The UN International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), celebrated annually on October 1st, is an occasion to highlight the participation of older persons in society and raise awareness of the human rights-based approach required for ageing in today’s world IDOP 2025 takes place at a significant moment in the global effort to advance the human rights of older persons. On 3 April 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution establishing an intergovernmental working group mandated to elaborate a legally binding international instrument on the human rights of older persons. This development follows over a decade of intergovernmental discussions and sustained advocacy by civil society and UN actors. The 2025 IDOP will highlight the rationale for a legally binding instrument and the roles and responsibilities of each actor in supporting the process to a Convention that reflects the realities of older persons across the world today and generations to come.
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Mr. Alejandro BONILLA GARCIA. Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing (Geneva) & IFA Representative to the United Nations
CHAIR
Ms. Silvia PEREL-LEVIN, Vice-Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing (Geneva), representative of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and the International Longevity Centre Global Alliance
MODERATOR
H.E. Ms. Anita PIPAN. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Office at Geneva
(SPECIAL INTERVENTION)
Ms. Ilze Brands, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights United Nations.
Mr. Tomas LAMANAUSKAS, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU
Ms. Chitralekha Marie MASSEY, Chief, The Rights of Older Persons, Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch
OHCHR
Mr. Tim DE MEYER, Senior adviser on labour standards policy, ILO
Ms. Ina VOELCKER, Co-Chair, Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP), Head of International Policy, BAGSO (German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organizations)
Mr. Gregor SNEDDON, Secretary General, International Federation on Ageing
Ms. Anna CHABIERA, Expert, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of Poland, Vice-Chair of the GANHRI Working Group on Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons.
Mr. Michael STEIN, Executive Director, Harvard Law School Project on Disability.
Mr. Zvezdan PIRTOŠEK, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana
Mr. Mohammad SHEHADAT, Refugee youth activist, Kofi Annan Changemaker Youth For Peace
Mr. Maciej KUCHARCZYK, Secretary General, AGE Platform Europe
H.E. Carlos Mario FORADORI, Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva
H.E. Mr. Cherno MARENAH, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Deputy Permanent Representative. The Gambia
Ms. Anna Biondi, SPI-CGIL (Sindacato Pensionati Italiani)
(SPECIAL INTERVENTION)
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