12th session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing

Madam Chair, Ambassador Squeff,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Colleagues and friends,

I am very pleased to have this opportunity to join in this urgent conversation face-to-face with you here in New York. I am told that I am the first High Commissioner for Human Rights to address this Working Group in person since it began its vital role in 2011. Thank you for your invitation to take part.

Today, more than ever, older persons need stronger protection to fully enjoy their human rights. But the reality is that international legal frameworks – which should protect everybody, without discrimination – still render older persons invisible.

By 2050, there will be twice as many older persons aged 65 than there are today. They will outnumber young people aged 15 to 24.

We should ask ourselves: what kind of world do we want to live in by then?

I would like to imagine a world where older persons everywhere are guaranteed to live a life of dignity, with economic security. A world where they can continue their work and contribute to society for as long as they wish and are able to. Where they can live independently and make their own decisions.

A world where they are free from violence, neglect and abuse. Where quality health services, including long-term care, are easily accessible.

In a future like this, older persons should be able to actively participate and contribute to sustainable development, and, if needed, they should have access to justice for any violations of their human rights.

Yet right now, we are far from this vision of a better reality for older persons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more than six million lives, the majority of them older persons.

The crisis has exposed and deepened critical human rights protection gaps for older persons. It has demonstrated how age-related discrimination creates and exacerbates poverty and marginalization, and how it amplifies human rights risks.

Older persons have been left at the edges of society at the time when they are most in need of our support.

Also in the face of climate change, older persons are far more likely to face negative impacts on their health, access to food, land, water and sanitation, housing and livelihoods.

Their fundamental well-being is at grave risk.

And in humanitarian crises and conflict situations, older persons are some of the most vulnerable. In the current conflict in Ukraine, older persons are facing a particularly appalling humanitarian situation. Long-term care facilities are suffering a lack of food, heating, electricity, water and medication. Many residents who have chronic health conditions rely on others for care and are struggling to access bomb shelters or safe areas. Violence against older women and the lack of access to medical care and mental health and psychosocial support services has had severe impacts on the health of older persons in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. And in Syria, older persons continue to suffer the consequences of destroyed and damaged health infrastructure.

Excellencies,

In the face of these challenges, strengthening the human rights of older persons is an urgent imperative that we all must strive towards.

Older persons’ human rights have long suffered inadequate protection.

They and their rights continue to be overlooked and neglected in national policies and programmes. At the international level, they are simply forgotten.

My Office has conducted a number of studies on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons and the existing protection gaps they endure, with a view to contributing to your work.
Last month, at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, I presented my report on the normative standards and obligations on the human rights of older persons, requested by Council resolution 48/3 on ageism and age-discrimination.

The key findings and conclusions come as no surprise.

Firstly, the existing human rights framework for older persons is wholly inadequate, providing fragmented and inconsistent coverage of their human rights, both in law and in practice. Secondly, the engagement by international human rights mechanisms on the human rights of older persons has been far from systematic, coherent or sustained. Finally, the distinct lack of a dedicated human rights instrument for older persons - as well as clear limitations of existing ones - is a continued reminder that we are not doing enough to effectively protect their human rights.

Colleagues,

Ageism is woven into the very fabric of life of older persons and is pervasive across all our societies. The stereotypes resulting from ageism and discrimination are counterproductive and can even be dangerous. They significantly contribute to the vulnerability of older persons and are one of the main obstacles to their enjoyment of human rights.

Yet ageism is only exacerbated because existing frameworks to protect the rights of older persons are inadequate. Currently, none of the United Nations human rights treaties contain any specific provision on age discrimination or ageism.

We need to fight against this.

In Our Common Agenda, the UN Secretary-General called for a renewed social contract anchored in human rights. Older persons are integral to this.

Today’s young people are tomorrow’s older members of society. It goes without saying that societies which actively support their older persons will pave the way towards a more dignified future for everybody.

Because we all age, without exception.

A strong spirit of intergenerational solidarity is therefore one of the most powerful keys we have to unlock progress towards the protection of human rights, at every stage of life.

 My hope is that future generations will all be able to enjoy the equalities and human rights we are demanding for older persons as part of this week’s vital discussions.

Your deliberations this week are crucial to identify concrete actions needed to accelerate the mandate of this Working Group, as called for by the Secretary-General.

Concrete and decisive steps must be taken towards the development of proposals for an international legal instrument to promote and protect the rights and dignity of older persons.

Throughout this whole process, we need to ensure active and meaningful participation of civil society, National Human Rights Institutions, and all other stakeholders. 

Most importantly, our journey needs to be guided by the voices and lived experience of older persons themselves.

Dear colleagues,

Over the last 11 years, this Working Group has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and information on gaps, challenges, and possible solutions. Now is the time for urgent action to move forward and take concrete steps towards further strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons.

The outcomes of this Working Group are pivotal, for all of us.

For this, you have my full support, and that of my Office. I wish you successful discussions ahead.

Thank you.