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The General Assembly adopted resolution on Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing
At the 50th plenary meeting of the General Assembly held on 19 December 2023, the Rapporteur of the Third Committee noted that during the 78th session, the Committee held 56 plenary meetings and adopted a total of 62 draft resolutions (A/78/472), 17 of which by recorded vote and one decision. Under agenda item 24 entitled “Social Development” the General Assembly considered draft resolution 7 in A/C.3/78/INF/1, entitled “Follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing.’ The Assembly noted that the resolution was adopted in the Third Committee without a vote and decided to do likewise. The resolution included new text that:
- Recognizes the successful conclusion of the fourth review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.
- Encourages Member States to accelerate their efforts to mainstream the linkages between population ageing and sustainable development, and to link ageing to frameworks for social and economic development and human rights.
- Acknowledges the accelerated global trend of population ageing, which will require more care work and support, stressing the need to promote and strengthen the estimation of the caregiving contribution and other activities of older persons.
- Takes note of the report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons (A/78/226), which examined the rights of older persons in the context of climate change-induced disasters.
- Encourages Member States to enhance the capacity of national statistical offices to address existing deficits in data on ageing, to contribute to the effective follow-up on the implementation of international agreed commitments, including in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Encourages Member States to create an enabling environment for the equal, full, effective and meaningful participation of older persons in political, social, economic and cultural life, while taking into account the diversity of situation of older persons and responding to population ageing as well as to multiple forms of discrimination resulting from ageism and other inequalities throughout the life course
- Encourages Member States to involve older persons in relevant international discussions, such as in the General Assembly and other processes held under the auspices of the UN, including by considering, where appropriate, incorporating them in their national delegations.
In recognition of the formalization of the UN Inter-Agency Group on Ageing, the resolution “takes note with appreciation of the work of the Inter-Agency Group on Ageing, a network of United Nations entities that exchange information and integrate ageing into their work programmes on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.” The resolution will be posted here.
At the midway point to 2030 Agenda, UN Chief says population ageing and the myriad responses that it demands should be a core focus at upcoming relevant international discussions
The report of the Secretary-General on the Follow-Up to the International Year of Older Persons: Second World Assembly On Ageing A/78/134 provides an update on progress made since 2015 towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular its aspects of relevance to older persons and population ageing. The report highlights key issues and challenges in the full and effective inclusion of older persons in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also features selected work carried out by members of the United Nations Inter- Agency Group on Ageing. Key recommendations for consideration by Member States are set out in the concluding section.
Titchfield Group Holds its 4th Technical Meeting
The 4th Technical Meeting on Ageing-Related Statistics and Age-Disaggregated Data and the steering group meeting of the Titchfield City Group were held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 25 to 26 September 2023. The meeting featured a welcome note from UNECE and included discussions on the assessment of evidence and identification of gaps, conceptual and analytical framework for comprehensive information on older persons, standardization and harmonization guidelines, gaps analysis as well as the future of the work of the City Group. For more information about Titchfield Group, click here
UNIDOP 2023 zoomed in on “Fulfilling the Promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Older Persons: Across Generations”
Seventy-five years ago, this year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, a monumental document in the history of human rights. Written by representatives from around the world with different legal, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, it is the first document articulating the fundamental human rights that are meant to be universally protected. In recognition of this milestone, the 33rd commemoration of the United Nations International Day of Older Persons focused on the theme “Fulfilling the Promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Older Persons: Across Generations”. The event put a spotlight on the specificity of older persons around the world, for the enjoyment of their rights and in addressing violations, and how the strengthening of solidarity through equity and reciprocity between generations offers sustainable solutions to deliver on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals. Click here for more information.
DESA and UNESCAP Hold an Expert Group Meeting on Older Persons and Intergenerational Solidarity
The joint expert group meeting on “Older Persons and Intergenerational Solidarity” was organized by DESA and UNESCAP. It was held on 10 and 11 October 2023 in person at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok with an online option. The conclusions and recommendations of the expert group meeting will inform the upcoming report of the Secretary-General on Ageing, which offers the analytical backdrop to the deliberations of the Third Committee of the General Assembly on social, humanitarian and cultural issues. For more information, including accessing papers and presentations, click here.
Progress Report on the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, 2021-2023
WHO organized a launch of the UN Decade of Health Ageing Progress Report 2023 on 22 November 2023. The report aims to assess the extent of progress made in the first phase of implementation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, from 2021 to mid-2023; present contributions to the Decade being made by stakeholder groups, including Member States, UN agencies, civil society, academia, the private sector, community groups and older persons themselves; and inspire and motivate stakeholders to collaborate in their continued efforts to implement the Decade at country level and scale up interventions to ensure healthy ageing. Read it here.
Things to Look Out for
The 62nd session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD62)
The 62nd session will focus on "Fostering social development and social justice through social policies to accelerate progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the overarching goal of poverty eradication". The CSocD62 will focus on the emerging issue of "The Influence of Digital Transformation on Inclusive Growth and Development: A Path to Achieving Social Justice. The Commission will take place from 5 to 14 February 2024, in Conference Room 4 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. For more information, click here.
Commission on the Status of Women 2024 (CSW 68)
The sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 11 to 22 March 2024. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non- governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to contribute to the session. Priority theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. Review theme: Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-third session) For more information click here.
The General Assembly Open-ended Working Group on Ageing to hold its 14th session in 2024
The fourteenth session of the General Assembly Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing is scheduled to take place in 2024. The two focus areas of the fourteenth session are “Accessibility, Infrastructure and habitat (transport, housing and access)" and "Participation in the public life and in decision-making processes." The session will also include discussions on the normative content for the development of a possible international standard on the protection of the rights of older people to the two focus areas of the thirteenth session: the right to "Social Inclusion " and the "Right to health and access to health services". Stay tuned for more information and announcements here.
Stay tuned for applications to participate at the 14th session of the General Assembly Open-ended Working Group on Ageing
The General Assembly proclaims 29 October as International Day of Care and Support.
Resolution 77/317 adopted by the General Assembly on 24 July 2023 highlights the need to invest in the care economy, while ensuring a gender responsive, disability inclusive and age sensitive care and support systems with full respect to human rights. For more information, click here. Watch the first commemoration event of the Day here.
Missed an event?
UNITAR held Roundtable Series on Mainstreaming Knowledge on Ageing
On 23 November 2023, UNITAR organized a virtual roundtable on Access to Cultural and Leisure Activities: Tackling Individual Interest Towards Intergenerational Social Construction. This event is part of a series of events on Mainstreaming Knowledge on Ageing. For more information click here. For previous roundtables with a focus on older persons, click here.
Ageing for All Ages: the 2023 Silver Economy Forum
DESA in collaboration with the Mission of Japan and the Global Coalition on Ageing, organized the 2023 Silver Economy Forum “Advancing the SDGs in the Decade of Healthy Ageing.” The event was held on 6 and 7 December 2023. The Forum aimed at providing an opportunity to critically discuss actionable programmes and policies that impact global healthy ageing, with the SDGs and the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing as the foundation for the ideas presented. The event brought together decision-makers in Government, business, research, NGOs, global institutions, and academia from across the world to contribute to creating solutions that impact the ageing population while investing in sustainable practices and policies for the ageing of future generations. On 6 December, the event was held at the Paley Center for Media NYC. DESA moderated a panel on age-friendly cities and communities. For information about SEF2023 click here.
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