E UNITED
NATIONS
Distr. GENERAL E/CN.4/2006/NGO/93 2 March
2006 ENGLISH
Economic and Social
Council
COMMISSION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS
Sixty-second
session
Item 14 (d) of the
provisional agenda
SPECIFIC GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS: OTHER VULNERABLE GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS
Joint written statement* submitted by World Movement of Mothers (WMM),
International Council of Women
(ICW-CIF), Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual
University (BKWSU), Zonta
International, and International Federation of
Associations
of the Elderly (FIAPA), non-governmental organizations in general consultative status,
Society for the Psychological Study
of Social Issues (SPSSI), Indigenous World
Association (IWA), Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women's Association (PPSEAWA),
Worldwide Organization for Women
(WOW), International Council of Jewish Women
(ICJW), World Union of
Catholic Women's Organizations (WUCWO), World
Federation of Methodist and Uniting
Church Women (WFMUCW), Women's World
Summit Foundation (WWSF),
Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas
(FAWCO), Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP),
International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education (OIDEL),
Federation of Associations of
Former International Civil Servants (FAFICS),
and
International Federation of
University Women (IFUW), non-governmental
organizations in special
consultative status, and
International Association of
Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAQ), International
Association for Counselling (IAC), World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ),
Institute for Planetary Synthesis
(IPS), International Council of Nurses (ICN),
and
International Inner Wheel (IIW), non-governmental organizations on the Roster
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
[13 February 2006]
GE.06-11336
We call the attention
of the Commission to the urgent need
to recognize the rights of older persons and mainstream ageing issues in the
agenda of the Commission.
UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan referred to population ageing as a “silent revolution” and stressed the
importance of older persons
1:
“The world is undergoing
an unprecedented demographic transformation. Between now and 2050, the number of
older persons will rise from about 600 million to almost two billion. The
increase will be greatest in developing countries […]….where numbers are
expected to multiply by four. […] In less than 50 years from now, for
the first time in history, the world will contain more people over 60
years old than under 15 […].”
Therefore older persons
are no longer a minority, they are becoming a growing majority! Despite
these facts and the progress in some UN documents, ageing is still absent on the
agenda and priorities of the UN and of the Commission on Human Rights.
We call your attention to
the following developments:
Beginning with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and encompassing the numerous
International Instruments2 there are many references to the Rights of all. But
not until the Declaration on Social Progress and Development in 1969 is there
mention specifically of old age (in Article
11).
It took until 1982 for
the UN to adopt the 1st
International Plan of Action on
Ageing in Vienna, and until 1991 for
the General Assembly to promulgate the UN Principles for Older Persons
(Resolution 46/91)3.
We saw then in 1995 the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights finally adopting for the first
time the General comment no 6 on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of
Older Persons (Doc E/1996/22, Annex IV).
Only a few steps were
taken since:
-
in 1999, by endorsing the
Conceptual Framework during the International Year of Older Persons, (Doc
A/50/114)4,
-
in 2002 the
2nd World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid (WAA) adopted
unanimously a Political Declaration and an International Strategic
Plan of Action on Ageing.
Both of those documents
include clear objectives and actions to be taken:
-
to ensure the Rights of older
persons,
-
to protect older persons from
“neglect, abuse and violence” in all situations addressed by the UN
(paragraph 07 and seq.) and,
-
to recognize “their role and
contribution to society”.
1 2nd UN World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid in
2002
2 including the Covenants on Economic Social and Cultural
Rights, on Civil and Political Rights as well as
the
Convention on All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
3 with 4 main themes: independence, participation, care,
self-fulfilment and dignity
4 This document is based on the Plan and Principles and
include 4 priority areas (a) The situation of older
persons, (b) individual
lifelong development, (c) the relationship between generations, (d)
the
interrelationship of population, ageing and development.
However, it is obvious
that these precedents are not enough to give older persons their Rights as well
as recognition of their contribution to
society.
It is clear that older
persons are unrecognized and increasingly excluded and discriminated; just to
cite a few examples:
(i)
HIV/AIDS pandemic: the contribution of older persons is vital
today, their right to care for orphaned grand-children and children in
general – especially older women - is an unestimated contribution benefiting the
socio-economic development as well as the human reconstruction of society, re
storing an identity, transmitting higher values and life
skills.
(ii)
Migration: younger generations migrating from developing
countries without solid welfare systems leave behind them older women and
men with no social, economic and family care support, thus increasing their
vulnerability, isolation, poverty, discrimination and lack of health care. On
the other hand, serious discussions are going on to delocalize and rationalize
older age health care solely for economic gain.
(iii) The Information
Society: exponential technological development increases the generational
divide: in the 4 to 5 generation society we live in, the 2 older generations
are too often excluded and affected by the digital divide, making them “digital
homeless”. Older persons are the first victims of a development framework
adapted primarily to younger generations and productivity
imperatives;
In addition, other
situations remain unaddressed: older disabled persons, older migrants, older
working poor, older refugees or displaced persons, older victims of conflict,
war or disasters, older prisoners, older tortured and abused persons, etc., but
also key issues such as gender equality in old age, access to health, right to
dignity, respect of the cultural and spiritual life until the end of
life...and after all, when you think about it, each one of us is concerned or
will be one day concerned…
In all issues, the
Right to Development must carefully take into account old age and the
generation-specificities of development over the life span until the end of
life. What is missing is the recognition that older person have Rights, but also
need to be empowered to carry out their important role and contribution to
cohesion and peace in society and nations
worldwide.
Therefore, we call upon
the 62nd Commission on Human Rights and request to keep in mind
when developing new procedure and modalities of work of the Human Rights
Council:
· to mention explicitly the
Rights of Older persons as an item or sub-item
· to appoint a special
Rapporteur or similar function dealing specifically with the Rights of Older
Persons
· to mainstream ageing in
all relevant issues of the future Human Rights
Council
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