Initiative overview
The Santo Domingo Declaration was adopted on 25–26 June 2026 during the Third Ministerial Summit and High Authorities on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Latin America and the Caribbean, hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic. It was approved with the strategic backing of UNESCO and development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and builds directly on two earlier summits, Santiago, Chile (2023) and Montevideo (2024), which established a regional AI governance process, including a dedicated Working Group and a first Roadmap covering 2024–2025.
The declaration values the outcomes of that first Roadmap, noting it enabled progress in developing regional instruments to strengthen AI governance. It highlights that the new Roadmap 2026–2027 represents a transition from planning towards active implementation, with an emphasis on building sustainable capacities and practical mechanisms to consistently address, in line with international human rights norms, specific challenges including AI-driven disinformation, equitable access to technology, and AI's associated environmental impact. The declaration underscores that regional leadership on ethical AI requires coordinated governance mechanisms, prepared human talent, protection of groups in vulnerable situations, responsible environmental policies, and robust, accessible, sustainable technological infrastructure.
Under the Roadmap 2026–2027, countries commit to a 12-month implementation horizon structured around five strategic lines: governance and regulation; talent and the future of work; protection of vulnerable groups; environment, sustainability and climate change; and infrastructure. Concrete outputs to be promoted include a Regional Group of Disinformation and AI Specialists, a rapid-response intervention Playbook, an open online course on gender-mainstreaming competencies in AI, a regional data infrastructure standard, and studies and workshops on technological infrastructure and data sandboxes.
On governance and oversight, the declaration consolidates the Working Group on the Ethics of AI as a permanent coordination body responsible for monitoring the Roadmap's implementation, periodically updating its outputs, and coordinating with other regional and international networks. It also establishes the Ministerial and High Authorities Summits on AI Ethics as an annual recurring space to review progress, approve new initiatives, and ensure continuity of the regional process.
