The 1st Report of the Independent Expert on Human Rights of Older Persons

As was already reported, the UN Human Rights Council has nominated on June 2 2014, Ms Rosa Kornfeld-Matte to serve as the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Older Persons.
The Independent Expert submitted its first report, and here is the link to the full text of the report.:
http://www.rightsofolderpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/A-HRC-27-46_en-1.pdf

http://www.rightsofolderpeople.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/A-HRC-27-46_en-1.pdf

The Report includes background information regarding the foundation of the mandate of the Independent Expert, its scope of operation, the legislative context, and the global context of the human rights of older persons.
As little time has passed by since her nomination, this report is mostly descriptive and does not include any new or novel findings or recommendation.
However, here is the conclusion of this first report, which can indicate the spirit and direction that the IE wishes to pursue:

"The Independent Expert aims to respond to the expectations of numerous individuals and organizations with regard to her work on the human rights of older persons, as outlined by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 24/20. To that end, she looks forward to engaging in constructive and fruitful cooperation with diverse stakeholders in all regions. She emphasizes her desire for constructive engagement with the States Members of the United Nations, and reiterates the importance of an inclusive and all-encompassing approach in the discharge of her mandate. She particularly notes the central role of non-governmental organizations, including in providing her with information and engaging with and assisting her as she fulfils her mandate."

We wish the IE the best success in her work, and we will continue to report on her progress.

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

Follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons: Second
World Assembly on Ageing

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,

(7)      Recalling also its resolution 66/127, in which it designated 15 June as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and invited 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 intergovernmental and relevant civil society organizations, including non‑governmental organizations and the private sector, with an interest in the matter, to continue to contribute to highlighting the urgent need to eliminate all forms of abuse and violence against older persons,

           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

.

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          [1]            Resolution 217 A (III).

          [2]            See Report of the World Assembly on Ageing, Vienna, 26 July-6 August 1982 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.82.I.16).

          [3]            Resolution 46/91, annex.

          [4]            See A/47/339, sect. III.

          [5]            Resolution 47/5, annex.

          [6]            See Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Madrid, 8-12 April 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.IV.4).

          [7]            Ibid., chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.

          [8]            E/2012/51 and Corr.1.

UN OEWG - Open Ended Working Group: The Chair's Summary

The United Nations General Assembly created an Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on Ageing in December 2010 to consider existing international framework on human rights of older persons, and identify possible gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures.

Between August 21-24 the 3rd meeting of the OEWG - Open Ended Working Group of the UN for the purpose of strengthening the human rights of older persons was convened in New York.
The Chair of the group has published the summary of this meeting.
Here is the link to the full summary:

http://social.un.org/ageing-working-group/documents/Chairssummary3rdsessionOEWGfinal.pdf


Here are the closing remarks of the chair:

IV. Closing Remarks by Chair

In his closing remarks, the Chair summarized important themes and discussions addressed during the interactive panel sessions. He highlighted several proposals and suggestions that were put forward by Member States and civil society organisations.

The Chair stated that it was evident, that Member States continue to be interested in strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons. In appreciating the opportunity to exchange views on ways to address this topic, the Chair noted diverging opinions that had emerged during the debate. Certain Member States felt strongly that the human rights of older persons are protected by existing instruments, and that focus should be placed on implementation through improved legal frameworks and building on existing national, regional and international instruments, with the understanding that the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) is sufficient to protect the human rights of older persons.

The Chair noted that some Member States focused their statements on development and the need to ensure a more comprehensive protection of the human rights of older persons. Others stated that existing treaty bodies are already constrained with heavy workload and limited timelines, and therefore, could not be further burdened with the responsibility of addressing the human rights of older persons. Some Member States suggested calling upon existing United Nations Rapporteurs, while others recommended asking for special procedures from the Human Rights Council to seek recommendations on how to better protect and promote the human rights of older persons. The Chair also noted that certain Member States, as well as civil society organisations, called for the drafting of a new international instrument; a United Nations convention on the rights of older persons, to provide a binding treaty that identifies the rights of older persons as well as the obligations of State parties to the convention.

The Chair reassured official delegations and representatives of the civil society that their viewpoints would be reflected and taken into account. He emphasised the importance of the Open-ended Working Group in that regard, as well as the need to renew its mandate to continue to explore and deliberate on options for more commonly acceptable solutions to protect and promote the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by older persons without discrimination.

Having stated that, the Chair proposed that the future course of action on this issue be left for the Third Committee to decide at the forthcoming sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

UN 3rd Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing

Third working session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons
The third session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing will be held from Tuesday, 21, to Friday, 24 August 2012, in Conference Room 2 (NLB) at UN headquarters. Background information including documents from the UN and NGOs as well as reference material and modalities of the meeting are available online: http://social.un.org/ageing-working-group/thirdsession.shtml

HelpAge International: Protecting the Rights of Older Persons

Protecting the Rights of Older People

10 reasons why we need to act

“Existing human rights mechanisms have lacked a systematic and comprehensive approach to the specific circumstances of older men and women”.

– Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General[1]

On 21 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly established an Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing with a mandate to identify gaps in the protection of the rights of older people and ways in which these gaps can be addressed.

Here are ten reasons why the Working Group should recommend the strengthening of legally-binding standards on the rights of older people and the development of a new protection regime:

1. The number of older people worldwide is growing at an unprecedented pace. People over sixty years of age make up an ever greater percentage of the world population. Today, 760 million people are over 60; by 2050, that number will have risen to 2 billion. Older people already outnumber young children (0-4) and will outnumber children under 15 by 2050.[2] This trend is global. Today, 65 per cent of people over 60 live in less developed countries; by 2050, 80 per cent will.[3]

2. There is no dedicated protection regime for older people’s rights. While the rights of women, children, prisoners and people with disabilities are all protected through special international conventions or standards, no such standards exist for older people despite their specific vulnerability to human rights violations.[4]

3. There are clear gaps in protections available to older people in existing human rights standards. Only one of the existing human rights instruments explicitly prohibits age discrimination. This has resulted in a failure in many countries to address the multiple forms of discrimination older people face. Specific provisions regarding issues like elder abuse, long term and palliative care, are also absent from existing human rights standards.

4. Older people’s rights are neglected in the current human rights framework. UN and regional human rights bodies have largely ignored the rights of older people. For example, of 21,353 recommendations the Human Rights Council made during the entire first round of its peer to peer human rights review process of all UN member states (known as Universal Periodic Review), only 31 recommendations referred to “elderly” people or people of “old age”.[5]  

5. Age discrimination and ageism are widely tolerated across the world. Negative ageist attitudes towards old age and older people are deeply ingrained in many societies and, unlike other forms of prejudice and discriminatory behavior, are rarely acknowledged or challenged. This leads to widespread marginalization of older people, and is at the root of their isolation and exclusion.[6]

6. Older people are highly vulnerable to abuse, deprivation and exclusion. A growing body of evidence shows that many older people face abuse and violence in their own homes, and in institutional and long term care facilities. Many are also denied the right to make decisions about their personal finances, property and medical care.[7] They are often denied social security, access to health and productive resources, work, food and housing.[8]

7. Older people hold rights but are often treated with charity instead of as rights holders. Many governments see ageing predominantly as a social welfare or development issue. This reduces older people to recipients of charity rather than people who should enjoy their rights on the same basis as everybody else. A paradigm shift is needed from a social welfare to a rights-based approach.

8. National protections of older people’s rights are inconsistent. National standards on the rights of older people are patchy and inconsistent, as are protection regimes. As a result, few countries collect data on violations of the rights of older people. Violations will continue unaddressed as long as there is a gaping lack of information on their nature, prevalence, and cause.

9. Respect for older people’s rights benefits society as a whole. Violations of the rights of older people lead to exclusion, poverty, and discrimination of older people. Yet, older people make key contributions to any society through their experience and wisdom. Better protection of the rights of older people will allow societies to better capitalize on the potential that older people represent. There is clear evidence, for example, that when older people’s right to social security is realized, there is a positive impact on reduction of poverty rates, restoration of older people’s dignity, reduction of child labour and increased enrolment in schools.[9]

10. Older people are an increasingly powerful group. Older people represent a rapidly growing constituency and are among the most loyal election participants. When they vote, they can have significant political influence.[10] Governments need to address their rights and needs or they risk losing support from this increasingly large block of voters.

Endorsed by:

HelpAge International

Human Rights Watch

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[1] UN General Secretary's report, “Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing” in 2009, A/64/127

[2] UNDESA, World Population Prospects, the 2012 Revision, http://esa.un.org/wpp/ Visited 9 July 2012

[3] UNDESA, Current Status of the Social Situation, Wellbeing, Participation in Development and Rights of Older People Worldwide, 2011, page 3

[4] Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 20 April 2012, E/2012/51, page 4

^[5] Word searches and analysis were undertaken on the database of UPR-info, http://www.upr-info.org/database/  accessed July 2012.

[6] Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 20 April 2012, E/2012/51, page 7

^[7] See for example, Situation of the rights of older people in all regions of the world – Report of the Secretary General, A/66/173, 2011 http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/66/173

[8] Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 20 April 2012, E/2012/51, page 1-12 12

[9] Knox-Vydmanov, “Social protection as development policy: social pensions in the global South”, Die Alten Der Welt: neue Wege der Alterssicherung im globalen Norden und Suden, 2011, pages 285 - 287

[10] UNDESA, Current Status of the Social Situation, Well-being, Participation in Development and Rights of Older People Worldwide, Dec 2011, page 56

DC Event: Strengthening International Human Rights of Older Persons

STRENGTHENING INTERNATIONAL AND


REGIONAL FRAMEWORKS TO PROTECT THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS

Co-sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and

Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

March 17, 2011

9:00 – 11.30 am

American University Washington College of Law, Room 603

4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016

The panelists will discuss the recent activities and possible outcomes of the Working Group, which was established in accordance with the resolution of the UN GA Third Committee, A/C.3/65/L.8/Rev.1, adopted on November 19, 2010. The Working Group’s mandate is to consider the existing international framework, identify how to best address possible gaps, and consider the feasibility of a new legal instrument. Additionally, the panelists will discuss future implications of the ongoing process to strengthen the protection of older persons within the Organization of American States, in particular in light of the Special Session of the Permanent Council that took place on October 28, 2010, where the majority of participating states called for a regional convention on the rights of older persons.

8.45 Registration

9.15 Welcome and Introduction:

Dean Claudio Grossman, American University Washington College of Law

Diego Rodríguez Pinzón, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

9.30 Panelists:

Luz Angela Melo, LLM ’97, Human Rights Technical Adviser, UNFPA

Juana Sotomayor, Human Rights Officer, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Israel Doron, LLM ’94, Professor of Law, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Studies, Haifa University

Javier Vásquez, LLM ’96, Regional Human Rights Law Advisor, Pan-American Health Organization

Mario López Garelli, Senior Human Rights Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Jessica F. López, Chairperson, NGO Committee on Ageing - United Nations, and New York Senior Advisor, AARP Office of International Affairs (invited)

10.45 Discussion: (Moderator)

Vladislav Michalčík, Research Scholar-in-Residence, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

11.30 Closing Remarks:

Claudia Martin, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law



Registration is free but required – please go to www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration .

CLE Accreditation will be applied for (1.5 credits) – registration will be $55. For further information, contact: Office of Special Events & Continuing Legal Education, 202.274.4075 or secle@wcl.american.edu.



Please direct questions to:

Vladislav Michalčík, LL.M.

Project Coordinator/Research Scholar in Residence

Email: elderlyrights@wcl.american.edu

Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

American University Washington College of Law

4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20016-8181

Phone: (202) 274-4221

Web: http://www.wcl.american.edu/hracademy/elderlyrights.cfm

Latin American countries support a regional convention on the rights of older persons

As reported by HelpAge International: Thirteen Latin American countries have openly and directly supported a motion to work towards a regional convention on the rights of older people.
See the following link:
http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/latest-news/latin-american-states-support-call-for-a-convention-on-the-rights-of-older-people/?track=newsletter_id

UN Expert Group Recommendations on International Convention

One of the most important interntional legal issues today is the question about the need for international convention for the rights of older persons.
During 5-7 May last year (2009) an international group of legal expert held  a meeting in Bonn, under the hospice of the UN.
This group published an important report, which recommends to move forward with advancing this international convention.
The full report can be viewed here:
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/documents/egm/bonn09/report.pdf