Welcome to the United Nations
The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), designated as 15 June, was initiated by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in 2006, and recognized as a United Nations Day by the General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/66/127 adopted in 2011.
According to WHO estimates, 1 in 6 people over 60 years of age suffers from abuse. That means nearly 141 million people globally. This number may be much higher as neglect, abuse and violence of older people are among the most hidden and underrepresented violations of human rights.
This year, WEAAD coincides with two important events. The first is the start of the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). This marks the beginning of ten years of concerted, catalytic and sustained collaboration with diverse stakeholders on improving the lives of older people, their families and their communities. The second is the 20th milestone of the Second World Assembly on Ageing and the fourth review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA). These provide an opportunity to generate renewed momentum for international action to advance the ageing agenda.
MIPAA represents the first time Governments agreed to link questions of ageing to other frameworks for social and economic development and human rights. The 159 Member States who signed onto the MIPAA reaffirmed the commitment to spare no effort to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.
This complementarity between MIPAA and a human rights framework can be easily shown in the area of elder abuse. MIPAA includes various references to elder abuse, including “Issue3: Neglect, Abuse and Violence,” which provides two objectives relating to the elimination of all forms of neglect, abuse and violence of older persons; as well as the creation of support services to address elder abuse. Both objectives include actions to review policies, enact laws and create awareness, information, training, and research initiatives. However, in the absence of an international standard on the rights of older persons, gaps between policy and practice, and the mobilization of necessary human and financial resources, as well as the uneven progress in the implementation of MIPAA continues. An international legal instrument for older persons would advance the implementation and accountability of MIPAA.
Events:
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day #WEAAD2022
Join the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY in its observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June 2022. Content experts will address the confluence of two under-reported experiences of many older persons, particularly older women: elder abuse and disability. Discussion will explore vulnerabilities while incorporating a strengths-based perspective. Approaches and resources to reduce situations of potential or actual mistreatment will be highlighted, including passage of a global legal instrument to protect the rights of older persons.
Date and venue:
Wednesday, 15 June 2022, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
New York, USA
Flyer
Program
- Welcome and NGO CoA updates
- Frances Zainoeddin, Vice-Chair, NGO Committee on Ageing-NY
- Opening remarks
- H.E. Ambassador René Ruidiaz, Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations
- Moderator
- Dr. Robin Fenley, INPEA Chair, NGO-COA Subcommittee on Older Women
- Dr. Ruth Warick, President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People and First Vice-President of the International Disability Alliance
- Dr. Marie Beaulieu, member of the Royal Society of Canada, full professor at the School of Social Work, University of Sherbrooke and researcher at the Research Center on Aging of the Integrated University Health and Social Services Network of the Eastern Townships Region; and is a representative of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse
- Dialogue: Q & A
- Moderated by Erica Dhar, (AARP), Chair, NGO-COA Subcommittee on Global Alliances
- Closing remarks and take-aways
- Dr. Robin Fenley
INPEA side event: UNECE Ministerial Conference on Ageing held in commemoration of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day #WEAAD2022
Date and venue:
17 June 2022
Rome, Italy
Program
- Opening Remarks
- Susan B. Somers, President of INPEA
- Panel
- The scale of the issue: global prevalence – Yongjie Yon, Technical Officer, WHO Regional Office for Europe
- Seeing the faces – Natasa Todorovic, Health and Care Program Manager, Red Cross of Serbia and INPEA representative
- Tackling elder abuse: 5 priorities for the Decade of Healthy Ageing – Amal Abou Rafeh, Chief of the Programme on Ageing Section, UN DESA Christopher Mikton, Technical Officer, Demographic Change and Healthy Ageing, WHO
- Interactive Dialogue
- Moderated by Alexandre Sidorenko, Senior Advisor at the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research International Tutor, International Institute on Ageing
- Closing Remarks
- Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons (tbc)
