On 23 October 2022, the Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean – known as the Buenos Aires Convention – entered into force.
This is the fourth of UNESCO’s regional recognition conventions to do so. By promoting the fair, transparent and non-discriminatory recognition of higher education qualifications, the Convention serves as a key tool for enhancing student mobility and connecting higher education systems in the region.
Of the world’s 6 million internationally mobile students, some 384,000 come from Latin America and the Caribbean, while the region hosts around 240,000 of them. These numbers have tripled in the last two decades and are expected to rise again.
The rate of intra-regional mobility is high, with countries like Argentina increasingly becoming regional hubs.
The Convention was adopted in Buenos Aires, Argentina in July 2019 and has four States Parties to date – Cuba, Grenada, Peru and Uruguay. UNESCO encourages Member States to ratify it together with the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, which is implemented in complementarity with it.
A course dedicated to the Buenos Aires Convention is available from UNESCO’s International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC) – the Secretariat of the Convention.
