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Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Minority communities are not homogenous and it is important to understand the challenges facing those, including women, children and the elderly, whose needs, perceptions and expectations may vary. Older people, who may be first-generation immigrants, may have stronger linguistic and cultural ties than young people who have been brought up and educated in their country of residence. They may face greater challenges in learning and adapting to the national language and require culturally sensitive, affordable and accessible assistance.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- States parties must repeal all legislation that discriminates against older widows in respect of property and inheritance, and protect them from land grabbing. They must adopt laws of intestate succession that comply with their obligations under the Convention. Furthermore, they should take measures to end practices that force older women to marry against their will, and ensure that succession is not conditional on forced marriage to a deceased husband's sibling or any other person.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- Non-contributory pensions are the only means by which universal pension coverage can be achieved and gender imbalances redressed. However, social pensions must not be regarded as the sole response to old-age poverty. To be effective in the promotion of an adequate standard of living, social pensions can only be one component of a comprehensive social protection strategy that addresses the impact of extreme poverty throughout one person's life cycle and includes measures to ensure older persons access to adequate social services, in particular access to health care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 105
- Paragraph text
- The traditional reliance of many States on contributory pension systems as the main source of social security in old age has left a significant portion of older persons unprotected. This problem is particularly serious for women as most are not covered by contributory pension schemes although they tend to live longer. Investing in non-contributory pensions can play an important role in empowering older people and contribute to the realization of their human rights, in particular their economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that social protection systems do not create significant inequalities between those who have an interrupted participation in the labour force - due for example to parenthood, care for older persons or persons with disabilities - and those who do not. At a minimum, States must provide universal non-contributory social pensions that are sufficient for an adequate standard of living, and ensure that women living in poverty can access them. The introduction of carer credits into a country's pension or superannuation system can provide a method of explicitly recognizing those years spent providing unpaid care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 111
- Paragraph text
- States must adopt specific measures to ensure access to social pensions by those in most vulnerable conditions, for example, by removing administrative barriers that prevent them from accessing social pensions, such as the lack of documentation. Specific measures are also needed to ensure that benefits are distributed within safe reach and at a convenient geographic location, paying particular attention to physical and mental impairments that affect older persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- States parties have an obligation to eliminate negative stereotyping and modify social and cultural patterns of conduct that are prejudicial and harmful to older women, so as to reduce the physical, sexual, psychological, verbal and economic abuse that older women, including those with disabilities, experience based on negative stereotyping and cultural practices.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 107
- Paragraph text
- Keeping in mind important lessons learned in developing and developed countries that invest in non-contributory systems of social security, the recommendations below attempt to summarize the main human rights concerns that States must address when establishing or extending social pensions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- States must recognize the human right to social security in domestic law. Non-contributory and contributory pension schemes must be guided by international human rights standards for the right to social security.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 115
- Paragraph text
- Non-contributory pensions are the most efficient way of ensuring protection to older women and compensating them for their years of unpaid or inadequately paid work. States must address the specific challenges affecting older women seeking to benefit from existing social services. States must also take other measures to complement social security measures by ensuring women's equal access to land and resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 109
- Paragraph text
- States must design social pension schemes progressively to ensure access to social security for all. At the very least, they must provide protection to all older persons who, when reaching the retirement age prescribed in national legislation, have not completed a qualifying period of contributions or are not otherwise entitled to an old-age insurance-based pension and have no other source of income.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 113
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure the meaningful and effective participation of older persons in the design, implementation and monitoring of social pensions. Considering the specific needs of older persons, participation mechanisms must take into account existing power structures within communities and remove particular obstacles for their participation in collective decision-making processes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- States Parties should take necessary measures to ensure older women have access to adequate housing that meet their specific needs, and all barriers, architectural and other, that hinder the mobility of older persons and lead to forced confinement should be removed. States parties should provide social services that enable older women to remain in their homes and live independently for as long as possible. Laws and practices that negatively affect older women's right to housing, land and property should be abolished. States parties should also protect older women against forced evictions and homelessness.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The Social Protection Floor Initiative should also be a focus of attention for many of the special procedures mandate holders dealing with relevant issues. The initiative is of particular importance for those concerned with the rights of children, women, persons with disabilities, older persons and others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 110
- Paragraph text
- States must prioritize the protection of the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups in social security systems. Universal social pensions are in line with human rights standards as they reduce opportunities for the unfair exclusion of potential beneficiaries. When poverty-targeted pension schemes are adopted, States must ensure they are fair, effective and transparent, include safeguards against discrimination and constitute a clear step on the road to universal coverage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- By the end of its thirteenth session, the Committee and its predecessor, the Sessional Working Group of Governmental Experts, had examined 153 initial reports, 71 second periodic reports and 25 global reports on articles 1 to 15 of the Covenant. This work made it possible to identify many of the problems that may be encountered in implementing the Covenant in a considerable number of States parties representing all the regions of the world and having different political, socio-economic and cultural systems. The reports examined to date have not provided any information in a systematic way on the situation of older persons as regards compliance with the Covenant, apart from information, of varying completeness, on the implementation of article 9 relating to the right to social security.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Recommendations 19 to 24 of the International Plan of Action on Ageing emphasize that housing for the elderly must be viewed as more than mere shelter and that, in addition to the physical, it has psychological and social significance which should be taken into account. Accordingly, national policies should help elderly persons to continue to live in their own homes as long as possible, through the restoration, development and improvement of homes and their adaptation to the ability of those persons to gain access to and use them (recommendation 19). Recommendation 20 stresses the need for urban rebuilding and development planning and law to pay special attention to the problems of the ageing, assisting in securing their social integration. Recommendation 22 draws attention to the need to take account of the functional capacity of the elderly in order to provide them with a better living environment and facilitate mobility and communication through the provision of adequate means of transport.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The terminology used to describe older persons varies considerably, even in international documents. It includes: "older persons", "the aged", "the elderly", "the third age", "the ageing" and, to denote persons more than 80 years of age, "the fourth age". The Committee has opted for "older persons" (in French, personnes âgées; in Spanish, personas mayores), the term employed in General Assembly resolutions 47/5 and 48/98. According to the practice in the United Nations statistical services, these terms cover persons aged 60 and above. (The statistical service of the European Union, Eurostat, considers "older persons" to mean persons aged 65 or above, since 65 is the most common age of retirement and the trend is towards later retirement still.)
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights does not contain any explicit reference to the rights of older persons, although article 9, dealing with "the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance", implicitly recognizes the right to old-age benefits. Nevertheless, in view of the fact that the Covenant's provisions apply fully to all members of society, it is clear that older persons are entitled to enjoy the full range of rights recognized in the Covenant. This approach is also fully reflected in the International Plan of Action on Ageing. Moreover, in so far as respect for the rights of older persons requires special measures to be taken, States parties are required by the Covenant to do so to the maximum of their available resources.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Accordingly, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is of the view that States parties to the Covenant are obligated to pay particular attention to promoting and protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons. The Committee's own role in this regard is rendered all the more important by the fact that, unlike the case of other population groups such as women and children, no comprehensive international convention yet exists in relation to the rights of older persons and no binding supervisory arrangements attach to the various sets of United Nations principles in this area.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with article 3 of the Covenant, by which States parties undertake "to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights", the Committee considers that States parties should pay particular attention to older women who, because they have spent all or part of their lives caring for their families without engaging in a remunerated activity entitling them to an old-age pension, and who are also not entitled to a widow's pension, are often in critical situations.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The right to social security (Art. 9) 2007, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take appropriate measures to establish social security schemes that provide benefits to older persons, starting at a specific age, to be prescribed by national law. The Committee stresses that States parties should establish a retirement age that is appropriate to national circumstances which take account of, inter alia, the nature of the occupation, in particular work in hazardous occupations and the working ability of older persons. States parties should, within the limits of available resources, provide non-contributory old-age benefits, social services and other assistance for all older persons who, when reaching the retirement age prescribed in national legislation, have not completed a qualifying period of contributions or are not otherwise entitled to an old-age insurance-based pension or other social security benefit or assistance, and have no other source of income.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2007
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Committee therefore urges States parties to take account of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, and in particular of principle 7, that older persons should remain integrated in society, participate actively in the formulation and implementation of policies that directly affect their well being and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations; and principle 16, that older persons should have access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Youth
- Year
- 2009
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The right of women with disabilities to choose their place of residence may be adversely affected by cultural norms and patriarchal family values that limit autonomy and oblige them to live in a particular living arrangement. Thus, multiple discrimination can prevent the full and equal enjoyment of the right to live independently in the community. In the case of older persons with disabilities, age and impairment, separately or jointly, can increase their risk of institutionalization . In addition, it has been widely documented that institutionalization may expose persons with disabilities to violence and abuse, with women with disabilities particularly exposed .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The principle of equality and non-discrimination also requires States to ensure that social pensions are physically and culturally accessible to all older people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Social protection and old age poverty 2010, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- In 1995, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted a general comment on the rights of older persons, in which it stressed that States needed to adapt their social and economic policies to respond to the needs of ageing populations and should give more consideration to older persons in their human rights monitoring and reporting. The general comment also sheds light on the relationship between the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Vienna International Plan of Action and the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, clearly indicating that both binding and non-binding commitments are linked.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Studies have demonstrated the negative effect of income inequality upon the right to education. A 2014 study published by OECD showed that "increased income disparities depress skills development among individuals with poorer parental education background, both in terms of the quantity of education attained (e.g. years of schooling), and in terms of its quality (i.e. skill proficiency)" and that "higher inequality lowers the opportunities of education (and social mobility) of disadvantaged individuals in the society, an effect that dominates the potentially positive impacts through incentives". Another study showed that the youngest children in Ecuador, irrespective of wealth quintile or education of their parents, performed broadly as well as their comparators, but that, as they got older, only those children in the top half of the wealth distribution and with highly educated parents maintained their performance relative to their comparators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Sanitation shared between a few households, where all residents know each other and maintenance and cleaning is shared, is a common form of access in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This form of access can contribute to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, where the construction and maintenance of the toilet or latrine is adequate, and where everyone within the households has access to the toilet or latrine, regardless of their age, physical ability or status within the household. There may be particular concerns for persons with disabilities, children, older persons, people with a chronic illness (which may be stigmatized, such as HIV), renters or those who do not belong to the main household. In some cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to use a latrine shared by other people, and this problem may be compounded when the latrine is shared by several households (see A/67/270, para. 73).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with article 9 of the Covenant and the provisions concerning implementation of the ILO social security conventions - Convention No. 102 (1952) concerning Social Security (Minimum Standards) and Convention No. 128 (1967) concerning Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits - States parties must take appropriate measures to establish general regimes of compulsory old-age insurance, starting at a particular age, to be prescribed by national law.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Paragraph type
- Other
Paragraph