As recognized in the 14th session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, older people face unique human rights challenges and contribute immeasurably to all societies. By 2050, one in six will be older, highlighting the urgency to embrace and protect our aging global population with dignity and respect.
Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Do not just challenge ageism consciously until you get it right;
confront it until unconsciously you cannot get it wrong!
The NGO Committees in Vienna, Geneva, and New York organized complementary commemorations for the United Nations International Day of Older Persons – UNIDOP. The recordings are now available.
Agency&Dignity OHCHR Rights of Older Persons Newsletter – Click here
United Nations Network on Ageing Newsletter – Click here
Our sister NGOs
In Focus
Multi-stakeholder meeting on the human rights of older persons
In its resolution 48/3, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human to convene a multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss the report of the High Commissioner on the normative standards and obligations under international law in relation to the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons.
The Multi-stakeholder meeting on the human rights of older persons was held on 29-30 August 2022. Read more..
First substantive resolution on the human rights of older persons with a focus on ageism and age discrimination was adopted by consensus by Members States at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council.
The text of the resolution HRC/48/3 can be found in the six UN official languages here.
Letter to the Executive Director of UN WOMEN from the NGO Committees on Ageing
Dear Under-Secretary General and Executive Director Bahous,
We would like to express our congratulations and best wishes on your new appointment as Executive Director of UN Women.
We appreciate your letter to civil society, recognizing and acknowledging the critical role it plays in supporting gender equality and the important work of UN Women. We, in turn, appreciate your continued commitment to collaborating with civil society in our common endeavours. We are, at the same time, extremely concerned that you have omitted to specifically mention older women and we call your urgent attention to the issues we are raising below.
UN75: Shaping our Future Together
Listening to people’s priorities and expectations of international cooperation
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres saw the UN’ 75th anniversary as an opportunity for the Organisation to listen directly to the people it serves. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the world faced a growing list of global challenges: from tsahe climate crisis and environmental degradation to nuclear weapons, deepening inequalities, rapid changes in our populations, the transformative impact of new technologies and new forms and patterns of violence.
In January 2020, the UN launched a yearlong, global initiative to listen to people’s priorities and expectations of international cooperation. Through surveys and dialogues, more than 1.5 million people from all walks of life shared their hopes and fears for the future, and discussed how all actors, including the UN, can innovate and work together to better to address the global challenges we face. Read More…
The Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older people- Ms. Claudia Mahler
Ms. Claudia Mahler (Austria) has been working for the German Institute for Human Rights as a senior researcher in the field of economic, social and cultural rights since 2010. She is also a visiting professor at the Alice Salomon Hochschule. From 2001 to 2009, Ms. Mahler conducted research at the Human Rights Centre of the University of Potsdam where her main fields were in human rights education, minority rights and the law of asylum. In 2000, she was appointed as Vice President of the Human Rights Commission for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. She has also worked as a lecturer in the field of human rights law and as a consultant to OHCHR in Geneva. From 1997-2001, she held the position of an assistant at the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck, Austria in the field of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedures. Ms. Mahler received her doctoral degree in 2000. Read more…
The Open-ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG)
The OEWG is a UN working group that meets in New York. It was established by a resolution at the 2010 General Assembly. Read the resolution A/RES/65/182. Since the establishment of this working group, every year a session has been held. Read more…
Events/News
-
Older Persons as Active Agents in a Changing Climate
United Nations International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) 2022 “Older Persons as Active Agents in a Changing Climate” 30 September 2022, 13:00-14:30 CEST, WebEx Event, United Nations, Geneva Watch...
-
Multi-stakeholder meeting on the human rights of older persons
Date: 29-30 August 2022 Hybrid, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland Register here.. In its resolution 48/3, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissione...
-
Invitation | A Colloquium towards Mobilizing Action and Driving Engagement | The Role of Civil Society in the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing
Online on Zoom Date and Time: Thursday, 14 July 2022, 9:00am – 1:00pm (Eastern Standard Time) The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) is a global collaboration, aligned with t...
-
Sign an Open Letter on the Rights of Older Persons
We would like to invite you as civil society organisations to sign an Open Letter on the Rights of Older Persons urging UN member states to take action and commence the drafting of […]
-
Human rights in older age: Towards the elimination of ageism and age discrimination
Tuesday 21 September 2021 14:00-15:15 CEST
-
Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons
Monday 20 September 2021 at 10:00 am CEST The Dialogue will be webcast live on https://media.un.org/en/webtv/ Find all reports by the Independent Expert here: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues...
-
HLPF 2021: COVID-19 Pandemic: A Stress Test of Global Ageing
TUESDAY, 6 JULY 2021 19:00 PM – 20:30 PM CEST VIRTUAL The session can be watched live on un web tv https://media.un.org/en/webtv Older Persons have been among the first and hardest […]
-
HLPF 2021: Ensuring that no one is left behind
TUESDAY, 6 JULY 2021 18:00 PM – 19:00 PM CEST HYBRID The session can be watched live on un web tv https://media.un.org/en/webtv When Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable [&h...
-
Interactive civil society dialogue with WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
“Strengthening connections across sectors: Building partnerships for healthy ageing in and beyond the COVID-19 era” Wednesday 16 June 15:00-16:30 Geneva time. Organized by a consortium of civil soc...