications sectors and that affordable and universal access to new information and communications technologies is an important means to raise the living standards of our citizens and reduce the divide between rural and urban populations, and between countries; noting the importance of increasing cooperation with the private sector to further modernize and expand our telecommunications sectors; acknowledging and reaffirming our efforts in and dedication to market opening and increasing free, fair and equitable competition in all telecommunications services, while respecting the regulatory framework of each country, in order to attract investment needed to develop infrastructure and to reduce the cost of service; stressing the importance of adopting policies to protect the interests of users and enhance the quality, efficiency, coverage and diversity of services, all based on respect for user privacy; and bearing in mind the social, political, economic, commercial and cultural needs of our populations, in particular those of less developed communities:(Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Recognizing that environmentally sound, safe, and efficient transportation systems, including multi modal corridors, are essential to the quality of the daily lives of the people of the Americas as well as to trade in goods and services among our countries; and reaffirming our support for the ongoing efforts of our Ministers responsible for transportation, through the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI), to increase the integration of our transportation systems and practices: (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Endorse the areas for cooperation identified at the Ministers' meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in March 2001; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Promote and facilitate increased cooperation, convergence and information sharing in the transportation related activities of the five subregions of the Hemisphere and with multilateral organizations, with a view to furthering the development of human and institutional capacity and ensuring the environmental sustainability of transportation systems and infrastructure ; to this end, request that the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) continues to provide its valuable support to the WHTI;(Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Actively and collectively encourage international maritime and air carriers to fully comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards of safety governing the transport of dangerous goods including nuclear, hazardous and noxious substances and waste and stress the importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Actively and collectively encourage international maritime carriers, in particular cruise ships, to comply with IMO standards in relation to the protection of the marine environment, and to take full account of the special area status of the wider Caribbean; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Acknowledging the concerns of some states about the transport of radioactive material, including waste, through routes close to the coasts of states or along navigable waterways of the Hemisphere and the potential health consequences for our people and the possible threat to the marine environment, and consistent with maritime rights and obligations in international law; encourage and support full compliance with existing IMO and IAEA conventions, standards and codes of practice and stress the importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place; encourage the consideration by the IAEA and the IMO and other competent international bodies to strengthen additional international measures, as necessary, which may include: the assurance of non contamination of the marine environment; the recovery of radioactive material, including waste, in the case of accidental release; the provision of relief, rehabilitation or reconstruction, as appropriate, for affected people in the case of an accident; and invite countries shipping radioactive material, including waste, to provide timely information to potentially affected states in the Hemisphere relating to such shipments, consistent with the need to maintain and ensure the safety and security of those shipments; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Instruct our Ministers of Transportation to explore the possibility of discussing the modernization of air services in order to meet the growing flow of people and goods that has been taking place in the Hemisphere; (Plan of Action Québec, 2001).
Give impetus to, in the shortest possible time, policies and processes that facilitate the development of infrastructure, including across international boundaries, to further the integration of energy markets.(Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
Undertake the necessary actions to implement, to the fullest extent possible, and taking into account subregional sectoral agreements, decisions, and projects, the Joint Ministerial Declaration of the Second Hemispheric Summit on Transportation, held in Santiago, Chile, in April 1996, aimed at: a) promoting market-oriented, integrated, financially viable, and environmentally sustainable transportation systems and services, and b) providing safe, efficient, and reliable passenger and cargo services that foster the economic growth and development of our countries. (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
Develop a plan aimed at ensuring the highest level of safety in air, sea and land transportation systems, improving infrastructure and increasing environmental protection by improving compliance with international standards and recommended practices established, such as those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
Engage in discussions to develop a cooperation program, taking into account the Santiago and San Salvador Declarations of the Regional Conferences on Confidence and Security Building Measures, which would address maritime and air transport of nuclear and other hazardous wastes and, where appropriate, work with the relevant international organizations to strengthen or develop standards governing the transport of such goods and its safety. (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
Prepare a profile, with the cooperation of United Nations Economic Commission on Latin-American and the Caribbean (ECLAC), of regional transportation systems and services taking into account agreements, decisions, projects and studies already prepared by regional and hemispheric organizations. Such a profile will identify the main problems and opportunities faced by the countries in the Hemisphere as a first step toward establishing regional transportation priorities and policies, with respect to, among other things, the harmonization of standards and the exchange of technology. (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
Seek, from international financial institutions, resources necessary to undertake, as soon as possible, transportation infrastructure projects in the Americas, including those which take into account the specific needs of the smallest economies. (Plan of Action Santiago, 1998).
11.1 Development in this Hemisphere depends on urgent infrastructure measures, including the priority allocation of financial resources, in accordance with national legislation and with the participation of both the public and private sectors. Strengthening the flow of private productive capital to economically and environmentally sound projects has become increasingly vital to countries throughout the Hemisphere as the growth of official sources of capital has failed to keep pace with the area's needs. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).
11.2 Charge multilateral development banks to work with governments and, as appropriate, private concerns, to develop mechanisms to deal with lending and investment issues.
Draw on other regional and sub-regional experiences within the Hemisphere to support infrastructure development. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).
11.3 Governments that so wish will develop suitable mechanisms, including multilateral and bilateral commitments on regulatory and legal rules and practices, to encourage private investment, both domestic and foreign, in national and transboundary infrastructure projects. (Plan of Action Miami, 1994).
