Protecting the human rights of older persons

My greetings to all of you.

This has been an important meeting. The International Federation on Aging plays a key role in advancing the rights of older people – an issue that should be viewed as crucial for every society.

One of the major lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic has been its spotlight on the many challenges that older people face in securing respect of their fundamental rights.

They range from discrimination based on older age to inadequate social protection and access to health care; meagre services to assist with autonomy; failure to ensure that older people can make their own decisions and raise their voices when issues that affect them are on the table; and the risk of neglect, violence and other forms of abuse.

All these long-standing issues are rooted in legal, economic and social  systems that have neglected to prioritize the rights and dignity of older people. And the pandemic has further set back the cause of older persons' rights.

In terms of medical harms, poverty and unemployment, and social isolation, older people have been made to be deeply vulnerable – especially those living in care homes and institutions.

In many countries – perhaps most –  there is a clear and urgent need for reforms, to uphold and advance the human rights of older people, and empower them to live full, free lives, in dignity and equality.

Distinguished participants,

The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030, along with the Global Campaign to Combat Ageism, are key steps towards ensuring a human rights-based approach in addressing some of these challenges.

We need to build better access to long-term care and other services. Older people have a fundamental right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

In my view, we also need a dedicated international normative instrument for the rights of older persons – to give these issues higher priority and better backing.

We also need to pull down the barriers that prevent older people from fully enjoying their human rights.

Ageism is a key obstacle – so pervasive that it goes largely unrecognized and unchallenged.

The recent UN Global Report on Ageism found that one in two people is ageist. Uprooting this kind of prejudice, and shifting our mindsets, requires us to challenge the narrative of older persons as frail, dependent and vulnerable.

In reality the older population is an incredibly diverse group.

Older people frequently contribute very significantly to their families and communities, as workers, caregivers, volunteers and community leaders.

There is great potential for older people to contribute as our societies begin to recover from the pandemic – and begin building what we hope will be better systems.

The voices, views and expertise of older people need to be incorporated in policymaking, particularly where they will be most affected. Building an age-friendly environment means societies can benefit from the continued active contributions of older people and their full integration in all spheres of life.

The pandemic has also taught us how much we need  to  strengthen health-care systems and social protections – to advance the well-being and resilience of all, including older people. Universal health care and universal social security are not debit items for any society. They are fundamental human rights, with immediate and long-term benefits for everyone.

There is also a clear need to combat all forms of inequalities and discrimination, including in the economy – because more equal, fair and respectful societies are also more resilient. 

Human rights – including older people's rights – need to be at the heart of a global effort to advance sustainable, inclusive and climate-sensitive societies. Not only because human rights are universal principles of justice and dignity. But also because policies that are grounded in human rights are more effective at addressing crisis and building greater resilience for the future.

We have the opportunity to fundamentally rethink the way forward – to recover better together, across society and across generations.

Together, we need to encourage all States to fully integrate a focus on older persons into all policy responses to COVID-19.

We need to construct stronger legal frameworks, nationally and globally, that make people accountable for protecting the human rights of older persons.

Which brings me to the importance of this conference. We need these discussions to be high-visibility. We need to bring the voices of older people to national decision-making processes, and to the UN.

I look forward to working with you to – using  today's event as a springboard, and the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing as a framework – to strengthen the world's efforts to advance older people's rights and dignity.

Thank you.