The Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (RCPD) is a subsidiary body of ECLAC for the follow-up and review of population and development issues, such as international migration, indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant populations, population ageing, and sexual and reproductive health, among others. It holds its meetings every two years and its Board of Directors meets at least once between regular sessions. 

The Plurinational State of Bolivia currently chairs the Presiding Officers, with Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Santa Lucia, Suriname, Uruguay and Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela serving as vice-chairs.

The Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development was adopted at the First Session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development, held in Montevideo from 12-15 August 2013. The Montevideo Consensus is the most important intergovernmental agreement on population and development ever signed in the region and has become a fundamental part of the review process of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and its follow-up beyond 2014.

At its second session, held from 6-9 October 2015 in Mexico City, the Regional Conference adopted the Operational Guide for Implementation and Follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, as a voluntary technical tool to support the Latin American and Caribbean countries in the implementation of the priority measures set forth in the Montevideo Consensus. The Operational Guide takes into account the synergies with other instruments or international bodies, such as the Programme of Action of the ICPD beyond 2014 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

At the third session of the Regional Conference, held from 7-9 August 2018 in Lima, Peru, the countries welcomed the Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development. With the incorporation by the secretariat of the observations and suggestions sent in due course by the governments, that document became the First regional report, which represented the regional contribution to the global review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the ICPD beyond 2014, undertaken by the Commission on Population and Development at its fifty-second session held in April 2019.

In view of the situation stemming from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development decided to postpone the fourth session of the Regional Conference, which was to be held in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference, at its Executive Meeting on 20 May 2021, in a virtual meeting, agreed to hold the Fourth Meeting of the Regional Conference on Population and Development during the first semester of 2022.

At the fourth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held at ECLAC headquarters, in Santiago, Chile from 28-30 June 2022, the countries took note of the document Sociodemographic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by the Technical Secretariat with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In addition, the Regional Conference resolved to organize a special session in the second semester of 2023 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, and to review of the progress made in its implementation.

At the fifth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference, which was held together with the special session of the Regional Conference for the 10th anniversary of the Montevideo Consensus on 14-15 November 2023, the Technical Secretariat presented the Draft second regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, prepared with the support of UNFPA. The countries of the region presented their new voluntary national report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus.

The Presiding Officers requested the Technical Secretariat to take into account the observations and suggestions on the document Population, Development and Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean: draft second regional report on implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development conveyed by countries , and decided that this document would represent the regional contribution to the global review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014, to be undertaken by the Commission on Population and Development at its fifty-seventh session in 2024.

In addition, the Presiding Officers requested the Technical Secretariat to present the final version of the Second regional report on implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean at the fifth session of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in 2024. In addition, decided that, in line with the provisions of resolution 4(IV), adopted at the fourth session of the Conference, the thirtieth anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development will be commemorated in the framework of the fifth session of the Regional Conference.