At the start of the month, we reported from the Working Group on Ageing. Here is a follow up report from our UN Representative in New York, Carol Themm.

Throughout
the four days of the working group on ageing, the focus kept returning to the
legal gaps which exist in all governments around the world. Civil
Society Representatives and some governments, mostly in Latin America and a few from Africa, pressed for a New
Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. Overall, very few Asian and African
governments were present to give an opinion but hopefully they will be more broadly represented in the future.

The
possibility of having a Special Rapporteur was also presented as a substitute
for a Convention with the idea that the SP would be able to press for changes
in existing Human Rights Conventions to more explicitly address the issues
facing older people.

Soroptimist
International was able to present a statement along with other NGOs. Click here to read it. There were
no convincing conclusions on the last day but a great deal of looking forward
to the next Open-Ended working Group meeting in January. At the next meeting,
heads of states will attend and be able make firm decisions.

Because many governments have either not
implemented human rights legislation or do not have anything specifically on
older persons, the Civil Society and NGO community will be pushing hard and
meeting with governments that are undecided in the interim. More information can
be found here: http://social.un.org/ageing-working-group/