September 12, 2023
The International Day of South-South Cooperation, celebrated every year on September 12, is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of solidarity and cooperation between the peoples and countries of the South.
South-South cooperation can be bilateral or between several countries and at both regional and supra-regional levels. It is a mechanism that complements international cooperation and is essential for the exchange of knowledge and experience between southern countries.
It is based on principles such as respect for sovereignty, independence, equality, unconditionality, non-interference in internal affairs and mutual benefit. It involves the participation of multiple stakeholders: states, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, civil society and academic institutions.
Established by the United Nations General Assembly to commemorate the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for the Promotion and Implementation of Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries of 1978, the International Day of South-South Cooperation represents one of the most important reference points of the South-South -Cooperation. Southern cooperation. This year’s theme proposed by the United Nations is “Solidarity, Equality and Cooperation: Enabling South-South Cooperation to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
In the area of MERCOSUR, in recent years, in addition to extra-regional cooperation, States Parties have considered the need to promote the development of development strategies and policies within the bloc in order to reduce asymmetries between its partners. , and horizontally exchange knowledge and experiences. In this context, the States Parties agreed on the importance of developing various measures related to South-South cooperation in order to enhance this type of cooperation in the regional bloc.
There are different experiences of South-South cooperation in MERCOSUR. With regard to human rights, the MERCOSUR Institute of Public Policies on Human Rights (IPPDH) promotes this type of cooperation at both the internal and external levels of the bloc. Within this framework, in 2018, the IPPDH launched the IPPDH South-South Cooperation Support Program (PAC-SUR), with the aim of creating instances of dialogue on human rights between regional blocs in order to identify synergies, challenges, shared resources and installed The states and their authorities have to find capacity.
For example, within the framework of PAC-SUR, activities to exchange good practices in promoting the rights of people with disabilities were carried out between MERCOSUR and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), jointly organized by the IPPDH. the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the National Secretariat for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the Brazilian Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights. Likewise, IPPDH and ABC are advancing dialogue to strengthen joint work in support of South-South cooperation.
At the same time, the IPPDH promotes cooperation with African countries and in particular we can mention the South-South Cooperation Exchange promoted by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Mohammed V: Morocco/Latin America and the Caribbean” in 2022.
Promoting South-South cooperation is a commitment to solidarity and cooperation between the peoples of the South to promote human rights.