The event included the participation of Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. It also featured the participation of representatives of the organizations of employers and workers in the region, and the team of the Technical Secretariat, comprising representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The representative of the Ministry of Labour and Employment of Brazil, Alberto de Souza, said that "the eradication of child labour responds to a broader issue: the integral protection of the child and adolescent. The participation of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is unanimous. We all embrace this cause, the integral protection of children and adolescents, as well as we embrace the protection of human rights in a very clear and firm way in our region. "

The countries will work together until October 18 to agree on the work plan for 2014-2015, to define structure and the management model to follow, and to consolidate the Focal Points Network of this new instrument for development cooperation, which currently has 25 member countries.

The "Regional Initiative: Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour" was born in October 2013 in the framework of the III Global Conference on Child Labour, where several countries shared their concern on the urgency of working together to accelerate the eradication of child labour. To date, the number of countries adhered to the Initiative has doubled, meaning that a more focused, coordinated and integrated effort is urgent to end child labour. "We are all here today to prove it can be done with the participation of all partners," said Cecilia Malaguti, representative of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency.

Latin America and the Caribbean have made great progress and have the necessary conditions to become the first developing region in the world to declare itself free of child labour. There is still a long way to go; this is why countries have committed to strengthening their efforts through the Regional Initiative.

"Each of us makes his history, each of us carry the gift of being able and being happy. Every country carries a gift of being able to eradicate child labour" (Renato Mendes on behalf of the ILO).