2014 has been an important year for the rights of older people
Appointment, First Report and Country Visits of Independent Expert
Ms Rosa Kornfeld-Matte was appointed as the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of the human rights of all older persons. The establishment of this new position, the first ever international human rights mechanism dedicated to older people’s rights, is recognition that much more attention needs to be paid to human rights in older age and eliminating the prejudicial and deeply stigmatising ageist attitudes and behaviour that are so widely tolerated. The Independent Expert presented her first report to the Human Rights Council in September and carried out her first country visit to Slovenia in November.
More recently, on December 18th, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution(A/RES/69/146) to continue the work of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) in 2015. In this resolution Member States have been specifically asked to present concrete proposals, practical measures, best practices and lessons learnt on how to better protect older people’s rights. These will then be complied and presented to the UN General Assembly in late 2015.
The date of the 2015 OEWGA session has not been decided yet but now is the time for those Member States and civil society who believe a convention is necessary to strengthen the protection of older people’s rights by outlining what the contents of a new convention should be.
CRPD Stresses Older Persons in Residential Care
In the initial Belgium report of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stresses the need to put in place protocols for the registration, control and monitoring of the conditions in which institutions for older persons operate, as a way to prevent and eliminate their abuse.
This recommendation was established from the examination of the country report and other shadow reports. It is based on the finding that unlike other groups of persons with disabilities, there is no adequate system of monitoring institutions for older people. This paves the way toward a better understanding of the intersection of ageing and disability in association with the protection gaps in practice.
Thank you again to all of you who took part in our consultation on discrimination and denial of rights in older age. The response was excellent with over 2000 older people from across 50 countries taking part.
Whilst some respondents reported not being affected by discrimination, the majority said they, or others they knew, were. They revealed deep-seated ageist stereotypes and prejudices and identified a wide range of rights that they felt were being denied in older age.
We are writing a report presenting the themes and issues raised by those who took part in the consultation. We will share this with all GAROP members early next year. One thing we would like to know is how it might be useful to you in your advocacy around a convention. We will translate the report into different languages so it can be used more widely.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
The GAROP Steering Group would like to wish all a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
In the New Year, we invite members to send articles highlighting your organization’s work toinfo@rightsofolderpeople.orgto be included in the monthly newsletter.
The GAROP Steering Group would like to wish all a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
