WUNRN
Please see multiple parts of this
WUNRN release on Older Persons/Older Women.
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Human Rights of Older Persons
Not very long ago, the issue of ageing was considered a matter of importance for only a handful of countries. Nowadays, the number of persons aged 60 and over is increasing at an unprecedented pace, anticipated to rise from its current 740 million to reach 1 billion by the end of the decade. Unfortunately the increase in numbers has also shed light on the lack of adequate protection mechanisms, and on the existing gaps in policies and programmes to address the situation of older persons. Today, two-thirds of the world’s older people live in low-and middle-income countries and this proportion will rise to 80 per cent by 2050. Older persons are not a homogenous group, and the challenges they face in the protection or enjoyment of their human rights vary greatly. While some continue to lead active lives as part of their community, many others face homelessness, lack of adequate care or isolation. Multiple discrimination appears as an essential component of any analysis, particularly when considering that age-related discrimination if often compounded by other grounds of discrimination, such as sex, socio-economic status, ethnicity, or health status. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights strives to ensure that neglected population groups are given space and weight in the human rights agenda, and that governments take all measures required to protect and promote their human rights. The role of the Office is to ensure a voice for all, especially for those whose voices are seldom heard. |
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In recent years, there have been
significant advocacy efforts calling for enhanced international thinking and
action on the human rights of older persons. Various stakeholders have called
for more visibility and increased use of international human rights standards
to address the dire situation of millions of older women and men around the
world.____________________________________________________________________
UN -
Estimates show that only one in 5 persons aged 60 or more has a pension. Older
people often lack access to essential information or the means to make
decisions or have control over their own lives. Many are subjected to
discrimination and abuse even by people closest to them – their relatives and
caregivers......
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Report of the UN Independent Expert
on Extreme Poverty 2010
Importance
of Social Protection Measures in Achieving the MDG's
See Website Link & Click to
Report - Multiple Language Translations: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx
Focus on Gender Issues
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UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON EXTREME POVERTY
URGES COUNTRIES
TO FOCUS SOCIAL PROTECTIONS ON
GENDER INEQUALITIES
NEW YORK (25 October 2010) - Social protection systems with a gender focus can increase women’s participation in economic life, provide them with income security in old age and improve nutritional levels and food security, the UN Independent Expert on Extreme Poverty told the General Assembly today.
Warning that “poverty is not gender-neutral,” Magdalena Sepúlveda urged states to “devote increased attention to gender equality while designing, implementing and evaluating social protection programmes within a human rights framework.”
Women are more vulnerable to poverty because of discrimination and gender inequality. Therefore, “the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals greatly depends on the strengthening of women’s enjoyment of the full range of their human rights, including gender equality and women’s empowerment,” she noted while presenting her report on human rights and extreme poverty.*
She acknowledged that in recent years, many countries have put in place or strengthened social protection initiatives to address the persistence of extreme poverty. Such social protection measures were essential to accelerating progress on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Independent Expert warned, however, that some social protection schemes specifically targeting women within households could, if badly designed, exacerbate or contribute to inequalities.
“Social protection programmes must be complemented by other social policies aimed at increasing women’s economic autonomy such as ensuring access to education, land, productive resources and credit, fair inheritance rights, full legal capacity, justice and freedom from all forms of violence,” she stressed.
Social protection measures must also acknowledge the role played by women as providers of care, without reinforcing patterns of discrimination and negative stereotyping.
“Social policies must encourage a better balance in the way men and women share household responsibilities, in particular the care of children and older persons,” she said.
In her report to the General Assembly, Sepúlveda highlights the importance of social protection measures in facilitating the achievement of the MDGs and provides recommendations on the core elements of a rights-based social protection system, including the meaningful integration of gender-related concerns.
Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Independent Expert on the question of human
rights and extreme poverty since May 2008. She is a Chilean lawyer currently
working as Research Director at the International Council on Human Rights
Policy in Geneva. She has extensive experience in economic, social and cultural
rights and holds a PhD in international human rights law from Utrecht
University.