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

[At the outset of a large movement of refugees, receiving States, bearing in mind their national capacities and international legal obligations, in cooperation, as appropriate, with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, international organizations and other partners and with the support of other States as requested, in conformity with international obligations, would:] Use the registration process to identify specific assistance needs and protection arrangements, where possible, including but not exclusively for refugees with special protection concerns, such as women at risk, children, especially unaccompanied children and children separated from their families, child-headed and single-parent households, victims of trafficking, victims of trauma and survivors of sexual violence, as well as refugees with disabilities and older persons;

Everyone has the right to special protection in old age. With this in view the States Parties agree to take progressively the necessary steps to make this right a reality and, particularly, to: b. Undertake work programs specifically designed to give the elderly the opportunity to engage in a productive activity suited to their abilities and consistent with their vocations or desires;

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right of elderly persons to social protection, the Parties undertake to adopt or encourage, either directly or in co-operation with public or private organisations, appropriate measures designed in particular: – to enable elderly persons to remain full members of society for as long as possible, by means of: a. adequate resources enabling them to lead a decent life and play an active part in public, social and cultural life; b. provision of information about services and facilities available for elderly persons and their opportunities to make use of them; – to enable elderly persons to choose their life-style freely and to lead independent lives in their familiar surroundings for as long as they wish and are able, by means of: a. provision of housing suited to their needs and their state of health or of adequate support for adapting their housing; b. the health care and the services necessitated by their state; – to guarantee elderly persons living in institutions appropriate support, while respecting their privacy, and participation in decisions concerning living conditions in the institution.

Everyone has the right to special protection in old age. With this in view the States Parties agree to take progressively the necessary steps to make this right a reality and, particularly, to: a. Provide suitable facilities, as well as food and specialized medical care, for elderly individuals who lack them and are unable to provide them for themselves;

Everyone has the right to special protection in old age. With this in view the States Parties agree to take progressively the necessary steps to make this right a reality and, particularly, to: c. Foster the establishment of social organizations aimed at improving the quality of life for the elderly.

[States Parties recognize that persons with disabilities have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of disability. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure access for persons with disabilities to health services that are gender-sensitive, including health-related rehabilitation. In particular, States Parties shall:] (b) Provide those health services needed by persons with disabilities specifically because of their disabilities, including early identification and intervention as appropriate, and services designed to minimize and prevent further disabilities, including among children and older persons;

1. Everyone shall have the right to social security protecting him from the consequences of old age and of disability which prevents him, physically or mentally, from securing the means for a dignified and decent existence. In the event of the death of a beneficiary, social security benefits shall be applied to his dependents.

[2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right, including measures:] (b) To ensure access by persons with disabilities, in particular women and girls with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, to social protection programmes and poverty reduction programmes;

The States Parties undertake to: b) ensure the right of elderly women to freedom from violence, including sexual abuse, discrimination based on age and the right to be treated with dignity.

The States Parties undertake to: a) provide protection to elderly women and take specific measures commensurate with their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to employment and professional training;

[States parties should safeguard the right of rural women and girls to adequate health care, and ensure:] That high-quality health-care services and facilities are physically accessible to and affordable for rural women, including older women, heads of household and women with disabilities (provided free of charge when necessary), culturally acceptable to them and staffed with trained medical personnel. Services should provide: primary health care, including family planning; access to contraception, including emergency contraception, and to safe abortion and high-quality post-abortion care, regardless of whether abortion is legal; prenatal, perinatal, postnatal and obstetric services; HIV prevention and treatment services, including emergency intervention following rape; mental health services; counselling on nutrition, the feeding of infants and young children; mammography and other gynaecological examinations services; the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer; access to essential medicines, including pain relief; and palliative care;

[The Special Rapporteur also recommends that States Members of the African Union:] Establish or strengthen the mechanisms promoting the engagement and participation of local authorities, communities, civil society organizations and the private sector in issues relating to internal displacement; community participation should involve those who are most vulnerable; in particular, potentially vulnerable groups, such as women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, should be fully included in disaster prevention, response planning and implementation to ensure that their specific needs are addressed;

States parties have an obligation to ensure the full development and advancement of women throughout their life cycle in times of both peace and conflict, as well as in the event of any man-made and/or natural disaster. States parties should therefore ensure that all legal provisions, policies and interventions aimed at the full development and advancement of women do not discriminate against older women.

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.

In a report of this length, it is impossible to address all of the important issues, but the Special Rapporteur notes with urgency the present demographic changes leading to a rapidly increasing number of older persons. Society should move beyond seeking simply healthy ageing for its citizens, and begin working towards active and dignified ageing, which should be planned and supported just like any other stage of the individual's life course. Planning for old age implies putting in place diagnostic and prevention services at the primary healthcare level long before ageing sets in. The pursuit of active and dignified ageing for older persons requires re-framing society's concept of ageing to focus on the continued participation of older persons in social, economic, cultural and civic affairs, as well as their continuous contributions to society longer into their lives. The promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons should be of concern to everyone because ageing is a process which everyone will undergo. Older persons are especially vulnerable as a group because of stereotyped perceptions of the group as a "lapsed" segment of society. However, as life expectancy increases and medicine improves, older persons stay active longer than ever before, both in terms of occupational and non-occupational activities. Encouraging older persons to remain physically, politically, socially and economically active for as long as possible will benefit not only the individual, but also the society as a whole.

[The Special Rapporteur calls on States to consider progressively abolishing the administrative detention of migrants. In the meantime, Governments should take measures to ensure respect for the human rights of migrants in the context of detention, including by:] Taking into due consideration the particular vulnerabilities of specific groups of migrants including victims of torture, unaccompanied older migrants, migrants with a mental or physical disability and migrants living with HIV/AIDS. Detention of migrants belonging to vulnerable categories and in need of special assistance should be only allowed as a measure of last resort, and they should be provided with adequate medical and psychological assistance;

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.

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.

[The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Ensure that laws, policies and practices mandate respect for women's autonomy in their decision-making, especially regarding pregnancy, birthing and postnatal care;

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.

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.

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.

Human rights standards relating to working conditions require States to ensure just and favourable conditions of work, including safe and healthy working conditions, reasonably limited working hours and paid annual leave. The right to form and join trade union organizations and engage in collective bargaining must be ensured. Workers must have access to a social security system that provides for the broadest possible coverage (such as health care, sickness compensation, old age pensions and compensation for employment-related injuries).

The rapid ageing of the world population, particularly within developing countries, requires that there be an urgent assessment of the existing policies aimed at protecting older persons. Extreme poverty amongst older persons is a reality in every region of the world today: lack of access to work and income, increased need for health care and dependency within the household are some of the factors that expose older persons to poverty. Unless action is taken, the situation will deteriorate.

State parties must recognize that older women are an important resource to society, and have the obligation to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to eliminate discrimination against older women. States parties should adopt gender-sensitive and age- specific policies and measures, including temporary special measures, in line with article 4, paragraph 1 of the Convention and general recommendations No. 23 (1997) and No. 25 (2004) of the Committee, to ensure that older women participate fully and effectively in the political, social, economic, cultural and civil life, and any other field in their societies.

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.

States parties' obligations should take into account the multidimensional nature of discrimination against women and ensure that the principle of gender equality applies throughout women's life cycle, in legislation and in the practical implementation thereof. In this regard, States parties are urged to repeal or amend existing laws, regulations and customs that discriminate against older women, and ensure that legislation proscribes discrimination on the grounds of age and sex.

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.

[The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Provide adequate nutrition and free services for pregnant and lactating women, as required by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;

The Special Rapporteur encourages the establishment and implementation of institutionalized services and programmes to provide comprehensive support and protection to persons arriving in mixed migratory flows, especially women, children and the elderly, including means to detect those who are in need of international protection. Protection services should include access to humanitarian assistance in the first instance, including adequate food and water, and access to health services, legal advice and effective asylum procedures. Longer term needs should include access to durable solutions in the case of persons in need of international protection and support for return to the community of origin for those people who are deemed able to return with no risk to their human rights.