The Right of Older Persons to Freedom from Violence, Abuse and Neglect - Joint Submission to the OEWG

Joint submission by AGE Platform Europe, HelpAge International, The Law in the Service of the Elderly and the National Association of Community Legal Centres Australia

Open-Ended Working Group On Ageing, 9^th Working Session, 23-26 July 2018

Normative content on the right of older persons to freedom from violence, abuse and neglect

Authors

This joint submission is authored by Robin Allen (Cloisters), Andrew Byrnes (Australian Human Rights Institute, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales), Israel (Issi) Doron (University of Haifa), Nena Georgantzi (AGE Platform Europe / National University of Ireland Galway), Bill Mitchell (National Association of Community Legal Centres, Australia) and Bridget Sleap (HelpAge International). Our views do not necessarily reflect the broad and consensual positions of the organisations we represent, which will be submitted separately.

Affirmation of the right

1. Older persons have the right to freedom from violence, abuse and neglect.

Scope of the right

1.1 The right includes all forms of violence, abuse and neglect against older persons.

1.2 The right applies to violence, abuse and neglect in private and public settings.

1.3 States Parties are responsible for acts of violence against older persons and abuse and neglect of older persons committed by organs, officials and agents of the state at all levels, including private actors acting under the direction of or in accordance with the instructions of the state, or whose acts are otherwise attributable to the state.

1.4 States Parties are responsible in relation to the acts of non-state actors if the State Party fails to meet its obligation to take all reasonable measures to prevent, as well as to investigate, prosecute, punish and provide reparations for acts or omissions by non-state actors which acts of violence against older persons and abuse and neglect of older persons.

State obligations

2. States Parties shall take appropriate legislative and administrative and other appropriate measures to prevent violence, abuse and neglect of older persons in public and private settings by, inter alia:

·         Raising awareness of, and sensitising society to, the different forms of violence, abuse and neglect in older age and how to identify and prevent them.

·         Putting in place effective legislation and policies to ensure all forms of violence, abuse and neglect are identified, investigated and redressed

·         Ensuring that measures to prevent violence, abuse and neglect are proportionate and compatible with the right to autonomy and independence

·         Allocating sufficient resources for effective implementation

·         Providing information to and raising awareness of older persons of their rights

·         Providing training for all care and support providers, including family and other informal care and support providers, and other service providers, including law enforcement

·         Ensuring a system of appropriate needs assessment and monitoring in all situations of care and support

·         Ensuring that all facilities and programmes designed to serve older persons are effectively monitored by independent authorities

·         Ensuring a comprehensive violence protection policy in all care and support settings, regardless of whether care and support is provided by state or non-state bodies. This shall include training of providers, a complaints system, protection of those reporting violence, and interventions procedures

·         Paying specific attention to the intersectional and other determinants of violence, abuse and neglect.

3. States Parties shall ensure timely and effective access by older persons to a range of support services for victims, survivors and persons at risk of violence, abuse and neglect, including but not limited to:

·         A full range of medical, social, psychosocial, rehabilitative and legal services

·         Access to information about available support and services

·         Access to appropriate support services for victims, survivors and persons at risk.

4 States Parties shall ensure timely access by older persons to effective remedies and redress by taking appropriate measures which include but which are not limited to:

·         Investigating violations effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially and, where appropriate, taking action against those allegedly responsible in accordance with domestic and international law

·         Providing older persons who claim to be victims of violence, abuse and neglect with equal and effective access to justice, irrespective of who may ultimately be the bearer of responsibility for the violation

·         Ensuring timely access by older persons to support, where necessary, to make autonomous decisions about reporting acts of violence, abuse and neglect

·         Providing effective remedies to victims and survivors, including reparation. Criminal justice responses, criminal offences and sentencing practices shall reflect the aggravated nature of offences against older persons. Prosecutorial action and compensatory damages shall not be limited by older age.

5. States Parties shall undertake to collect, disaggregate, analyse, utilise and make public at regular intervals appropriate information and statistical data on all forms of violence, abuse and neglect for all age cohorts. This shall take intersectionality into account and include prevalence and trends, risk factors, perpetrators, access to support services and effective remedies and redress. The process of all information collection, and research and use of statistics shall comply with internationally accepted norms and ethical principles.

Joint Submission to the 9th OEWG Open Ended Working Group on Ageing - Autonomy and Independence

Joint submission by AGE Platform Europe, HelpAge International, The Law in the Service of the Elderly and the National Association of Community Legal Centres Australia[1]

Open-Ended Working Group On Ageing, 9^th Working Session, 23-26 July 2018

Autonomy and independence

Authors

1.       This joint submission is authored by Robin Allen (Cloisters), Andrew Byrnes (Australian Human Rights Institute, Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales), Israel (Issi) Doron (University of Haifa), Nena Georgantzi (AGE Platform Europe / National University of Ireland Galway), Bill Mitchell (National Association of Community Legal Centres, Australia) and Bridget Sleap (HelpAge International). Our views do not necessarily reflect the broad and consensual positions of the organisations we represent, which will be submitted separately.

Context of Response

2.       This response addresses the guiding questions from a global perspective. It is an executive summary of a more comprehensive statement which will be provided to the 9^th working session.

Guiding Question 1

3.       Autonomy is the ability to make choices and decisions, including with support if necessary, according to one’s conscience, values, will and preferences.

4.       Independence is the ability to perform actions of daily living and participate in society in accordance with one’s will, values and preferences.

5.       Whilst the right to equal recognition before the law and the right to a family and private life are enshrined in international human rights law, there are no explicit standards on autonomy and independence in older age in international human rights law.

6.       Some regional human rights standards recognise the right to autonomy and independence in older age. However, these vary and are inconsistent across regions.

Guiding Question 2

7.       Autonomy is both an underlying principle that governs every human right and a right in and of itself. The principle of autonomy presumes that individuals are able to make choices according to their own will and preferences. In order to make autonomous decisions, and for these decisions to be legally effective, the law requires that the individual has the legal capacity to do so.  To enjoy their right to autonomy, therefore, older persons must enjoy legal capacity and equal recognition before the law on an equal basis with others.

8.       Independence does not necessarily mean living alone or carrying out all daily activities by or for oneself. Rather independence is having choice and control over decisions about one’s own life, including control over decisions which lead to the execution of tasks that someone else carries out. To enjoy their right to independence, older persons must enjoy their right to care and support for independent living.

Guiding Question 3

9.       Older persons are subjected to ageist attitudes that devalue, discount or ignore their views and choices, or assume they can no longer make, and are thereby denied the opportunity to make, decisions for themselves.

10.    Older persons may be denied their autonomy and independence in any aspect of life including decisions about their care and support services; leisure time; property; income; finances; place of residence and living arrangements; personal, family and private life, including sexual and intimate relationships; and political participation.

11.    Concerns have also emerged around the denial of older persons’ free and informed consent in areas such as medical treatment, restrictive interventions and practices, and end of life care and treatment.

12.    A paradigm shift is required away from this and to the presumption that older persons can exercise their autonomy and independence through choice and control over decisions in their lives in line with their will and preferences. The best safeguard for autonomy, independence and legal capacity is respect for will and preferences.

13.    This paradigm shift requires us also to change the social construction of human dignity in older age whereby dignity in older age is not centred around protection, intervention and professional care in the ‘best interest’ of the older person. Rather, dignity in older age means respecting autonomy and ensuring independence in older age. The use of the ‘best interests’ principle in respect of adults is not a safeguard that complies with international human rights norms.

Guiding Question 5

14.    International human rights standards are needed on older persons’ right to freedom of personal autonomy and legal capacity to make decisions, to determine their life plans and to lead autonomous and independent lives in line with their will and preferences and on an equal basis with others. This includes the right to have those decisions respected.

15.    The right should apply to all aspects of life.

16.    The right should include the right to:

·         Interact with others and full, effective and meaningful participation in family, social, cultural, economic, public and political life and educational and training activities

·         Live independently in the community on an equal basis with others (More detail on the right to care and support for independent living is included in our submission on long-term care.)

·         Choose where, with whom, and how to live their lives and not to be obliged to live in any particular living arrangement. When older persons choose to live in shared residential settings, their rights to autonomy and independence must be respected.

17.    Standards are also needed on the right of older persons to legal capacity at all times and the right to equal recognition before the law on an equal basis with others.

18.    The right should apply to all aspects of life.

19.    The right should include the right to:

·         Designate one or more trusted persons to assist them to make decisions based on their instructions, will and preferences

·         Make advance directives to express their will and preferences in advance

·         Participate in, and challenge, any decisions that interfere with the exercise of their legal capacity.

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* For further information contact Bridget Sleap bsleap@helpage.org

Historical development: The Human Rights Council adopts a new resolution on the Human Rights of Older Persons

The UN Human Rights Council, has approved on September 25 2013, a new resolution regarding the human rights of older persons (resolution A/HRC/24/L.37).
This new resolution, decided to appoint and independent expert with a mandate to assess the implementation of existing international instruments with regard to older persons, to assess the implementation of MIPAA, and to cooperate with various stake-holders in promoting the human right of older persons.
This is a historical development, which is yet a crucial next step in the promotion of an international convention for the rights of older persons.
Here is the text of the resolution:

Human Rights Council, Twenty-fourth session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development

                         Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of)*, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Brazil, Chile, Colombia*, Costa Rica, Cuba*, Djibouti*, Ecuador, El Salvador*, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras*, Mexico*, Panama*, Paraguay*, Peru, Turkey*, Uruguay*, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of): draft resolution

                   24/…  The human rights of older persons

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other relevant human rights instruments,

Reaffirming the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,

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,

Recalling also Human Rights Council resolution 21/23 of 28 September 2012 on the human rights of older persons,

Acknowledging the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing for the purpose of strengthening the 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 all other 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] and of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights of older persons,[2]

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 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 that may affect older persons and at the high incidence of poverty among this particularly vulnerable group, especially older women, persons with disabilities, persons of African descent, individuals belonging to indigenous peoples, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, rural persons, persons living on the streets and refugees, among other groups,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Human Rights Council, and 5/2, on the Code of Conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his or her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

1.       Recognizes the challenges related to the enjoyment of all human rights that older persons face in areas such as prevention of and protection against violence and abuse, social protection, food and housing, employment, legal capacity, access to justice, health support, long-term and palliative care, and that those challenges require in-depth analysis and action to address protection gaps;

2.       Acknowledges the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the consultation on the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons,[3] which summarizes the issues discussed at the consultation, including age discrimination, access by older persons to work, adequate health services and social protection, protection from abuse, violence and neglect, long-term care and the situation of older prisoners;

3.       Calls upon all States to promote and ensure the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for older persons, including by taking measures to combat age discrimination, neglect, abuse and violence, and to address issues related to social integration and adequate health care, bearing in mind the crucial importance of family intergenerational interdependence, solidarity and reciprocity for social development;

4.       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;

5.       Decides to appoint, for a period of three years, an independent expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, with the following mandate:

(a)     To assess the implementation of existing international instruments with regard to older persons while identifying both best practices in the implementation of existing law related to the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons and gaps in the implementation of existing law;

(b)     To take into account the views of stakeholders, including States, relevant regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and academic institutions;

(c)      To raise awareness of the challenges faced in the realization of all human rights by older persons, and to ensure that older persons receive information about those rights;

(d)     To work in cooperation with States in order to foster the implementation of measures that contribute to the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons;

(e)      To integrate a gender and disability perspective into his/her work, and to pay particular attention to older women, persons with disabilities, persons of African descent, individuals belonging to indigenous peoples, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, rural persons, persons living on the streets, and refugees, among other groups;

(f)      To assess the human rights implications of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing;

(g)     To work in close coordination, while avoiding unnecessary duplication, with the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, other special procedures and subsidiary organs of the Human Rights Council, relevant United Nations bodies and the treaty bodies;

6.       Requests the Independent Expert to report annually to the Human Rights Council and to present his/her first report at its twenty-seventh session, with a view to presenting a comprehensive report at its thirty-third session;

7.       Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the above-mentioned comprehensive report of the Independent Expert is brought to the attention of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 3 of General Assembly resolution 67/139 of 20 December 2012;

8.       Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with the Independent Expert, and invites them to provide him/her with all the necessary information related to the mandate;

9.       Decides to continue consideration of the question of human rights of older persons at its twenty-seventh session.

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                     [1]   A/67/188.

                     [2]   E/2012/51.

                     [3]   A/HRC/24/25.

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People - 4th Session of the UN OEWG on Aging

Statement to Fourth Working Session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, 12-15 August 2013

The Open-ended Working Group on Ageing was established with the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons. This focus of UN Member States on the human rights of older persons is unique, justified, necessary and fundamental for achieving the ambitions set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) was set up to help give expression to the views of civil society and older persons that should underpin all of these deliberations. We are clear that a global human rights instrument that articulates how human rights apply to older people and provides a legal basis that enables them to claim these rights at the national and international level is absolutely necessary.

The general human rights standards enshrined in existing UN instruments and existing soft law, such as MIPAA, are not sufficient for protecting against particular and unique forms of discrimination and do not provide adequate guidance, implementation mechanisms and enforcement processes to ensure equal and full enjoyment of rights by older persons. The persistent violations of their rights and the discrimination they face on the basis of their old age  can only be addressed by  a dedicated, binding instrument that provides the level of clarity, legal certainty and accountability necessary to do this.

We urge Member States both to work towards a new global legal instrument to clarify how human rights apply to older people and to take the necessary measures at national and local level to translate these rights into concrete improvements for older people.

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People believes that to be effective, any international human rights instrument for older persons must:

Ø  Be universally applicable to all older persons;

Ø  Reaffirm and articulate the rights of older people and States Parties’ human rights obligations towards them without diluting existing human rights standards in any way;

Ø  Recognise and prohibit all forms of discrimination on the basis of old age, including multiple discrimination;

Ø  Provide for a comprehensive range of substantive rights for older persons;

Ø  Establish implementation, monitoring and accountability mechanisms that provide citizens with national-level recourse on the implementation of these agreements, including the collection, analysis and dissemination of data that is disaggregated by age and sex in 5-year periods and includes people over the age of 100 years.

Finally, we remind Member States that any process to consider the rights of older people that does not actively include older persons themselves from all parts of the globe and from a wide range of backgrounds cannot be considered legitimate. The UN must recognise and act upon the need for engaging more actively with civil society globally and create the mechanisms whereby older people themselves and other civil society actors, including National Human Rights Institutions and Equality Bodies, can meaningfully participate in articulating the rights and standards intended to protect them.

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People urges UN Member States to:

Ø  Remain focussed on the urgent task of strengthening human rights standards for older persons, by working towards a comprehensive legally binding mechanism on the rights of older persons, so that people of all ages can benefit from the aspirations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Ø  Ensure  that the positions presented at the OEWG and other for a for discussing how to strengthen the human rights of older persons are informed by the views of older persons and civil society by organising large consultations at national level

Ø  Support the effective participation of older persons at the OEWG and other relevant UN meetings, by including older persons’ representatives in their national delegations

About the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People:

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People was born out of the need to strengthen the rights and voice of older people globally. The Alliance is the result of the collaborative efforts of the nine organisations that currently form its Steering Group:

International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA)

International Longevity Centre (ILC) Global Alliance

International Federation on Ageing (IFA)

International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA)

International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG)

HelpAge International 

AGE Platform Europe

Age UK

AARP

Through its membership, the Alliance reaches out to older people in all regions of the world to ensure their voices are heard by United Nations (UN) and its member states nationally, as well as regionally and internationally, through UN institutions, UN Commissions and the UN General Assembly. 

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People supports the creation of new international and regional human rights instruments as powerful tools for strengthening the rights of older people.

The Alliance is committed to building national-level capacity to work towards more effective human rights instruments for older people.

Law, gerontology, and human rights: can we connect them all?

A report of a recent study of the European Court of Justice, and its rulings regarding the rights of older persons.

The ECJ is probably the most important judicial institution in the EU, hence its rulings on the rights of older persons is of global importance.


Law, gerontology, and human rights: can we connect them all?

European Charter of rights of older people in long term care

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

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

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:

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.                           

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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.

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[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).