AI Regulation Tracker / Regional roadmap

More Than 20 Latin American and Caribbean Governments Adopt the Declaration of Santo Domingo

Regulatory summary: At the Third Ministerial Summit on AI Ethics in Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 20 governments adopted the Declaration of Santo Domingo in June 2026. The nonbinding declaration sets a shared 2026 to 2027 roadmap across five axes, including governance and regulation.

A UNESCO-convened ministerial summit produced a nonbinding regional declaration, a five-axis governance roadmap, and a new Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI. Here is what it changes, and what it does not.

Primary source

By Anthony Guerriero, Founder, The Leveraged Years · Reviewed by The Leveraged Years Editorial Desk · Published July 9, 2026 · Last updated July 9, 2026

More Than 20 Latin American and Caribbean Governments Adopt the Declaration of Santo Domingo regulation briefing

The Leveraged Years AI Regulation Tracker

Key takeaways

More than 20 governments endorsed a common text and a shared 2026 to 2027 roadmap organized around five strategic axes: governance and regulation, talent and the future of work, protection of vulnerable groups, environment and sustainability, and infrastructure. Governments also agreed to create a Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI.
Multinational compliance and government-relations teams tracking AI policy across the region, executives planning market entry or product rollouts, public-sector advisors, and civil-society and media organizations exposed to AI-enabled disinformation.
Status: Adopted.
Log the Declaration of Santo Domingo in your regional policy tracker as a nonbinding baseline. Map each of the five axes to your existing AI governance controls, and assign an owner to watch for national implementing measures, especially in your highest-exposure markets.

Regulatory Briefing

Bindingness: Nonbinding ministerial declaration and roadmap. The Declaration of Santo Domingo is a political instrument agreed by ministers and high authorities. It carries no direct legal force, sets no penalties, and creates no enforceable duties for companies.
Scope: Regional. Covers participating governments across Latin America and the Caribbean, described as the highest member-state participation since the regional mechanism was created, with a notable rise in Caribbean countries. The instrument addresses public policy and cooperation, not corporate obligations.
What Changed: More than 20 governments endorsed a common text and a shared 2026 to 2027 roadmap organized around five strategic axes: governance and regulation, talent and the future of work, protection of vulnerable groups, environment and sustainability, and infrastructure. Governments also agreed to create a Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI.
Who This Affects: Multinational compliance and government-relations teams tracking AI policy across the region, executives planning market entry or product rollouts, public-sector advisors, and civil-society and media organizations exposed to AI-enabled disinformation.
Current Status: Adopted. The declaration and roadmap were agreed at the summit in late June 2026. Follow-up work, led by the new specialist group, was reported in early July 2026 and runs over the next twelve months.
Effective Date: Nonbinding. No commencement date, transition period, or enforcement date applies. Any binding effect would arise only through later national legislation in individual countries.
Primary Source: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/latin-america-and-caribbean-consolidate-regional-roadmap-ethical-inclusive-and-human-centered
Secondary Analysis: DPL News and Servindi reported the more-than-20-countries figure, the five-axis roadmap structure, and the mandate of the Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI. UNESCO Spanish-language pages confirm the declaration's full name and the organizing roles of OGTIC, CAF, and the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with European Union support.
Workflow Impact: Low immediate compliance burden, elevated monitoring value. Nothing here requires a control change today. The governance-and-regulation axis signals that several national regimes may move toward converging principles over the next cycle.
Operational Next Step: Log the Declaration of Santo Domingo in your regional policy tracker as a nonbinding baseline. Map each of the five axes to your existing AI governance controls, and assign an owner to watch for national implementing measures, especially in your highest-exposure markets.
Last Verified: July 9, 2026

Date	Jurisdiction	Rule	Affected professionals	Status or effective date
2026-07-09	Latin America	More than 20 governments endorsed a common text and a shared 2026 to 2027 roadmap organized around five strategic axes: governance and regulation, talent and the future of work, protection of vulnerable groups, environment and sustainability, and infrastructure. Governments also agreed to create a Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI.	Multinational compliance and government-relations teams tracking AI policy across the region, executives planning market entry or product rollouts, public-sector advisors, and civil-society and media organizations exposed to AI-enabled disinformation.	Adopted. The declaration and roadmap were agreed at the summit in late June 2026. Follow-up work, led by the new specialist group, was reported in early July 2026 and runs over the next twelve months.

Source File

Instrument: Declaration of Santo Domingo (Declaracion de Santo Domingo) and Regional Roadmap 2026 to 2027
Authority: Third Ministerial Summit on the Ethics of AI in Latin America and the Caribbean, convened by UNESCO with OGTIC (Dominican Republic), CAF, and the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with European Union support
Date: Adopted at the summit in late June 2026; follow-up reported early July 2026
Citation: UNESCO, Latin America and the Caribbean Consolidate a Regional Roadmap for Ethical, Inclusive and Human-Centered AI
Primary Source: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/latin-america-and-caribbean-consolidate-regional-roadmap-ethical-inclusive-and-human-centered
Corroboration: https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/america-latina-y-el-caribe-consolidan-una-hoja-de-ruta-regional-para-una-ia-etica-inclusiva-y

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Declaration of Santo Domingo legally binding on companies?

No. It is a nonbinding ministerial declaration. It sets shared principles and priorities and commits governments to cooperate. It imposes no enforceable duties, penalties, or filing obligations on businesses.

How many governments adopted it?

Regional reporting cites more than 20 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, and UNESCO called it the highest member-state participation since the mechanism began. A definitive named signatory list was not published in the sources reviewed.

What are the five axes of the 2026 to 2027 roadmap?

Governance and regulation, talent and the future of work, protection of vulnerable groups, environment and sustainability, and technological infrastructure.

What is the Regional Group of Specialists on Disinformation and AI?

A new regional body created to lead follow-up over twelve months. It will monitor AI-enabled disinformation, build regional response capacity, and develop a rapid-response protocol.

When does it take effect?

There is no effective date, because it is nonbinding. Any enforceable obligation would come only through later national legislation in individual countries.