In the last days, the UN Open Ended Working Group on Rights of Older Persons, held its 4th meeting.
During this meeting many discussions were made around the need and justification for a new convention on the rights of older persons.
One of the presentations were made by Prof. Israel Issi Doron, about the relevance of Social Justice to the discussion on the justification of a new human rights instrument in the field of law and aging.
Here is the link to the full presentation:
http://webtv.un.org/watch/5th-meeting-open-ended-working-group-on-ageing-fourth-working-session/2606704833001/
Friday, August 16, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
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.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Compilation of existing international legal documents that address HR of Older Persons
For the coming UN Open-Ended Working Group on Aging, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has prepared a compilation of all international legal documents addressing the situation of older persons.
Here is the compilation:
Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
Resolutions
Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
Fourth
working session
12-15 August 2013
Compilation of existing international legal
instruments, documents and programmes that directly or indirectly address the
situation of older persons, including those of conferences, summits, meetings
or international or regional seminars convened by the United Nations and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
This compilation has been
prepared by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, pursuant
paragraph 4 of General Assembly Resolution 67/139, which requested “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
(UN-Women), to submit to the Working Group by its fourth session and from
within existing resources a compilation of existing international legal
instruments, documents and programmes that directly or indirectly address the
situation of older persons, including those of conferences, summits, meetings
or international or regional seminars convened by the United Nations and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations”.
International
Human Rights Treaties
Instruments dedicated
to the human rights of older persons:
None
Explicit provisions
on the human rights of older persons contained in the International Bill of
Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and their respective Optional Protocols):
None
International human
rights treaties containing a general prohibition of discrimination on the basis
of age
International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Article 7:
States Parties undertake, in accordance with
the international instruments concerning human rights, to respect and to ensure
to all migrant workers and members of their families within their territory or
subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the present Convention
without distinction of any kind such as to sex, race, colour, language,
religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social
origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or
other status.
Other explicit
provisions in human rights treaties explicitly addressing age and older
persons:
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, Article 11
1. States Parties shall take all appropriate
measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment
in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights,
in particular:
(e) The right to social security,
particularly in cases of retirement, unemployment, sickness, invalidity and old age and other incapacity to work,
as well as the right to paid leave;
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities
Article 13 - Access to justice
1. States Parties shall ensure effective
access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others,
including through the provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations, in order to facilitate their
effective role as direct and indirect participants, including as witnesses, in
all legal proceedings, including at investigative and other preliminary stages.
Article 16 - Freedom from exploitation,
violence and abuse
2. States Parties shall also take all
appropriate measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse
by ensuring, inter alia, appropriate forms of gender- and age-sensitive
assistance and support for persons with disabilities and their families and
caregivers, including through the provision of information and education on how
to avoid, recognize and report instances of exploitation, violence and abuse.
States Parties shall ensure that protection
services are age-, gender- and disability-sensitive.
Article 25 – Health
States Parties recognize that persons with
disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. States Parties
shall take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities
to health services that are gender-sensitive, including health-related
rehabilitation. In particular, States Parties shall:
(b) Provide those health services needed by
persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities, including
early identification and intervention as appropriate, and services designed to
minimize and prevent further disabilities, including among children and older persons;
Article 28 - Adequate standard of living and
social protection
2. States Parties recognize the right of
persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that
right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take
appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right,
including measures:
(b) To ensure access by persons with
disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to
social protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes.
General comments
and recommendations by UN treaty bodies
Treaty Body General
Recommendations and General Comments
CESCR General Comment No. 6, The economic,
social and cultural rights of older persons, 12/08/1995
CEDAW, General Recommendation No. 27,
CEDAW/C/2010/47/GC.1
CESCR, General Comment No. 14, The right to
the highest attainable standard of health, E/C.12/2000/4
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G00/439/34/PDF/G0043934.pdf?OpenElement
CESCR, General Comment No. 20, Non-
Discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, E/C.12/GC/20
CESCR, General Comment No. 21, Right of everyone to participate in
cultural life, E/C.12/GC/21, 21
CESCR, Repor t
on the Twelfth and Thirteenth Sessions, 12 December 1996, E/1996/22
Human Rights Committee, General Comment
no.18, Non Discrimination, HRI/GEN/Rev.6
Treaty Body
Concluding Observations
CEDAW, Concluding Observations, Albania
CEDAW, Concluding Observations, The
Netherlands, CEDAW/C/NLD/CO 5, 5 February 2010, para 45
CEDAW, Concluding Observations, Argentina
CEDAW, Concluding Observations, Papua New Guinea
CESCR, Concluding Observations for Democratic People’s Republic of Kor ea
CESCR, Concluding Observations for Canada
Human Rights Committee, Concluding
Observations, Germany
CEDAW, Concluding Observation, Iceland
Concluding Comments France, Fortieth session
14 Jan- 1 Feb 2008, CEDAW/C/FRA/CO/6
CESCR, Consideration of Repor ts, Submitted by State Parties under Articles 16
and 17, Slovenia, E/C, 12/SVN/CO/1, para 22, 35
CESCR, Consideration of Repor ts, Submitted by State Parties under Articles 16
and 17
Concluding Observations of the CESCR, Serbia
and Montenegro, E/C.12/1/Add.108, Thirty-fourth session 25 April-13 May 2005,
para 8
Repor ts of UN Special Procedures
Thematic study on the realization of the
right to health of older persons by the Special Rappor teur
on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, Anand Grover, 4 July 2011, A/HR C/18/37 (the right
to health of older persons)
Repor t
of the independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty,
Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, 31 March 2010, A/HRC/14/31 (old age and
non-contributory pensions)
Non-binding
UN Policy Instruments
Vienna
International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted at the Wor ld
Assembly on Ageing in 1982
Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted at the Second Wor ld Assembly on Ageing (2002)and endor sed
by the General Assembly in resolution 57/167
Non-binding
Regional Policy Instruments
ECLAC, Regional
Strategy for the implementation in
Latin America and the Caribbean of the Madrid
International Plan on Ageing
ECLAC,
Declaration of Brasilia for
the Latin American and Caribbean Region (2007)
UNECE, Regional
Implementation Strategy for the Madrid
Arab Plan of
Action on Ageing to the Year 2012 (E/ESCWA/SD/2002/WG.1/8)
African Union
Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing
Declaration of
Commitment of Por t
of Spain
Resolution 2455
on human rights and older persons, Organization of American States (2009)
Plan of Action
of the Pan American Health Organisation/ Wor ld
Health Organisation, including Active and healthy Ageing (2009)
UN Resolutions,
Repor ts and documents
Resolutions
Resolution
adopted by the General Assembly,
Follow-up to the Second Wor ld
Assembly on Ageing, 4 Feb 2011, A/RES/65/182
A/RES/66/127
A/RES/64/132 (op 14)
E/2010/14 ops 4, 10 and 12
1992 Global
Targets on Ageing for the Year 2001
(A/RES/47/86)
Proclamation on
Ageing – A/RES/47/5
UN Principles for Older Persons, GA Resolution 49/91, A/RES/46/91
Repor ts
Repor t of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted to the Economic and Social
Council, 20 March 2012, E/2012/51
Follow-up to the Second
Wor ld Assembly on
Ageing, Repor t of the
Secretary-General, 22 July 2011, A/66/173
Report of the Open-ended Wor king Group on Ageing, Open-ended Wor king Group on Ageing, First wor king session, New Yor k
Human rights of
older persons: International human rights principles and standards, OHCHR,
Background paper, revised and updated Open-ended Wor king
Group, 18- 21 April 2011
Wor king Paper prepared by Mrs Chinsung Chung, Human
Rights Council Advisor y Committee, 4
December 2009, A/HRC/AC/4/CRP.1
Statement of the
United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights on 1 October 2010
Abuse of older
persons: recognizing and responding to abuse of older persons in a global
context Repor t of the Secretary-General,
9 January 2002, E/CN.5/2002/PC/2
Submissions to the Secretary - General repor t, GA res. 65/182
E/CN.5/2012/5
Report of the Secretary-General. Second Review and Appraisal of MIPAA
E/CN.5/2010/4
Report of the Secretary-General. Further the implementation of MIPAA
International Labour
Organisation (ILO) Standards
ILO Convention
no. 102 concerning Social Security (minimum Standards) 1952, 201 UNTS 132, Part
V
ILO Convention
No. 128 concerning Invalidity, Old Age and Survivors Benefits 1967, 699 UNTS
185
ILO, R202,
Recommendation on National Floors for Social Protection, 2012
ILO, Social
Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalisation, Repor t of the Advisor y
Group, 2011
ILO, R131,
Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivor ’s
Benefits Recommendation, 1967;
R162 Older Wor kers Recommendation, 1980; Section II, para 5(g)
R166 Termination
of Employment Recommendation, 1982
Documents from other UN Agencies
World Health
Organisation, Contribution to the World Conference on Human Rights, 29 March
1993, A/CONF.157/PC/61/Add.8., paras. 53-56.
World Health
Organisation, A life course perspective of maintaining independence in older
age, 1999
World Health
Organisation and World Bank, World Report on Disability, 2011
United Nations
Division for the Advancement of Women, Gender Dimensions of Ageing Women, 2000
UNFPA and
HelpAge International, Ageing in the Twenty-First Century. A Celebration and A
Challenge
Other Documents from Regional Organizations
Permanent Council of the Organization of American
States
Committee on
Juridical and Political Affairs, Wor king
Group on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons
Organization of
American States General Assembly Resolution AG/RES. 2654 (XLI-O/11) Protecting
the Human Rights of Older Persons, adopted at the four the plenary session of
the for ty-first General Assembly, 7
June 2011
Repor t on the Situation of Older persons in the
Hemisphere and the Effectiveness of Binding Universal and Regional Human Rights
Instruments with Regards to Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons;
December 5, 2011); OEA/Ser.G; CAJP/GT/DHPM-14/11 rev. 1
http://www.oas.org/consejo/cajp/human%20rights.asp#Older
Persons
Council of Europe
Steering Committee for
Human Rights (CDDH), Drafting Group on the Human Rights of the Elderly
(CDDH-AGE) documents and reports
Meeting repor t,
1st meeting, Council of Europe, Strasbourg
Viewpoint of the Commissioner for Human Rights of 28 April 2008: “Aged people are
too often ignor ed and denied their
full human rights”
Commissioner for Human Rights, 2nd Annual Repor t April 2001 to December 2001 to the Committee of
Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, Comm. DH (2202) 2, p 119-131
Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights, Recommendations of the Commissioner for
Human Rights on the Implementation of the right to housing CommDH (2009)5
Council of
Europe Recommendation R(99)4 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on
Principles Concerning the Legal Protection of Incapable Adults (adopted on 23
February 1999) (“Recommendation R(99)4”)
The Rights of
Elderly Persons under the European Social Charter, Draft Infor mation Document drawn up by the Secretariat of the
Council of Europe, Department of the European Social Charter, March- April 2011
Recommendation and Resolutions of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe
Resolution 1793
(2011): Promoting active ageing: capitalising on older people’s wor king potential
Recommendation
1796 (2007): The situation of elderly persons in Europe
Recommendation
1749 (2006): Demographic challenges for
social cohesion
Resolution 1502
(2006): Demographic challenges for
social cohesion
Recommendation
1619 (2003): Rights of elderly migrants
Recommendation
1591 (2003): Challenges of social policy in Europe ’s
ageing societies
Recommendation
1428 (1999): The future of senior
citizens: protection, participation and Promotion
Recommendation 1254
(1994): on the medical and welfare rights of the elderly: ethics and Policies
Resolution 1008
(1993): on social policies for
elderly persons and their self-reliance
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2011)5 of the Committee of
Ministers to member states on reducing the risk of vulnerability of elderly
migrants and improving their welfare
Recommendation
CM/Rec(2009)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on ageing and
disability in the 21st century: sustainable framewor ks
to enable greater quality of life in an inclusive society; Reply from the
Committee of Ministers to the Parliamentary Assembly on “Challenges of social
policy in Europe ’s ageing societies”
Recommendation
No. R (94) 9 of the Committee of Ministers to member states concerning elderly
people
Recommendation
1418 (1999) 1 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Protection of the human rights and dignity of the terminally ill and the dying
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Repor t
on Focal Point on the Rights of Older persons in Africa, Commissioner Y.K.J.
YeungSik Yuen
Final Communique
of the 45th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and
Peoples Rights, Held in Banjul, The Gambia, From 13- 27 May 2009, EX.CL/5 (XV)
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Old age and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover
One of the most important rights in old age in the right to health.
In 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur "on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health," Anand Grover, published his report regarding his findings on this rights.
The full report can be found in the following link:
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/143/61/PDF/G1114361.pdf?OpenElement
Here are the conclusion and recommendation of this report:
V. Conclusions and recommendations
70. In a report of this length, it is impossible to address all of the important issues,
but the Special Rapporteur notes with urgency the present demographic changes
leading to a rapidly increasing number of older persons. Society should move beyond
seeking simply healthy ageing for its citizens, and begin working towards active and
dignified ageing, which should be planned and supported just like any other stage of
the individual’s life course. Planning for old age implies putting in place diagnostic and
prevention services at the primary healthcare level long before ageing sets in. The
pursuit of active and dignified ageing for older persons requires re-framing society’s
concept of ageing to focus on the continued participation of older persons in social,
economic, cultural and civic affairs, as well as their continuous contributions to society
longer into their lives. The promotion and protection of the human rights of older
persons should be of concern to everyone because ageing is a process which everyone
will undergo. Older persons are especially vulnerable as a group because of
stereotyped perceptions of the group as a “lapsed” segment of society. However, as life
expectancy increases and medicine improves, older persons stay active longer than
ever before, both in terms of occupational and non-occupational activities.
Encouraging older persons to remain physically, politically, socially and economically
active for as long as possible will benefit not only the individual, but also the society as
a whole.
71. The Special Rapporteur recommends:
(a) Recognizing ageing as a lifelong process, a reality which State policy,
legislation and resource allocation should reflect so that health-care services,
including diagnostic and prevention services, are available and accessible to a person
before becoming old to allow for healthy ageing;
(b) Ensuring that the right to the highest attainable standard of health
shapes, and is integrated into, relevant national and international policies concerning
ageing and older persons. Health facilities, goods and services should be made
available, accessible, affordable and acceptable to older persons, and be of good
quality;
(c) Implementing the right-to-health framework to ensure shifting the
discourse surrounding older persons from a needs-based perspective to a rights-based
approach, which enables greater realization of the right to health of older persons;
(d) Encouraging the establishment and support of networks of older persons
in order to ensure their participation in the development and improvement of social
protection and health care, which recognizes and ensures the enjoyment of the right to
health;
(e) Establishing a system of social protection that affords older persons
access to long-term care, whether institutional or home-based, which ensures that
abuse or violations of rights do not take place;
(f) Putting in place policies and procedures for reporting, addressing and
preventing abuse of older persons;
(g) Instituting mechanisms to raise awareness and train medical
professionals, non-medical carers and the wider community on the treatment of older
person, and to prevent and address their abuse;
(h) Developing international guidelines and national systems to regulate and
monitor hospice-care practices to ensure that the elderly are supported in making
A/HRC/18/3719 informed health-care decisions, and that their human dignity and autonomy are not
neglected due to their vulnerability
(i) Establishing and implementing safeguards to ensure that free and
informed consent is required for any treatment and/or other medical intervention and
that this is guaranteed for all patients, no matter their age, condition and treatment
proposed;
(j) Developing and implementing mechanisms to protect the rights of older
persons if/when they are deemed incapable of providing informed consent to any
treatment and/or other medical intervention due to injury, disease or chronic
conditions such as dementia.
In 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur "on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health," Anand Grover, published his report regarding his findings on this rights.
The full report can be found in the following link:
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/143/61/PDF/G1114361.pdf?OpenElement
Here are the conclusion and recommendation of this report:
V. Conclusions and recommendations
70. In a report of this length, it is impossible to address all of the important issues,
but the Special Rapporteur notes with urgency the present demographic changes
leading to a rapidly increasing number of older persons. Society should move beyond
seeking simply healthy ageing for its citizens, and begin working towards active and
dignified ageing, which should be planned and supported just like any other stage of
the individual’s life course. Planning for old age implies putting in place diagnostic and
prevention services at the primary healthcare level long before ageing sets in. The
pursuit of active and dignified ageing for older persons requires re-framing society’s
concept of ageing to focus on the continued participation of older persons in social,
economic, cultural and civic affairs, as well as their continuous contributions to society
longer into their lives. The promotion and protection of the human rights of older
persons should be of concern to everyone because ageing is a process which everyone
will undergo. Older persons are especially vulnerable as a group because of
stereotyped perceptions of the group as a “lapsed” segment of society. However, as life
expectancy increases and medicine improves, older persons stay active longer than
ever before, both in terms of occupational and non-occupational activities.
Encouraging older persons to remain physically, politically, socially and economically
active for as long as possible will benefit not only the individual, but also the society as
a whole.
71. The Special Rapporteur recommends:
(a) Recognizing ageing as a lifelong process, a reality which State policy,
legislation and resource allocation should reflect so that health-care services,
including diagnostic and prevention services, are available and accessible to a person
before becoming old to allow for healthy ageing;
(b) Ensuring that the right to the highest attainable standard of health
shapes, and is integrated into, relevant national and international policies concerning
ageing and older persons. Health facilities, goods and services should be made
available, accessible, affordable and acceptable to older persons, and be of good
quality;
(c) Implementing the right-to-health framework to ensure shifting the
discourse surrounding older persons from a needs-based perspective to a rights-based
approach, which enables greater realization of the right to health of older persons;
(d) Encouraging the establishment and support of networks of older persons
in order to ensure their participation in the development and improvement of social
protection and health care, which recognizes and ensures the enjoyment of the right to
health;
(e) Establishing a system of social protection that affords older persons
access to long-term care, whether institutional or home-based, which ensures that
abuse or violations of rights do not take place;
(f) Putting in place policies and procedures for reporting, addressing and
preventing abuse of older persons;
(g) Instituting mechanisms to raise awareness and train medical
professionals, non-medical carers and the wider community on the treatment of older
person, and to prevent and address their abuse;
(h) Developing international guidelines and national systems to regulate and
monitor hospice-care practices to ensure that the elderly are supported in making
A/HRC/18/3719 informed health-care decisions, and that their human dignity and autonomy are not
neglected due to their vulnerability
(i) Establishing and implementing safeguards to ensure that free and
informed consent is required for any treatment and/or other medical intervention and
that this is guaranteed for all patients, no matter their age, condition and treatment
proposed;
(j) Developing and implementing mechanisms to protect the rights of older
persons if/when they are deemed incapable of providing informed consent to any
treatment and/or other medical intervention due to injury, disease or chronic
conditions such as dementia.
Monday, May 20, 2013
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?
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?
Monday, April 15, 2013
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
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
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
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