Elder abuse is a global social issue which affects millions of older persons around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of the international community.

The United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 66/127, designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It represents the one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some of our older generations.

The theme this year is “Moving from Awareness to Action through a Human Rights based approach”. 

The United Nations needs to spend more time talking directly to young people across the world, beyond simply talking about their concerns, said the President of the General Assembly on Wednesday, opening a major Youth Dialogue event at UN Headquarters in New York.

The Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Ms. Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, intervened today via video message at the 27th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

See video here: https://bit.ly/2Grqiod

For more information on the session click here: https://bit.ly/2IwYZuf

The implementation, success, and sustainability of SDGs 16 and 11 are greatly dependent on a family focused approach that takes into consideration the contexts within which decisions about laws, policies, and programmes are made. Isolated approaches that target individuals without consideration of the larger family environments in which they are embedded are destined to fail. It is thus, imperative that families in all their various forms, need to be recognized, targeted, strengthened, and supported.

Upcoming Events

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – June 15

• Use #WEAAD, #SDGs, #GlobalGoals for all your tweets on the 2018 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
• Celebrating #WEAAD? Planning a special activity? We want to know! Tweet @UN4Ageing or email us at ageing@un.org

Social protection is a potent policy tool to protect people from poverty throughout the life cycle. It can also reduce inequality and social exclusion. However, as the Report on the World Social Situation 2018 (United Nations, forthcoming) makes clear, access to social protection varies significantly depending on a person’s background or identity, including their age, race, and gender. This can limit its potential to promote inclusion.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises to leave no-one behind and reaching the furthest behind first. Meeting this ambitious development agenda requires visionary policies for sustainable, inclusive, sustained and equitable economic growth, supported by full employment and decent work for all, social integration, declining inequality, rising productivity and a favorable environment.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 61/106 of 13 December 2006. It came into force on 3 May 2008 upon the 20th ratification. Article 40 of the Convention stipulates that “The States Parties shall meet regularly in a Conference of States Parties in order to consider any matter with regard to the implementation of the present Convention.” Since 2008, ten sessions of the Conference of States Parties have been held at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The fifty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD56) was held on 10 February 2017 and from 29 January to 7 February 2018, with the priority theme of “Strategies for eradicating poverty to achieve sustainable development for all ”. This was the policy year of the two-year review and policy cycle.

Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3), to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, recognizes that health needs and considerations evolve throughout the life cycle. Although many older persons retain overall good health and functioning well into old age, the process of ageing entails an increasing risk of poor health.[1]