The GRULAC is a non-binding consensus and dialogue group comprising all Latin American and Caribbean countries, the purpose of which is to reach consensus on the different topics of the Region.
In general terms, the coordinator or president of the group is responsible for: calling the meetings; sharing important documents regarding issues of common concern for the group; carrying out the follow-up of the different topics discussed; distributing information to the rest of the members; coordinating the adoption of joint positions whenever possible; fostering the discussion of speeches or declarations made on behalf of the group or coordinating their preparation with the concerned countries.
The high-level event of GRULAC is the Ambassadors meeting. This sort of meetings is not held on a regular basis, but is called according to the negotiation needs or in the case of pending issues regarding different topics and forums.
Operation by Mission:
The GRULAC meets in Geneva within the framework of the United Nations and other specialized agencies in order to:
- Exchange opinions regarding international agenda issues.
- Share important documents on a certain topic to be discussed by the Group.
- Carry out the follow-up to current topics in the agenda of international forums operating in Geneva.
- Build common positions regarding the different topics
- Prepare statements reflecting the joint position of the group.
- Discuss the candidates to be presented or supported within the different existing mechanisms.
The GRULAC works in a differentiated way according to the topics of the agenda. The most common topics of the group are human rights, the environment, WIPO, ILO, UNCTAD and ITU.
Two GRULAC groups’ offices are in Rome; one of the groups deals with bilateral issues and the other one addresses multilateral issues, particularly those of the United Nations organizations in the same city. Its main role is to coordinate the multilateral positions of the different agencies where different scenarios may take place.
The GRULAC in Vienna decides mostly upon candidate members of the group, as well as other topics related to UNOV, IAEA, the CTBT, COPUOS and UNIDO. It also works as a liaison for other groups such as G77 + China and NAM.
At the UN Mission in New York, the group only deals with issues regarding candidacies and other non-thematic aspects.
