Within the recent debate around the need of a new convention for the rights of older persons, various regional and local initiatives flourish in an attempt to promote rights of older persons.
One such new initiative is the; "European Charter of the Rights and Responsibilities of Older People in need of long-term care and assistance".
The aim of the Charter is to complement and support the charters and other
measures which are already implemented in some countries of the European
Union and not to replace them. The Charter also aims to raise awareness
among a wider public, to stress the rights of the increasing number of
people receiving long-term care, and to foster best practices in Member
States and beyond. These rights are not fully respected today but our
ambition is to fulfi l them.
In this way the Charter aims to become a reference document setting out
the fundamental principles and rights that are needed for the wellbeing of all
those who are dependent on others for support and care due to age, illness
or disability.
Here is the link to the full text:
http://www.preventelderabuse.eu/doc/188.pdf
Monday, April 15, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Osnabrück Statement - Rights of Older Persons and Europe
Osnabrück Statement
The conference, Strengthening the Rights of Older People Worldwide:
Building Greater European Support, brought together participants from 25
countries in Europe and worldwide on 5-7 December 2012 in Osnabrück Germany.
Over 100 representatives from older people’s organisations, human rights
organisations, development organisations, national human rights institutions,
UN experts, government officials, European Parliament, Council of Europe, as
well as legal experts, researchers, academics and older people themselves
affirmed that the rights of older people need to be strengthened globally and
that new international human rights instruments are necessary.
Participants recognised that civil society and political support for a
UN convention on the rights of older persons is increasing across Europe and
globally.
The Conference made clear the following fundamental points regarding the
human rights of older people:
Politics has not kept pace with the realities of demographic ageing
and it is time to rethink legislation, policies and societal attitudes to
ageing.
Age discrimination is a fundamental gap in existing human rights
legislation.
Older people’s rights are universal, yet the fragmented nature of
international human rights legislation has allowed violations to take place and
go unrecognised in all parts of the world.
Existing international agreements on ageing, such as the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), are not binding and not
sufficient to protect the rights of older people.
International human rights instruments, such as a UN convention on the
rights of older persons, are needed to make the human rights system more
effective at addressing violations of rights and discrimination in old age.
They would do this by improving understanding of the rights of older people,
strengthening reporting mechanisms and enabling better monitoring of UN Member
States’ actions.
Participants at the Osnabrück Conference overwhelmingly recognised that
political support within Europe is critical for achieving new international
human rights instruments for older people and called upon European Governments
and European Union institutions to do more to protect the rights of older
people.
Endorsed by:
Age Action Ireland
Age International
AGE Platform Europe
Alicia de Jong-Davis
Alzheimer’s Association Münster e.V., Germany
Friday, January 25, 2013
How will a future international convention for older persons will look like?
The debate around the need for a new international convention for the rights of older persons is being held on different levels. One of the levels is the international regional levels. Both the America and Africa have been moving much quicker on this front than the UN has.
OAS in specific has been very active, and has been working in the last two years very quickly and has been successful in moving forward in actually presenting a working draft for a regional convention in this field.
Here is a link for the documentations and protocol in this field:
http://www.oas.org/consejo/cajp/personas%20mayores.asp#Notice
To get a "feel" of this new regional instrument, here is the text of part of the proposed convention: see and feel:
OAS in specific has been very active, and has been working in the last two years very quickly and has been successful in moving forward in actually presenting a working draft for a regional convention in this field.
Here is a link for the documentations and protocol in this field:
http://www.oas.org/consejo/cajp/personas%20mayores.asp#Notice
To get a "feel" of this new regional instrument, here is the text of part of the proposed convention: see and feel:
PROPOSALS FOR ARTICLES 11 THROUGH 20 OF THE DRAFT
INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION, BASED ON THE CONTENTS OF THE COMPENDIUM OF PROPOSALS
ON THE DRAFT INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS,
CAJP/GT/DHPM-44/12 rev. 2
(Presented by the Chair)
Article 11
Right to freedom and personal safety
Older persons have a right to freedom and personal safety, on an equal
footing with others, regardless of the family or social environment in which
they function.
The States Party shall ensure that older persons:
a.
Enjoy the right to freedom and personal safety;
b.
Are not illegally nor arbitrarily deprived of their freedom or personal
safety, and that any deprivation of freedom be in accordance with the law, and
that under no circumstances should age be used to justify deprivation of
freedom.
The states party shall ensure that older persons who
are deprived of their freedom because of a process have, on an equal footing
with others, the right to guarantees in accordance with international human
rights law and to be treated in accordance with the objectives and principles
of this Convention, including being afforded reasonable accommodation.[1]/
The States party shall adopt appropriate measures to
ensure older persons in facilities the freedom to move about and to protect
their personal safety.
Article 12
Right to freedom of expression and to access to
information
Older persons have the right to
freedom of expression and opinion, the right to seek, receive, and offer
information, on an equal footing with others, by means of all forms of
communication of their choosing.
The States Party shall take all measures necessary to
ensure the effective exercise of this right, particularly concerning long-stay
public and private facilities in relation to:
1. Informing
older persons of their rights and of the legal framework applying to the
facilities.
2.
Ensuring older persons access to the various communication media.
3.
Guaranteeing access to all technological information media, including
social networks.
Article 13
Right to nationality and to freedom of movement
Older persons have the right to freedom of movement, freedom to choose
their residence, and to hold a nationality. To ensure the effective enjoyment
of these rights, the States Party shall adopt measures to ensure that older
persons:
1. Can exercise their right to acquire and
change nationality and to not be arbitrarily deprived of their own.
2. May not be deprived, for reasons of
age, of their ability to obtain, possess and utilize documentation related to
their nationality or other identity documents.
3. May not be deprived, for reasons of
age, of access to immigration procedures needed to ensure the exercise of the
right to residence and to freedom of movement.
4. Can exercise the right to leave any
country, including their own.
5. May not be deprived arbitrarily or for
reasons of age of the right to enter their own country.
Article 14
Right
to privacy and intimacy
Older persons shall have the right, regardless of
their place of residence or their mode of living, not to be the subject of arbitrary or illegal interference in their
private life, family, home, correspondence or any other type of communication,
or of illicit attacks on their dignity, honor,
and reputation, and shall be
protected by the law from such interference or attacks.
Older persons are entitled to intimacy and to maintain
their privacy during bathing or in the various activities of life in an
institution.
States Party shall design the measures necessary to
guarantee these rights, particularly at public and private long-stay
facilities.
Article 15
Right
to social security and to care
Older persons have the right to social security, which should include
both contributory benefits and non-contributory insurance plans and benefits.
The States Party shall ensure that, within available
resources, all older persons receive a permanent minimum income sufficient for
a dignified life. Social security systems shall include retirement benefits and
other sustainable means of social protection in the event of disability,
widowhood, or other causes of loss of the means of livelihood because of
circumstances beyond their control; as well as in instances in which they do
not meet the requirements to enjoy old-age pension, either because they had not
worked or did not complete the required minimum periods of contributions, and
lack any other source of income.
Older persons have the
right to care and to comprehensive social protection that recognizes protection
covering the areas of health, economics, promotion and coverage for social
services, food security, housing, and education, promoting the idea of older
persons staying in their homes and maintaining their independence and autonomy.
The States Party shall take measures designed to
develop a comprehensive universal care system that takes particular account of
a gender perspective.
In planning their social security policies, the States Party shall take fully into
account the protection of family life, the needs of the various forms of
families, other forms of care, and the full participation of older persons.
Article 16
Right to work and in the workplace
Older persons should have the opportunity to work and to pursue activities
that enable them to obtain income.
Age-based labor discrimination is
prohibited, as is the setting of an upper age limit for hiring a person for any
job or employment, except in those cases in which the nature of the job so
requires.
The States Party shall promote the trend toward
equalizing the age and conditions of retirement for older men and older women,
in accordance with social, cultural, and
economic circumstances.
The States Party shall promote
policies that take account of the characteristics of older workers, according
to the working conditions and environment, as well as work hours and the
organization of the jobs, as well as policies that prevent exclusion, and
promote the voluntary entry and
re-entry of older persons into the labor market.
Employment or occupation
after the normal time of retirement should have the same guarantees and be
remunerated with the same salary that applies to all workers for similar tasks
and responsibilities.
The States shall promote programs and measures for the
years prior to retirement that will
facilitate a simple and gradual transition into retirement, with the
participation of organizations representing
employers and workers, and of other interested agencies, including the
possibility of creating more flexible forms of retirement, or partial or
gradual retirement.
The States shall adopt measures
and programs that recognize and promote the contribution that older persons
make by unremunerated work in the informal sector and in domestic work.
The States shall regulate work for older persons, as
well as the various forms of self-employment and domestic work, with a view to
preventing abuse of older persons and guaranteeing them adequate social
coverage.
Article
17
Right
to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
Older persons have the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health without
discrimination based on age or any other condition.
The States shall establish and implement comprehensive
policies for health promotion, prevention of illness, comprehensive care and
rehabilitation, and even assistance for the terminally ill. To give effect to
this right, the States Party pledge to take the following measures:
a. Assure universal, equitable, and
priority access to timely, quality
comprehensive health services, consistent with international human rights
standards; as well as the creation and implementation of integrated health and
social services.
b. Formulate legal frameworks and
implementation mechanisms for the protection of older persons in long-term care
services.
c. Encourage international cooperation in
terms of the design of strategies and exchange of capacities and resources to
execute their plans on health and ageing as well as social services for older
persons.
d. Develop strategies that promote healthy
personal and environmental behaviors throughout the life cycle in order to
encourage active ageing.
e. Strengthen prevention through
self-care, knowledge of the pathologies, and the informed opinion of older persons in the treatment of chronic
illnesses and other health problems.
f. Establish services of quality for
older persons by strengthening primary care-based health systems.
g. Establish high-quality social
healthcare services for older persons, based on the progressive care system
covering home care, daycare centers, and long-stay facilities.
h. Promote
the development of specialized social healthcare services for comprehensive
care of people with cognitive impairment, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.
i. Strengthen healthcare workers’ and
social workers’ acquisition of skills for providing these services to older
persons, as well as the training of specialized health professionals in geriatrics
and gerontology.
j. Promote training for other
healthcare-related stakeholders taking into account their family ties and
loving relationships.
k. Strengthen the technical capacity of
agencies responsible for gerontology issues–be they healthcare, programs, or
social services–to be able to follow up on and evaluate health care for the
senior population.
l. Promote the gathering and publication
of the scientific evidence needed to adapt interventions in health and social
issues in aging to national circumstances.
m. Support the social,
economic, and psychological well-being of older persons infected with
sexually-transmitted diseases, those who suffer from serious communicable and
non-communicable diseases and those who suffer from other illnesses that
pertain to ageing. For that purpose the States Party should promote older persons’ access to in-kind aid, affordable
health services to enable them to meet the needs of their children and
grandchildren affected by serious communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Article 18
Right to education
Older persons have the right to take part in educational programs at all
levels and to make use of their knowledge and experience to benefit younger
generations.
In order to ensure the effective exercise of the right
of education of older persons, the States Party shall:
a.
Promote the development of educational programs, materials, and formats
that are suitable for older persons and that reflect their preferences and
needs, as well as the use of information technologies or new techniques, and
shall include education-for-health
courses and self-care techniques.
b.
Promote unstructured community-based programs for older persons that
are geared to leisure, cultural and spiritual development, physical activity,
and other forms of creative use of free time.
c.
Facilitate access to and the active participation of older persons in
formal and informal cultural institutions and activities, including volunteer
activities.
d.
Design and implement active policies to reduce illiteracy among older
persons, and especially among women.
e.
Promote access to education and training in new technologies by older
persons, to minimize the generation gap and increase community integration.
f.
Foster actions to promote the rights and empowerment of older persons
by promoting continuing education processes.
g.
Foster, through education, the transmittal of a positive and dignified image of old age.
h.
Promote training in gerontology and geriatrics in undergraduate and
graduate studies.
i.
Take such legislative, administrative, and other measures
as are necessary to reduce and progressively eliminate barriers and
difficulties of access to educational goods and services in rural areas,
particularly those related to information technology.
j.
Take such measures as are necessary to promote
and strengthen solidarity among generations and mutual support as a key
component of social development.
Article
19
Right
to property
Older persons have the right to fully
exercise their right to property, not to be deprived of it for reasons of age,
and the right to the effective enjoyment of inheritance rights.
The States shall establish the legal and
administrative mechanisms needed to provide
special protection for the property of older persons, especially against the abuse
or occupation of their houses.
Article 20
Right
to housing and a healthy environment
Older persons have the right to live in safe,
healthy, and accessible environments that can be adapted to their personal
preferences and capacities, and their continually changing capacities.
Older
persons have a right to live on their own for as long as is possible, and the
States should provide them the home care services for this to happen.
Older persons have the right to a
healthy environment that guarantees access to basic sanitation services, clean water and air, and
that minimizes their exposure to pollution.
The States shall guarantee the
right of older persons to appropriate housing, particularly in crises,
emergencies, humanitarian disasters, displacements and internal migration, or evictions.
The States should adopt policies to promote
the right to housing and access to land, ensuring access to credit, on equal
terms, recognizing allocation to older persons as priority. The policies should
pay particular attention to:
a.
the need to build housing units architecturally tailored to the
restricted mobility and physical disabilities of older persons
b.
the need to address the
specific needs of older persons, particularly those who live alone, by means of
rent subsidies, housing cooperatives, support for housing renovations, and
other pertinent measures.
|
The States should guarantee security of
tenancy possession and protection against forced evictions of older persons.
[1]. “Reasonable
accommodation” means necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not
imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case,
to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal
basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms; (United Nations
Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities).
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Another Important Step: UN GA Decision on Future Older Persons Rights Convention - El-Salvador's Initiative
The Third
Committee (the GA committee that deals with human rights) voted and adopted a
resolution (A/C.3/67/L.9/Rev.1 with oral amendments) put forward by El
Salvador and co-sponsored by 26 Member States from across Latin America, Africa
and Asia. I am attaching the final version given to us by the El Salvador
delegation.
As reported by AgeUK, it
establishes four key developments:
1. The fourth
session of the OEWG will be held in 2013.
2. At that fourth
session, the OEWG will consider proposals for an international legal instrument
to promote and protect the rights and dignity of older people.
3. It requests the
OEWG to present the General Assembly with a proposal as soon as possible which
contains the main elements to go in such an international legal instrument.
4. It requests the
UN Secretary General to submit to the OEWG a compilation of existing
international legal instruments that directly or indirectly address the
situation of older people.
This is an
incredibly important development. It means that the OEWG can now start focusing
directly on a what a new legal instrument, ie a convention, might look like.
It’s not setting up a drafting committee but it is one step further in the long
process towards a convention.
Here is the unofficial full text of the resolution:
Sixty-seventh
session
Third Committee
Agenda items 27 (b) and (c)
Social
development: social development, including questions
relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing,
disabled persons and the family
relating to the world social situation and to youth, ageing,
disabled persons and the family
Follow-up
to the International Year of Older Persons: Second
World Assembly on Ageing
World
Bolivia (Plurinational State of),
Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea,
Eritrea, Honduras, Mexico , Nicaragua. Mali, Cuba,
Guatemala, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, Panama,
Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Dominica, Costa
Rica, Haiti, Belize:
revised draft resolution (26 countries) Gabon
Towards a
comprehensive and integral international legal instrument to promote and
protect the rights and dignity of older persons
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles
of the Charter of the United Nations and the obligations contained in the
relevant human rights instruments,
Reaffirming also that the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights[1]
proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,
and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein,
without distinction of any kind, such as age, race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status,
(3) Recalling all General
Assembly resolutions on matters relating to older persons, including older
women, beginning with resolution 2542 (XXIV) of 11 December 1969, and
recalling also all relevant resolutions of the Economic and Social Council and the
Commission for Social Development and the Commission on the Status of Women
on the promotion and protection of the rights and dignity of older persons, as well as of the
Commission on the Status of Women, as appropriate;
Reaffirming the outcomes of the World Assembly on Ageing, held in
Vienna, in 1982,[2]
the United Nations Principles for Older Persons of 1991,[3] the global targets on ageing for the year 2001, as agreed in 1992,[4] and the Proclamation on Ageing of 1992,[5] as
well as the outcomes of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid, in
2002[6]
and the respective follow-up reviews, in particular as they pertain to the
promotion of the rights and well-being of older persons on an equal and
participatory basis,
Recognizing that different efforts made
to increase cooperation and integration and increasing awareness and
sensitivity to ageing issues since the adoption of the Madrid International
Plan of Action[7] by
Governments, relevant bodies of the United Nations system and civil society,
including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, have not been
sufficient to promote full and effective participation by and opportunities for
older persons in economic, social, cultural and political life,
Recalling its resolution 65/182 of 21
December 2010, in which it decided to establish an open-ended working group,
open to all States Members of the United Nations, for the purpose of
strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons by
considering the existing international framework of the human rights of older
persons and identifying possible gaps and how best to address them, including
by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and
measures,
Recognizing that, by 2050, more than 20
per cent of the world’s population will be 60 years old or older, and
recognizing also that the increase in the number of older persons will be
greatest and most rapid in the developing world,
(9) Recognizing also the
essential contribution that the majority of older men and women can continue
to make to the functioning of society if adequate guarantees, means and
resources, as well as the highest possible level of health care, are in place,
and that older persons must be full participants in the development process and
also share its benefits,
Reaffirming the outcomes of the major
United Nations conferences and summits and their respective follow-up reviews,
in particular as they pertain to the promotion of the human rights and the
well-being of older persons on an equal and participatory basis,
Encouraged by the increasing interest of
the international community in the promotion and protection of the rights and
dignity of older persons in the world under a comprehensive and integral
approach,
Acknowledging that there are numerous
obligations vis-à-vis older persons implicit in most core human rights treaties
but that explicit references to age in core international human rights treaties
are scarce, that there is no such instrument for older persons, and that only a
few instruments contain explicit references to age,
(13) Welcoming Noting the reports of the Open-ended
Working Group on Ageing and welcoming the report of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation of older persons,[8] which states that dedicated measures to strengthen the
international protection for older persons are called for without further
delay, including a new dedicated international instrument; include
recommendations towards a convention to remedy the existing gaps regarding
older persons in the current mechanisms and instruments,
1. Decides
that the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, which shall be open to all member states and observers of the
United Nations, shall as part of its mandate and starting from
its upcoming fourth session, to be held in 2013, consider proposals for an
international legal instrument to promote and protect the rights and dignity of
older persons, based on the holistic approach in the work done in the fields of
social development, human rights and non-discrimination, as well as gender
equality and the empowerment of women, and taking into account the inputs of
the Human Rights Council, the reports of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
and the recommendations of the Commission for Social Development and the
Commission on the Status of Women, as well as the contributions from the second
global review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on
Ageing, to be held during the fifty-first session of the Commission for Social
Development;
2. Requests
the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing to present to the General Assembly at
the earliest possible date a proposal containing, inter alia, the main elements
that an international legal instrument to promote and protect the rights and
dignity of older persons should include, which are not currently addressed
sufficiently by existing mechanisms and therefore require further international
protection;
3. Invites
States and
relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, including
relevant human rights mandate holders and treaty bodies and the regional
commissions, as well as civil society intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
with an interest in the matter, to make contributions to the work entrusted to
the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, as set out in paragraph 1 above, and also invites
relevant Non-Governmental Organizations to contribute, as appropriate,
based on the practice of the General Assembly; based on the modalities for participation agreed by the Open Ended
Working Group on Aging (9);
9) A/AC.278/2011/2
4. Requests
the Secretary-General, with the support of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Division for Social Policy and
Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat
and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,
to submit to the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing by its fourth session and
within existing resources a compilation of existing international legal
instruments, documents and programmes which directly or indirectly address the
situation of older persons, including, inter alia, those of conferences,
summits, meetings or international or regional seminars convened by the United
Nations and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;
5. Requests
the Secretary-General to provide the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing with
the facilities necessary for the performance of the work entrusted to it in the
present resolution;
6. Also
requests the Secretary-General to include in the report to the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session under the sub-item entitled “Follow-up to
the International Year of Older Persons: Second World Assembly on Ageing” comprehensive
information on the implementation of this resolution
.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Human Rights Council Resolution on Older People's Rights
The Human
Rights Council adopted a resolution on older people’s rights at its last
session in Geneva, attached. This is good as it will keep older people’s rights
on the Human Rights Council’s agenda.
The resolution
tasks the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) to hold
a public consultation on older people’s rights and then submit a report to the
Human Rights Council next year.
Here is the text of the resolution:
Human Rights Council
Twenty-first
session
Agenda item 3
Promotion
and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Angola,
Argentina*, Bolivia (Plurinational
State of)*, Brazil *, Burkina Faso , Chile ,
Cuba , Guatemala , Honduras *, Paraguay *, Peru , Qatar ,
Turkey *, Uruguay , Venezuela
(Bolivarian Republic
21/… The human rights of older persons
The Human
Rights Council,
Recalling General Assembly
resolution 65/182 of 21 December 2010 on the follow-up to the Second World
Assembly on Ageing, in which the Assembly established an open-ended working
group for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of
older persons by considering the existing international framework of the human
rights of older persons and identifying possible gaps and how best to address
them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further
instruments and measures, and taking into account that no international
instrument addresses specifically the promotion and protection of the human
rights of older persons,
Bearing in mind the Political
Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing of 2002, and
relevant General Assembly resolutions,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the follow-up to the Second
World Assembly on Ageing,[1]
Taking note with appreciation also of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
on the human rights of older persons,[2]
Noting with appreciation the analytical outcome paper prepared by the Office of the High
Commissioner on normative standards in international human rights law,
Recalling general comment No. 6
of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the economic,
social and cultural rights of older persons, and general recommendation No. 27 of
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on older women
and the protection of their human rights, as well as other relevant documents
by treaty bodies,
Conscious that older persons
represent a large and growing segment of the population, and that greater
attention is needed to the specific human rights challenges affecting them,
Concerned at the multiple
forms of discrimination faced by older persons and the high incidence of poverty among older persons, in
particular older women, people with disabilities, people of African descent,
indigenous people, people belonging to minorities, rural populations and people
living on the streets, among other groups particularly vulnerable to poverty,
1. Recognizes
that older persons face human rights challenges relating to civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights, such as age discrimination,
long-term care, violence and abuse, social protection, adequate food and
housing, decent work, access to productive resources, and legal capacity and
health support, and that those challenges require in-depth analysis on
normative and operational protection gaps;
2. Also
recognizes that current international mechanisms have been insufficient to
promote and protect the human rights of older persons, and that dedicated
measures are needed without delay;
3. Welcomes
multilateral, regional and subregional initiatives aimed at the promotion and
protection of rights of older persons, including the development of normative
standards;
4. Calls
upon all States to ensure the realization of all human rights for older
persons, including by addressing age discrimination, neglect, abuse and
violence against older persons and by providing social integration and adequate
health care, bearing in mind the crucial importance of family intergenerational
interdependence, solidarity and reciprocity for social development;
5. Encourages
all States to conduct their age-related policies through inclusive and
participatory consultations with relevant stakeholders and social development
partners in the interest of developing effective policies creating national
policy ownership and consensus-building;
6. Calls
upon all States to adopt or improve national legal mechanisms dedicated to
the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons;
7. Encourages
all States to ensure that older persons receive information about their rights;
8. Invites
existing special procedures and treaty bodies to integrate, within their
existing mandates, the human rights of older persons;
9. Encourages
all States to consider including in their national reports, to be submitted for
the universal periodic review, information on the human rights of older persons;
10. Requests
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to
organize, in Geneva, an intersessional public consultation on the promotion and
protection of the human rights of older persons, to receive the inputs of States
Members of the United Nations, relevant international organizations, United
Nations agencies and stakeholders;
11. Also requests
the Office of the High Commissioner to present a summary report of the above-mentioned
consultation to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-third session;
12. Decides
to continue consideration of the question of human rights of older persons at
its twenty-third session.
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