Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

Reaffirming that States have the primary responsibility to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings, including women, children and older persons,

Affirms that older persons have equal rights with respect to family life, and that States should realize these rights and prevent the concealment, abandonment, neglect and segregation of older persons and undertake to provide early and comprehensive information, services and support to older persons and their families;

Emphasizes that consultation with older persons is essential in the formulation and adoption of legislation and policies relating to their specific needs and concerns;

Encourages States to increase efforts to raise awareness of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002, including by promoting and supporting initiatives to advance a positive public image of older persons and their multiple contributions to their families, communities and societies and by working with the respective international, regional and national bodies and mechanisms, as appropriate;

Encourages States and non-governmental bodies to establish social and care services to support the whole family and individual carers when there are older people at home and to implement such measures, especially for low-income families, to be able to care for the older people at home;

Urges Governments and other relevant stakeholders to address the challenges faced by older women in accessing HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as in caring for people living with or affected by HIV and AIDS, including orphaned children in vulnerable situations;

Stresses the need for States to adopt immediate, effective and appropriate measures aimed at raising awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding older persons, with a view to fostering respect for their rights and dignity;

Highlights the role of families in supporting their members, including older persons, and recognizes their potential in contributing to the protection and promotion of older persons among their members;

Stresses that families remain the first and most immediate environment where older persons can develop their potential and enjoy a fulfilling life, and that the realization of the human rights of older persons can be deeply affected by the quality of life and the support and assistance provided to them, including through access to a range of support services that are responsive to individual choices, wishes and needs;

Underlines the importance of strengthening intergenerational partnerships and solidarity among generations, and calls upon States in this regard to promote opportunities for voluntary, constructive and regular interaction between young people and older generations in the family, in the workplace and in society at large;

Remains convinced that older persons, including those with disabilities, and their family members should receive the protection and assistance necessary to achieve the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by every person;

Also encourages States to continue their efforts to implement the Madrid Plan of Action and to mainstream the concerns of older persons into their policy agendas, bearing in mind the crucial importance of intergenerational family interdependence, solidarity and reciprocity for social development and the realization of all human rights of older persons, and to prevent discrimination against older persons and provide social integration;

Recognizes the potential of older persons as leaders in the family and community for education, communication and conflict resolution;

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.

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.

Recognizes that protracted refugee situations can increase the risks to which refugees may be exposed and that, in this respect, there is a need to identify and respond effectively to the specific protection concerns of men, women, girls and boys, in particular, unaccompanied and separated children, adolescents, persons with disabilities, and older persons, who may be exposed to heightened risks, including sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of violence and exploitation; and encourages UNHCR and States to pursue age, gender and diversity mainstreaming and participatory approaches with a view to enhancing the safety, well-being and development of refugees and promoting appropriate solutions for them;

States parties have an obligation to eliminate discrimination in all its forms against older women in economic and social life. All barriers based on age and gender to accessing agricultural credit and loans should be removed and access to appropriate technology for older women farmers and small landholders should be ensured. States parties should provide special support systems and collateral-free microcredit, as well as encourage micro- entrepreneurship for older women. Recreational facilities for older women should be created and outreach services should be provided to older women who are confined to their homes. States parties should provide affordable and appropriate transportation to enable older women, including those living in rural areas, to participate in economic and social life, including community activities.

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.

[Thus the concept of adequacy is particularly significant in relation to the right to housing since it serves to underline a number of factors which must be taken into account in determining whether particular forms of shelter can be considered to constitute "adequate housing" for the purposes of the Covenant. While adequacy is determined in part by social, economic, cultural, climatic, ecological and other factors, the Committee believes that it is nevertheless possible to identify certain aspects of the right that must be taken into account for this purpose in any particular context. They include the following:] Accessibility. Adequate housing must be accessible to those entitled to it. Disadvantaged groups must be accorded full and sustainable access to adequate housing resources. Thus, such disadvantaged groups as the elderly, children, the physically disabled, the terminally ill, HIV positive individuals, persons with persistent medical problems, the mentally ill, victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster prone areas and other groups should be ensured some degree of priority consideration in the housing sphere. Both housing law and policy should take fully into account the special housing needs of these groups. Within many States parties increasing access to land by landless or impoverished segments of the society should constitute a central policy goal. Discernible governmental obligations need to be developed aiming to substantiate the right of all to a secure place to live in peace and dignity, including access to land as an entitlement;

States parties must also ensure the provision of benefits to survivors and orphans on the death of a breadwinner who was covered by social security or had rights to a pension. Benefits should cover funeral costs, particularly in those States parties where funeral expenses are prohibitive. Survivors or orphans must not be excluded from social security schemes on the basis of prohibited grounds of discrimination and they should be given assistance in accessing social security schemes, particularly when endemic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, leave large numbers of children or older persons without family and community support.

Age is a prohibited ground of discrimination in several contexts. The Committee has highlighted the need to address discrimination against unemployed older persons in finding work, or accessing professional training or retraining, and against older persons living in poverty with unequal access to universal old-age pensions due to their place of residence. In relation to young persons, unequal access by adolescents to sexual and reproductive health information and services amounts to discrimination.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has drastically changed the world in which children live. Millions of children have been infected and have died and many more are gravely affected as HIV spreads through their families and communities. The epidemic impacts on the daily life of younger children, and increases the victimization and marginalization of children, especially those living in particularly difficult circumstances. HIV/AIDS is not a problem of some countries but of the entire world. To truly bring its impact on children under control will require concerted and well-targeted efforts from all countries at all stages of development.

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 .

The evolving capacities of the child (art. 5) must be taken into consideration when the child's best interests and right to be heard are at stake. The Committee has already established that the more the child knows, has experienced and understands, the more the parent, legal guardian or other persons legally responsible for him or her have to transform direction and guidance into reminders and advice, and later to an exchange on an equal footing. Similarly, as the child matures, his or her views shall have increasing weight in the assessment of his or her best interests. Babies and very young children have the same rights as all children to have their best interests assessed, even if they cannot express their views or represent themselves in the same way as older children. States must ensure appropriate arrangements, including representation, when appropriate, for the assessment of their best interests; the same applies for children who are not able or willing to express a view.

Older persons with disabilities also have difficulties in accessing support arrangements for daily life, such as personal assistance, assisted living arrangements and palliative care. While families are the most common source of support for older persons with disabilities in most countries, there is an increasing demand for institutional care, especially from family members and other informal supporters of persons with dementia, which is increasing the risk of institutionalization among older persons with disabilities. Importantly, older women with disabilities are more likely to be institutionalized owing to the different life expectancies of men and women. The provision of in-home support services, including personal assistance and help with household chores, can avoid institutionalization and improve the quality of life of older persons by enabling them to stay at home (see A/HRC/30/43, para. 72).

In addition, problems associated with ageing affect women disproportionally as a result of the cumulative effect of discriminatory practices women face over the course of their lives, as the Working Group described in its report on discrimination against women in economic and social life (A/HRC/26/39). Women are more likely to take care of men and to be left without spousal support. At the same time, they are more likely to suffer economic disadvantages, exacerbated by discriminatory pension systems that fail to produce equal outcomes for women, and to be excluded from social security and health insurance schemes. They are thus at greater risk of living in poverty. The mere recognition of equal rights for all, without distinction, is thus insufficient to ensure in practice the enjoyment by older women of all human rights, including the right to health.

A first requirement is breaking the cycle of discrimination against women. This does not mean simply removing discriminatory provisions in the law, particularly as regards access to land or other productive resources, but it also requires that the structural causes of de facto discrimination be addressed. In particular, measures should be taken to relieve women of the burden imposed on them by the duties they assume in the "care" economy, and to improve their economic opportunities by better access to education and employment. Older women are particularly at risk of food insecurity as the cumulative effect of discrimination in accessing employment tends to leave older women with disproportionately lower (or no) incomes and pensions in later life; yet older women are expected to take care of other, more dependent members of the household.

States should take measures to ensure that older persons receive age-friendly health care of a quality commensurate with that of other age groups. Examples of improved quality goods, services and facilities for older people would include greater numbers of geriatricians and improved training in geriatrics across all specialties to ensure that needs of older persons are recognised and attended to. There is also a need for improved communication across specialties, including allied health professions such as dentists, pharmacists etc in order to adequately address the treatment needs of older persons with multiple chronic illnesses.

General comment No. 14 notes that the right to health should be understood in broader terms, which include the underlying determinants of health, such as access to water and sanitation, food and nutrition, education and housing. An example of this would be the sub-optimal nutrition of older persons, which is commonly linked to circumstances under which older persons are isolated, immobile and live in poverty. Education is another relevant determinant for the health of older persons. A recent study in the United States of America showed that older persons with limited literacy had a higher risk of death, compared to those with adequate literacy.

International human rights law proscribes discrimination and ensures equality on a number of grounds and for a variety of groups, including older persons. Older persons are further identified by general comment No. 14 as a group especially vulnerable to violations. Treaty bodies, including CESCR, have identified older persons as a vulnerable or marginalized group, one that is potentially more susceptible to discrimination and violence. According to general comment No. 14, it is important to ensure the functionality and autonomy of older persons (E/C.12/2000/4, para. 25). This implies promotion of individual choice with respect to models of care, insofar as this is possible.