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;

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;

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

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

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,

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;

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;

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;

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 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;

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;

The Commission recognizes that caregiving work at the household, family and community levels includes the support and care of children, older persons, the sick, persons with disabilities, and caring associated with family kinship and community responsibilities, which is affected by factors such as size of household and number and age of children, with significant differences between developed and developing countries in the availability of infrastructure and services supporting caregiving. The Commission also recognizes that gender inequality and discrimination contribute to the continuing imbalance in the division of labour between women and men and perpetuate stereotypical perceptions of men and women. The Commission further recognizes that changes in demographics in ageing and youthful societies, and in the context of HIV/AIDS, have increased the need for, and scope of, care.

In article 15, paragraph 1 (a) and (b), of the Covenant, States parties recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. In this respect, the Committee urges States parties to take account of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, in particular principle 7: "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: "Older persons should have access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society".

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.

In 1991, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, which, because of their programmatic nature, also constitute an important document in the present context. The Principles are divided into five sections which correlate closely to the rights recognized in the Covenant. The section entitled "Independence" includes access to adequate food, water, shelter, clothing and health care. To these basic rights are added the opportunity for remunerated work and access to education and training. Under "Participation", it is stated that older persons should participate actively in the formulation and implementation of policies that affect their well-being and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations, and should be able to form movements and associations. The section headed "Care" proclaims that older persons should benefit from family care and health care and be able to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms when residing in a shelter, care or treatment facility. With regard to "Self-fulfilment", the Principles state that older persons should be able to pursue opportunities for the full development of their potential through access to the educational, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of their societies. Lastly, the section entitled "Dignity" states that older persons should be able to live in dignity and security and be free of exploitation and physical or mental abuse, should be treated fairly, regardless of age, gender, racial or ethnic background, disability or other status, and should be valued independently of their economic contribution.

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;

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.

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.

In 1993, the Committee devoted a day of general discussion to this issue to assist it in formulating its views. Moreover, it has, at recent sessions, begun to attach substantially more importance to information on the rights of older persons and its questioning has elicited some very valuable information in some instances. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the great majority of States parties' reports continue to make little reference to this important issue. It therefore wishes to indicate that, in future, it will insist that the situation of older persons in relation to each of the rights recognized in the Covenant should be adequately addressed in all reports. The remainder of this General Comment identifies the specific issues which are relevant in this regard.

Side by side with older persons who are in good health and whose financial situation is acceptable, there are many who do not have adequate means of support, even in developed countries, and who feature prominently among the most vulnerable, marginal and unprotected groups. In times of recession and of restructuring of the economy, older persons are particularly at risk. As the Committee has previously stressed (General Comment No. 3 (1990), para. 12), even in times of severe resource constraints, States parties have the duty to protect the vulnerable members of society.

The methods that States parties use to fulfil the obligations they have assumed under the Covenant in respect of older persons will be basically the same as those for the fulfilment of other obligations (see General Comment No. 1 (1989)). They include the need to determine the nature and scope of problems within a State through regular monitoring, the need to adopt properly designed policies and programmes to meet requirements, the need to enact legislation when necessary and to eliminate any discriminatory legislation, and the need to ensure the relevant budget support or, as appropriate, to request international cooperation. In the latter connection, international cooperation in accordance with articles 22 and 23 of the Covenant may be a particularly important way of enabling some developing countries to fulfil their obligations under the Covenant.

In this context, attention may be drawn to Global target No. 1, adopted by the General Assembly in 1992, which calls for the establishment of national support infrastructures to promote policies and programmes on ageing in national and international development plans and programmes. In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the United Nations Principles for Older Persons which Governments were encouraged to incorporate into their national programmes is that older persons should be able to form movements or associations of older persons.

In its decision 26/III of 5 July 2002, the Committee acknowledged that the Convention "is an important tool for addressing the specific issue of the human rights of older women." General recommendation No. 25 on article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention (temporary special measures) also recognizes that age is one of the grounds on which women may suffer multiple forms of discrimination. In particular, the Committee recognized the need for statistical data, disaggregated by age and sex, in order to better assess the situation of older women.

The Committee affirms previous commitments to older women's rights enshrined in, inter alia, the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the United Nations Principles for Older Persons (General Assembly resolution 46/91, annex), the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 6 on the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons (1995), and general comment No. 19 on the right to social security (2008).

This unprecedented demographic ageing, due to improved living standards and basic health-care systems as well as declines in fertility and rising longevity, can be considered a successful outcome of development efforts and one that is set to continue, making the twenty-first century, the century of ageing. However, such demographic changes have profound human rights implications and increase the urgency of addressing the discrimination experienced by older women in a more comprehensive and systematic manner through the Convention.

The issue of ageing is shared by both developed and developing countries. The proportion of older persons in less developed countries is expected to increase from 8 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent by 2050, while the proportion of children will decrease from 29 to 20 per cent. The number of older women living in less developed regions will increase by 600 million within the period 2010 to 2050. This demographic shift presents major challenges for developing countries. The ageing of society is a well-established trend and a significant feature in most developed countries.

With regard to the realization of the right to health of older persons, the Committee, in accordance with paragraphs 34 and 35 of General Comment No. 6 (1995), reaffirms the importance of an integrated approach, combining elements of preventive, curative and rehabilitative health treatment. Such measures should be based on periodical check-ups for both sexes; physical as well as psychological rehabilitative measures aimed at maintaining the functionality and autonomy of older persons; and attention and care for chronically and terminally ill persons, sparing them avoidable pain and enabling them to die with dignity.