A/RES/54/24 Page 2 Taking note of the 1998 revision of the official United Nations population estimates and projections, which show that, with the continuation of the decline in fertility and the increase in life expectancy, the population of the world will age much faster in the next half-century than previously, Also taking note that these population estimates and projections provide, for the first time, detailed information on the oldest of the old, which shows that the proportion of those who are eighty years of age or older will increase in all countries of the world, and illustrates two phenomena: the older the age group, the faster it grows, and the higher the proportion of older women, Reaffirming the need to integrate a gender perspective in ageing policies, Conscious that the ageing of the world’s population represents a far-reaching challenge to Governments as well as other relevant sectors of society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to ensure that the needs of older persons, including their human resource potential to society, are adequately recognized and addressed, Aware that a revolutionary change in the demographic structure of societies, as well as the rapidity of ageing of populations in developing countries, require a fundamental change in the way in which societies cope with those challenges, Conscious that discrimination and stereotyping of older persons constitute and lead to violations of their human rights, /...