WUNRN
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SESSION 24 -
GENEVA
PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR DESIGNATION
OF A UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS +
Very Important for
Older/Ageing/Elderly WOMEN
URGENT
- Human Rights Council final Resolution codification and vote pending. - We
would be very grateful for any efforts to inform and encourage your governments
to vote in support of this important Resolution.
Susan
Somers, Secretary General,
International
Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, (INPEA)
.....................................................................................................
24/… The human rights of older persons
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations;
Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and other relevant HR instruments;
Reaffirming the Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action;
Recalling General
Assembly resolution 65/182 of 21 December 2010 on the follow-up to the Second
World Assembly on Ageing, in which the Assembly established an open-ended working
group for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of
older persons by considering the existing international framework of the human
rights of older persons and identifying possible gaps and how best to address
them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further
instruments and measures;
Recalling further Human
Rights Council Resolution 21/23, on the Human Rights of Older Persons;
Acknowledging the
work of the Open-ended Working Group on
Ageing for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human
rights of older persons;
Bearing in mind the
Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing of
2002, and all other relevant General Assembly resolutions;
Taking note with appreciation of the
report of the Secretary-General on the follow-up to the Second World Assembly
on Ageing[1][1],
of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the
human rights of older persons;[2][2]
Recalling general
comment No. 6 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the
economic, social and cultural rights of older persons, as well as other
relevant documents by treaty bodies;
Conscious that
older persons represent a large and growing segment of the population and that
greater attention is needed to the specific human rights challenges affecting
them;
Concerned at the
multiple forms of discrimination which may affect older persons and at the high incidence of poverty
among this particularly vulnerable group, especially older women, persons with
disabilities, persons of African descent, individuals belonging to indigenous
peoples, persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities, rural persons, persons
living on the streets, and refugees, among other groups;
Recalling Council resolutions 5/1, on
institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and 5/2, on
the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights
Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge
his or her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto;
1. Recognizes the
challenges related to the enjoyment of all human rights that older persons face
in areas such as prevention and protection against violence and abuse, social
protection, food and housing, employment, legal capacity, access to justice,
health support, long-term and palliative care, and that those challenges
require in-depth analysis and action to address protection gaps;
2. Acknowledges
the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights of the consultation on the promotion and protection of the human rights
of older persons which summarizes the issues discussed there, including age
discrimination, access by older persons to work, adequate health services and
social protection, protection from abuse, violence and neglect, long-term care,
and the situation of older prisoners;
3. Calls upon all
States to promote and ensure the full realization of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms for older persons, including by taking measures to combat
age discrimination, neglect, abuse and violence, and to address issues related
to social integration and adequate healthcare, bearing in mind the crucial
importance of family intergenerational interdependence, solidarity and
reciprocity for social development;
4. Encourages all
States to conduct their age-related policies through inclusive and
participatory consultations with relevant stakeholders and social development
partners in the interest of developing effective policies creating national
policy ownership and consensus-building;
5. Decides to
appoint, for a period of three years, an independent expert on the enjoyment of
all human rights by older persons, with the following mandate:
(a) To assess the
implementation of existing international instruments in respect of older
persons while identifying both best practices in the implementation of existing
law related to the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons as
well as gaps in implementation of existing law;
(b) To take into account
the views of stakeholders, including States, relevant regional human rights
mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and
academic institutions;
(c)To raise awareness of
the challenges faced in the realization of all human rights by older persons,
and to ensure that older persons receive information about those rights;
(d) To work in cooperation
with States in order to foster the
implementation of measures that contribute to the promotion and
protection of the rights of older persons;
(e) To integrate a gender
and disability perspective into his/her work and to pay particular attention to older women, persons with
disabilities, persons of African descent, individuals belonging to indigenous
peoples, persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities, rural persons, persons
living on the streets, and refugees, among other groups;
(f) To assess the human rights implications of
the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing of
2002;
(g) To work in close
coordination, while avoiding unnecessary duplication, with the Open-ended
Working Group on Ageing, other special procedures and subsidiary organs of the
Council, relevant United Nations bodies and the treaty bodies;
6. Requests the Independent Expert to report annually to
the Human Rights Council and to present his/her first report at its
twenty-seventh session; with a view to presenting a comprehensive report at its
thirty-third session;
7. Requests the
Secretary General to ensure that this comprehensive report by the Independent
Expert is brought to the attention of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing,
in line with OP1 and OP 3 of GA Res. 67/139 of 20 December 2012.
8. Calls upon all Governments to cooperate
with the independent expert and invites them to provide him/her with all the
necessary information related to the mandate;
9. Decides
to continue consideration of the question of human rights of older persons at
its twenty-seventh session.