The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland, Siobhan Casey, and the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Rhian Bowen-Davies, have issued a joint statement ahead of upcoming United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Working Group on the human rights of Older Persons1, which will include a focus on establishing a new Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, a key mechanism for protecting and promoting older people’s rights:
“Our rights play a vital role in ensuring we are treated fairly and with dignity, and in protecting our freedom, liberty and privacy.
“Our rights do not diminish as we age, yet many older people across Wales and Northern Ireland have told us it often feels like this is the case.
“Action to ensure that older people’s rights are visible, protected and embedded across public services is therefore critical.
“It is important to recognise the progress made by UN Member States, national human rights institutions and civil society organisations in advancing older people’s rights, which we must now build upon at pace to make rights real in people’s everyday lives.
“A key mechanism for achieving this would through establishing a new UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, something we both strongly support.
“Introducing a Convention would help to provide a clearer, more accessible interpretation of human rights in the context of older people’s experiences, providing a more robust framework against which to address specific rights-related issues experienced by older people.
“A Convention would also create duties for governments and public bodies which would help to ensure a greater focus on older people and their needs during decision-making processes, as well as greater accountability through improved reporting and data capture.
“In addition, a Convention would create a renewed focus on older people’s rights amongst policy- and decision-makers and provide opportunities to consider a wide range of policies and practice from a fresh perspective, using the Convention as a way of facilitating change.
“And importantly, protecting and promoting older people’s rights through a Convention built around clear, relatable and accessible language, would help older people see how human rights apply to their everyday experiences, relationships and interactions with public services. This will help to empower older people to understand, recognise, advocate for and exercise their rights with greater confidence.
“The aspirations of many older people across our two nations are remarkably similar: to be valued, heard and treated with dignity. A new Convention offers a unique opportunity to ensure these aspirations are supported by clear rights and legal protections for generations to come.
“So as momentum continues to build, we look forward to working constructively with international partners during the upcoming session in October and beyond to support the next steps towards strengthening the human rights of older people worldwide.”
Siobhan Casey Rhian Bowen-Davies
Commissioner for Older People Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
for Northern Ireland
