Welcome
Development cooperation with Latin America and human rights
German development cooperation in Latin America focuses on two global topics: protecting global public goods, particularly in the field of environmental protection and climate change mitigation, and strengthening good governance and the rule of law, alongside economic and social development.
For over 50 years, German development cooperation has been working successfully in the region and is accompanying and supporting the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on their path to sustainable development.
Latin America is no longer only a recipient of development funding. Many Latin American states are already implementing their own development measures in third countries. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is working to make triangular cooperation between development cooperation and South-South cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean an established instrument.
Protection and sustainable use of natural resources
As a global “lung”, Latin America’s tropical rainforest captures an average of 660 tonnes of CO2 per hectare, thus playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change. Latin America also has over 50,000 kilometres of marine coast, which is home to more than 13,000 species of animals and plants.
At the same time, the region has enormous potential for generating energy from renewable sources and significant deposits of raw materials, which are important for the transition to a climate-neutral economy.
While protection of the rainforest plays an important role in Brazil, Germany is supporting the creation of a biological corridor in Central America running from Mexico to Panama. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in cooperation with indigenous organisations, is promoting efforts to strengthen sustainable value‑added chains in forest management.
Cooperation on energy and climate change mitigation
Latin America is a key continent for climate, environmental and biodiversity protection. Although the continent only produces a small amount of global greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of climate change are felt disproportionately strongly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Using bilateral energy partnerships, Germany helps its cooperation partners to set the right course for a secure and clean energy supply by improving energy efficiency, promoting renewable energies and supporting sustainable forest management. Via the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the German Government also supports implementation of the nationally determined contributions to climate change mitigation laid down in the Paris Agreement, their ambitious further development and the achievement of the targets set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Peace, good governance and economic development
In the recent past, it has largely been possible to use international mechanisms to resolve conflicts between states in the region. German development policy accompanies these peace processes and does its part to encourage reconciliation and reparation, for example by providing support to youth violence prevention. Furthermore, Germany supports independent international commissions and civil society organisations in addressing impunity and corruption in Central America.
Although most of the countries of Latin America have democratic systems of government, they still face the challenge of enabling all social groups to participate equally in development. German development policy supports this not least through programmes fostering state and tax reform, decentralisation and public participation. It has also bolstered regional institutions and mechanisms in the fields of conflict resolution, access to justice and human rights. A fiscal and tax policy aimed at narrowing the gap between haves and have‑nots is crucial as regards fostering social cohesion and strengthening democracy. In order to achieve lasting integration in the global markets and international arena, it is also vital that social security systems be set up and consolidated and that dialogue between all sections of society be intensified.
Cooperation between development policy players and the private sector also plays a key role. Many Latin American countries are particularly suitable for public-private partnership approaches (PPP). In the field of vocational education and training, Germany supports the establishment of training and further training systems and the integration of young people in the labour market.
Promoting human rights in Latin America
A common commitment to universal and indivisible human rights links Germany with its partners in Latin America.
The German Government is supporting Latin American countries, in line with their individual needs, in their efforts to combat impunity and corruption, advance judicial and administrative reform, guarantee freedom of the press and of expression, combat child labour and the commercial sexual exploitation of children, foster the non-discrimination of minorities and strengthen the economic and social rights of disadvantaged population groups.
To this end, the German Government is conducting an active dialogue in Latin American countries with civil society and NGOs, which have assumed a key role as partners in German-funded projects. The German Government is working with partners on the ground in the following areas:
- promoting women’s rights, for example via the Unidas Women’s Network, which was set up in 2019
- promoting institutions based on democracy and the rule of law
- strengthening the human rights dialogue and human rights training courses for state security forces
- protecting human rights defenders