The UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing closed its 14th Session in New York after having agreed by consensus that gaps in the protection of the rights of older persons exist and that a new Human Rights Convention for Older Persons is one of the ways to address those gaps.
This is a significant step forward for the UN and paves the way for further discussions to continue under the auspices of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which has greater technical expertise on human rights and where civil society and National Human Rights Institutions can contribute on a more equal basis with Member States. It also signals the likely closure of the Open-ended Working Group.
CommonAge Director Ken Bluestone, who was at the 14th Session, commented: “We are hopeful that this will lead to the Human Rights Council taking the long-awaited decision to start drafting a Human Rights Convention for Older Persons. This is long overdue and is necessary for addressing ageism and reframing attitudes towards older people, as well as articulating more clearly how international law must address older people’s rights.
“This is an agenda that we hope that the Commonwealth will come behind, making real the aspirations of the Commonwealth Charter through which its Members are committed to the protection of rights ‘for all without discrimination on any grounds‘.”
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