CEDAW/C/GC/27 38. State parties should pay special attention to the violence suffered by older women in times of armed conflict, the impact of armed conflicts on the lives of older women, and the contribution that older women can make to the peaceful settlement of conflicts and to reconstruction processes. States parties should give due consideration to the situation of older women when addressing sexual violence, forced displacement and the conditions of refugees during armed conflict. States parties should take into account relevant United Nations resolutions on women and peace and security when addressing such matters, including, in particular, Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1889 (2009). Participation in public life 39. States parties have an obligation to ensure that older women have the opportunity to participate in public and political life, and hold public office at all levels and that older women have the necessary documentation to register to vote and run as candidates for election. Education 40. States parties have an obligation to ensure equal opportunity in the field of education for women of all ages, and to ensure that older women have access to adult education and lifelong learning opportunities as well as to the educational information they need for their well-being and that of their families. Work and pension benefits 41. States parties have an obligation to facilitate the participation of older women in paid work without discrimination based on their age and gender. States parties should ensure that special attention is paid to addressing problems that older women might face in their working life, and that they are not forced into early retirement or similar situations. States parties should also monitor the impact of gender-related pay gaps on older women. 42. States parties have an obligation to ensure that the retirement age in both the public and private sectors do not discriminate against women. Consequently, States parties have an obligation to ensure that pension policies are not discriminatory in any manner, even when women opt to retire early, and that all older women who have been active have access to adequate pensions. States parties should adopt all appropriate measures, including, where necessary, temporary special measures, to guarantee such pensions. 43. States parties should ensure that older women, including those who have the responsibility for the care of children, have access to appropriate social and economic benefits, such as childcare benefits, as well as access to all necessary support when caring for elderly parents or relatives. 44. States parties should provide adequate non-contributory pensions, on an equal basis with men, to all women who have no other pension or insufficient income security, and State-funded allowances should be made available and accessible to older women, particularly those living in remote or rural areas. Health 45. States parties should adopt a comprehensive health-care policy aimed at protecting the health needs of older women in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health. Such policy should ensure affordable and accessible health care to all older women through, where appropriate, the elimination of user fees, training of health workers in geriatric illnesses, provision of medicine to treat age-related chronic and non-communicable diseases, long-term health and social care, including care that allows for 7