Israel not planning for country's burgeoning number of elderly, expert warns - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

To learn about the Israeli experience (or inexperience) in the context of an aging society, see the following link to a news article in the field:
Israel not planning for country's burgeoning number of elderly, expert warns - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

New book on the future of elder law

A new book, that I have edited with my colleague Prof. Ann Soden, has just been published under the hospice of Springer Publication.
The book called: "Beyond Elder Law: New Directions in Law and Aging" consists of 9 different chapters that cover a wide array of critical issues in the field of elder law: legal capacity; guardianship; elder abuse and neglect; age discrimination; international elder law; and more. The authors, are some of the most leading scholars in the field, come from all over the world: UK, Belgium; Australia, Canada, USA, and Israel.
Here is the link to the book, which includes the introduction and the Table of Contents.
Enjoy. Issi
New Book: Beyond Elder Law

Regional HR Convention for Older Persons - Development in the Americas

The struggle to develop and establish a new human rights instrument to promote the rights of older persons on the international level has received a new boost from the Organization of American States:

The Organization of American States.approved last Friday (December 2, 2011) a major step to start writing the text of a convention to protect the rights of older people. This report was approved and highlights the need to comply with the mandate of the Working Group in 2012. According to the operative paragraph 2 of Resolution AG / RES 2654 (XLI-0/11), its task is to develop "a draft Convention for the promotion and protection of the rights of older people before the end of the first half of 2012.”

If indeed the OAS will stand up to its plan, it will the first international body to adopt and binding international convention exclusively for the rights of older persons. This can also serve as a significant step towards the adoption of a similar trend not only in other global regions but also for the UN at large.

Family caregiving: USA Presidential Proclamation

Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation in honor of National Family Caregivers Month.
Here is the link + the full text:
http://www.nfcacares.org/press_room/detail.cfm?num=168

PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION -- NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS MONTH


11/01/11 — THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release November 1, 2011

NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS MONTH, 2011 - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Across our country, millions of family members, neighbors, and friends provide care and support for their loved ones during times of need. With profound compassion and selflessness, these caregivers sustain American men, women, and children at their most vulnerable moments, and through their devoted acts, they exemplify the best of the American spirit. During National Family Caregivers Month, we pay tribute to the individuals throughout America who ensure the health and well-being of their relatives and loved ones.

Many of our Nation's family caregivers assist seniors and people with disabilities to help improve their quality of life. Their efforts help deliver short-term comfort and security, facilitate social engagement, and help individuals stay in their homes and communities as long as possible. This heroic work is often done while caregivers balance other commitments to their families, jobs, and communities. As these remarkable individuals put their own lives on hold to tend to their family members, it is our responsibility to ensure they do not have to do it alone.

To ease the emotional and financial burdens that can accompany caregiving, my Administration has striven to support family caregivers for the crucial role they perform. Vice President Joe Biden's Middle Class Task Force has focused on the importance or investing in respite care, counseling, and training for individuals who serve aging Americans. These initiatives would give family caregivers a leg up as they continue to support their aging loved ones.

One of our Nation's greatest responsibilities is to ensure our veterans, their families, and their caregivers receive lasting and comprehensive support. Last year, I signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, which helps fulfill this obligation by extending additional assistance to family members who care for severely wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Our military caregivers exemplify the heroism found not only on the fields of battle, but also in the hearts of those who tend to our wounded warriors when they come home.

As we observe National Family Caregivers Month, we honor the tireless compassion of Americans who heal, comfort, and support our injured, our elders, and people with disabilities. This month and throughout the year, let the quiet perseverance of our family caregivers remind us of the decency and kindness to which we can all aspire.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2011 as National Family Caregivers Month. I encourage all Americans to pay tribute to those who provide for the health and well-being of their family members, friends, and neighbors.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

Municipal Elder Law - The Dublin Declaration: Age Friendly Cities and Communities

The potential of local and municipal powers as tools to promote rights of older persons has received growing attention in scholarly writing in recent years (e.g. Israel Doron and Kim Dayton (forthcoming) research on municipal elder in the USA).
One of the manifestations of this recognition is the WHO's glogal network of age friendly cities.
The first international conference in this field was held recently in Dublin, Ireland on the 28-30 of September 2011.
The outcome of this conference was a declaration, "The Dublin Declaration: Age Friendly Cities and Communities".
The link to the declaration is below:
http://www.afc-internationalconference.ie/templates/afc/images/Dublin%20Declaration.pdf
Amongst others the declaration states that:

“3. Where we live, our physical, social and cultural environment, greatly impacts upon how we live. The significance of ‘place’ in all our lives cannot be overestimated. The built environment impacts on the quality of all of our lives and can make the difference between independence and dependence for all people, but especially for those growing older. Place is inseparable from our sense of identity and this is true for people of all ages, including older people.


4. Cities must equip themselves with the necessary means and resources and systems of resource distribution to promote equal opportunities and the well-being and participation of all citizens, including their older citizens. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities, and the major urban areas of the developed world will have 25 per cent or more of their population people aged 60 and over. However, many older people in developed and developing countries live and will continue to live in rural and sometimes remote communities. These communities must also develop the capacity to promote the health, well-being and participation of their older citizens.”

This recognition is of much importance, and it seems that the Dublin Declaration can serve as yet another important step in developing this field in the future.

The Right to Health in Old Age - a new UN report

A new report on the right to health of older persons has been presented at the UN:
Thematic study on the realization of the right to health of older persons presented by the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Anand Grover

Here is the summary of the report, which a full text of it can be found in the following link:
http://www.globalaging.org/agingwatch/health%20special%20rapporteur.pdf

In the present report, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 15/22, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Anand Grover, considers the realization of the right to health of older persons.
Noting the significant pace of the world’s ageing, the study urges a paradigm shift according to which society should move beyond a simple search for healthy ageing by its citizens and begin working towards active and dignified ageing, which is planned and supported just like any other stage of the individual’s life course. Active and dignified ageing for older persons requires reframing society’s concept of ageing to put more focus on the continued participation of older persons in social, economic, cultural and civic life, as well as their continuous contributions to society.

The report underlines that the right-to-health approach is indispensable for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health-related policies and programmes to mitigate consequences of an ageing society and ensure the enjoyment of this human right by older persons. Accordingly, health facilities, goods and services should be made available, accessible, affordable, acceptable and be of good quality for older persons.

The report also notes that encouraging older persons to remain physically, politically, socially and economically active for as long as possible will benefit not only the individual, but also the society as a whole. It further concludes that the promotion and protection of human rights of older persons should be of concern to everyone because ageing is a process that will apply to all.

ABA position towards an International Convention on Rights of Older Persons

One of the most important bodies in the field of law and aging is the ABA Commission on Law and Aging.
The commission has been active for many years in developing legal policies in the realm of elder law.
In recent years ABA Commission has started to look beyond American elder law and into the international perspectives of rights of older persons.
This important interest has culminated in a recent policy adopted by the ABA House of Delegates, that was the outcome of the initiative of the the commission.
Below is a short report by Charlie Sabatino, the Director of the commission on this important development:

"At its August annual meeting, the ABA House of Delegates adopted a policy proposed by the Commission on Law and Aging urging the United States Department of State and the United Nations and its member states to support the ongoing processes at the U.N. and the Organization of American States to strengthen protection of the rights of older persons, including the efforts and consultations towards an international and regional human rights instrument on the rights of older persons. This is kind of a wordy way to say its time for an international convention on the rights of older persons. You can see the policy and report at: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_aging/policy.html (click on the bullet labeled "Towards the Creation of an International and Regional Human Rights Instrument ….”)

This finally puts the ABA in line with a growing number of NGOs that have been pursuing this goal for some time. These organizations have come together in the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons. You may not have thought much about elder rights in an international context, but it's becoming hugely important. Check it out and see how you might be able to get involved at: http://rightsalliance.org/

Charlie Sabatino, Director
ABA Commission on Law and Aging
740 Fifteenth St., NW
Washington, DC 20005
Tel. 202-662-8686
Fax: 202-662-8698
Charles.Sabatino@americanbar.org
Web: www.americanbar.org/aging