UN resolution to address the rights of older people
In November 2010, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an open-ended working group for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons.
It will consider the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons, identify possible gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures.
Achieving an international convention on the rights of older persons has taken a meaningful step forward with this resolution, says the International Federation on Ageing. Many advocates have suggested that the time has come for greater protection in the form of a new Human Rights Instrument.
With a new UN Convention, governments would have an explicit legal framework with guidance and support that would enable them to ensure that older people’s rights are realized in our increasingly ageing societies.
