Why we need a convention for older persons

Age discrimination and ageism are tolerated across the world, and older people experience discrimination and the violation of their rights at family, community and institutional levels.
At the same time unprecedented demographic ageing means that the number of people who are likely to experience age discrimination and violation of their rights in old age will increase.
Despite the fact that international human rights laws apply to people of all ages, specific reference to older people is rare. As a result, older people’s rights are not being protected sufficiently by human rights monitoring mechanisms, governments, the human rights community and civil society.
What would a convention do to change this? The Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons give detailed answers. Read more