Older Persons' Rights to Education and Social Protection

As the issue of ageing gains more significance across countries, so
too is the need to protect the fundamental rights of older persons. Starting
from the human rights discourse on older persons, initiatives need to be
grounded in the acknowledgement of their contribution to the society.

The Tenth Working Session of the Open-ended Working
Group on Ageing (OEWG10)
will be held from 15 to 18 April 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Interactive
expert panel discussions will serve as a platform for representatives of Member
States, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) to discuss measures to protect the human rights of older persons in the focus
areas, “Education, Training, Life-long Learning and Capacity-building” and “Social
Protection and Social Security, Including Social Protection Floors.”

Deliberations will also take place on the normative elements put
forward for OEWG10, “Autonomy and Independence” and “Long-term and Palliative
Care,” and almost 20 side events will convene on issues ranging from ageism to
artificial intelligence. In preparation for the OEWG10, the UN System agencies
and bodies and NGOs put forward analytical summaries of contributions on
substantive inputs and an informational web-based seminar.

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published working
documents on the substantive inputs on the focus areas, “Education, Training, Life-long Learning and
Capacity-building” and “Social Protection and Social Security
(Including Social Protection Floors),” and on the normative elements, “Autonomy and Independence" and
"Long-term and Palliative Care.”

The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) and the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) co-hosted a webinar on 13 March 2019 and invited the Chief of Programme on Ageing at UN DESA Amal Abou Rafeh, the Chair of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People Ken Bluestone, and the Team Leader on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at OHCHR Rio Hada, to offer practical guidance on OEWG10.

Panelists shed a light on the role of NGOs and Member States in the African group in furthering the conversation and advocacy on legally binding human rights instruments and stressed the need to give due consideration to older women and other marginalized groups. As an official UN calendar event, OEWG10 will serve to help mainstream the human rights of older persons.

Source: UNSDN