Estimates indicate that the number of elderly persons will increase from 600 million to 1.2 billion by 2025, UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons Rosa Kornfeld-Matte stated Friday.
She stressed that the world is undergoing an unprecedented demographic transformation towards an ageing population in her first report to the UN human rights Council in its 27th session, currently being held until September 26.
By 2050, this age group is expected to reach 2 billion, approximately equivalent to the global population youth.
"In the light of these projections, several international organizations have stressed the need to address the significant challenges posed by global ageing. In this context, the different situations imposed by the heterogeneity of ageing and specific problems in different cultures of the world should be borne in mind, including those associated with healthy, ill, terminal, non-disabled and elderly persons with disabilities, whether physical or cognitive, as well as the care needs and ethical issues posed for each of these groups", Kornfeld-Matte said.
In addition, this sociodemographic scenario demands the protection of the rights of older persons at the national, regional and global levels, the development of public institutions, the visibility of the issue of old age and ageing, the inclusion of seniors, their health care, and strengthening social services, among others, she explained.
She noted that the Secretary-General, in his report on further Implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002), outlined impediments to its implementation, including the lack of financial and human resources, lack of political focus and will, and differing national and regional perceptions of old age issues, which translate into different policy approaches, as well as emerging views and approaches.
In 2002, the Second World Assembly on Ageing adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing to respond to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the twenty-first century.
The Plan of Action was preceded by the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, which was adopted at the First World Assembly on Ageing, held in Vienna in 1982 and which was subsequently endorsed by the General Assembly.
The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing requires States to take measures to address ageing in order to achieve a society for all ages. It also calls for the mainstreaming of ageing into national and global development agendas, and contains recommendations for action focused on three priority areas, namely development, health and well-being, and enabling and supportive environments, which are divided into specific issues, objectives and actions. In its resolution 24/20, the UN Human Rights Council established the mandate of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, to assess the implementation of existing international instruments with regard to 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 and gaps in the implementation of existing law. At the international level, there are policies, standards and mechanisms aimed at protecting and promoting the rights of older persons, either in the form of generic or specific provisions, especially in the field of international labour law, as well as international and human rights law.
Although there is no specific international human rights instrument devoted to older persons, most human rights treaties contain implicit obligations towards them. Explicit references to age as a ground of discrimination, though rare, can be found in more recent human rights treaties.