What the United Nations should be about our ageing world. (Opinion).

The UN Second World Assembly on Ageing concluded on 12 April 2002 as we go to press, with the adoption of an International Plan of Action, containing over 120 recommendations, and an accompanying Political Declaration. Both stress the "crucial" importance of incorporating ageing issues into all development plans, and focus on three main priorities: older persons and development; advancing health and well-being into old age; and ensuring enabling and supportive environments.

Addressing Exclusion and Denial of Equal Rights

By Pamela Mboya

Rapid population ageing in the developing world presents a special challenge to the United Nations and the international community. Older people in resource-poor countries have the same rights as other sectors of the population, yet violation of their rights due to chronic poverty still has to be addressed. All UN Member States need to make a commitment to address population ageing and its consequences, in the same spirit that they have acted to promote the rights of the child and protection of the environment.

As the world ages, poverty and isolation of those who live into older age frequently undermine the benefits of a long life. Population ageing is a critical issue in the twenty-first century. It is imperative that the implications of global population ageing for poverty reduction and for development be acknowledged and acted upon.

Due attention needs to be paid to the different situations faced by older people in the developing and developed world, as well as countries in transition. Although population ageing has become a well-publicized phenomenon in the industrialized nations of Europe and North America, by 2050 the largest number of older people will be in developing countries. In the period July 1999-July 2000 alone, 77 per cent of the world's net increase in the numbers of older people occurred in developing countries [Kinsella, K. & Velkoff, V.A., US Census Bureau, An Aging World: 2001]. The older population in Africa, estimated to be just above 38 million, will shoot to 212 million in 2050, according to the United Nations Population Division. Furthermore, the rate of population ageing is most rapid in countries least equipped to deal with its impacts. Populations are already relatively old, and recent State collapse and the transition to a capitalist society have left older people particularly vulnerable without the State suppo rt and safety net mechanisms.

As a member of the Board of HelpAge International, I have seen first-hand how poverty has profound and long-term impact on older people. The capacity of people to meet their basic needs is increasingly compromised by age. Many older people lack the most basic requirements--food, water, shelter and health care--and are chronically poor. In preparation for the Second World Assembly on Ageing, we consulted with older people in a range of developing and transition countries. These consultations show the severity of poverty in old age [HelpAge International, State of the world's older people 2002]. For example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, older people reported that "food is our most pressing need", while in Indonesia an older woman said "the good life is when I can find food". Consultations in many countries of Africa produced the same results.

Adequate, safe and secure shelter is also beyond the reach of many older people, particularly the increasing numbers living alone. In Kenya, it was noted that "it is easy to identify the house of an older person since it is often dilapidated and of poor quality". In Moldova, older people living in a rural area reported that the State-run water supply system had fallen into disrepair, and that they were physically unable to use the wells that provided water locally. In the drive to understand and tackle poverty, which now dominates development thinking and action, the experience by large numbers of older people in developing countries has been a persistent blind spot.

Development analysts and policy makers have largely excluded older people from poverty debates, regarding them as economically unproductive. This undermines poverty alleviation strategies by failing to recognize older people's actual and potential contributions to the well-being and survival of families and communities, especially the tremendous task older people are assuming in caring for people living with HIV/AIDS and their orphaned grandchildren. It also represents a failure to give equal status to their basic human rights. The Millennium Development Goals for global poverty reduction cannot be achieved unless older people's poverty and access to health, social security and basic needs are addressed as a component of comprehensive and inclusive poverty reduction strategies and interventions. The challenge is to incorporate their needs and contributions into mainstream development agendas and interventions.

The United Nations and associated bodies, therefore, need to make equal commitment to confront the implications of population ageing. Sufficient resources need to be allocated and links made with the range of existing UN agreements, in particular the Millennium Development Goals, and rightsbased approaches to development. One way in which such a commitment can be consolidated is to ensure that action on ageing is backed by fully mandated, resourced and supported programmes implemented by Member States.

The United Nations itself should raise the profile of ageing issues within the UN system and the broader development agenda, and monitor the implementation of the International Strategy for Action on Ageing (ISAA). Similarly, the UN Development Programme should be mandated to include issues of population ageing and older people within their remit in overseeing that commitments to international declarations are followed and put into practice. Greater resources should also be provided for technical assistance to Governments and international and national development agencies. The United Nations needs to promote the inclusion of older people in development policies and interventions, and in the work of social and economic research institutions.

To address this diversity of issues and needs, regional UN bodies should be mandated to oversee and direct the implementation of the ISAA in their particular socioeconomic and demographic context. The African Union has taken a lead in this regard through the drafting and approval of a policy framework and plan of action on ageing for Africa. This underscores the importance of the family and State working together to support older people, addresses issues of chronic poverty, promotes older people's rights and recognizes the importance of involving today's and tomorrow's generations of older people in building a society for all ages.

Pamela Mboya is Chairman of HelpAge Kenya and a Member of the Board of HelpAge International, a global network of not-for-profit organizations, with a mission to work with and for disadvantaged older people worldwide to achieve a lasting improvement in the quality of their lives.

'The United Nations (is) Still Rather Timid'

By Dirk Jarre

The United Nations General Assembly resolution, which endorsed the idea of a revision of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted in 1982 in Vienna, does not only comprise the decision to hold the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002 in Madrid, Spain, but also stipulates that the revision and ensuing implementation processes should give particular attention to "appropriate forms of public/private partnership, including with non-governmental organizations, at all levels, for building societies for all ages". It is, in fact, a common view that NGOs strongly reflect living conditions, concerns, needs and expectations of people in our societies. On the other hand, it is evident that they play a key role in addressing societal problems and improving living conditions in such a way that all people can feel respected, can fully enjoy their rights and participate as citizens in the development of the community. Thus, NGOs are considered as critical opposite numbers, as well as natural partners of Government, in terms of policy orientation and action. A plan of action on ageing, with the objective of building a society for all ages, is inconceivable without the close involvement of civil society organizations and in particular NGOs, be they membership associations of older persons or organizations defending their rights, providing services for them or working for the well-being of society at large.

The United Nations and particularly the Member States are still rather timid, to put it mildly, in considering NGOs as important partners in the process of revision of the International Plan of Action, by giving them an adequate position and say in the debates and negotiations. They, therefore, miss the chance to hear more directly the voice of the citizen through civil society organizations, which express the concerns, hopes, fears and capacities of people.

But even if the United Nations is not yet ready at the global level to fully live up to citizens' expectations through new ways and means of modern transparent and participatory governance, there is hope and encouraging development at the regional level. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations, covering more or less the whole Northern hemisphere with some 55 Member States, including Canada and the United States, has decided to be the first UN Commission to work on a regional implementation strategy for the International Plan of Action on Ageing. And the UNECE has always taken very seriously the recommendation "to give particular attention to appropriate forms of public/private partnership, including with non-governmental organizations, at all levels, for building societies for all ages". Recognizing this, the UNECE has invited NGO representatives to participate in a significant way in all stages of the preparation process and has offered them e xemplary conditions of representation.

NGOs have warmly welcomed these arrangements, which will allow them to make significant contributions to the Regional Implementation Strategy. To do so, they have organized themselves accordingly by putting into place appropriate mechanisms of internal consultation, the final output of which will lead to a consolidated position paper to be introduced into the governmental negotiations.

But this will not be the end of the process. First of all, NGOs obviously will normally be closely associated to or be partners in the concrete national and local implementation activities to make the Plan of Action become a reality for the people and society at large. In addition to playing an important role in the various areas of their specific responsibilities, NGOs will, in particular, feel that it is their task to monitor and evaluate government performances and failures in policies or action, and they will, consequently, create public awareness of what has still to be done.

Finally, it is also important that NGOs be partners in the envisaged further process of the promotion of the Regional Implementation Strategy through regional cooperation. Their positions have to be an integral part of the negotiations on the objectives, content and forms of the monitoring and evaluation at the regional level.

The NGO contributions, in terms of provision of information and findings, will be indispensable; thus, they have to be closely involved in the definition of indicators, as well as in the reporting and assessment processes, to monitor achievements or failures not only at the national but also at the regional level. NGOs in the UNECE region are fully aware of their key role and various responsibilities in regard to the revised International Plan of Action on Ageing, and in particular the Regional Implementation Strategy, and they are committed to giving their best to promote the long-term success of both.

The United Nations as a whole should recognize this forward-looking arrangement of cooperation with NGOs as an important "best practice' example to be copied, adapted and implemented in other regions, as well as at the global level, as part of the concept of the new governance strategy, as this would be in their own best interest.

Dirk Jarre is head of the International department of the German Association for Public and Private Welfare and the Secretary General of the German National Committee of the international Council on Social Welfare.

A convention to Project Their Rights?

By Danielle Bridel

A wealth of oral and written information on ageing, as well as suggestions and recommendations on how best to adjust to a greying world, have come forward since the preparations for the First World Assembly on Ageing, which took place in Vienna in 1982.

The United Nations has grappled with demographic changes in the world over the past decades, not least in its 1982 International Plan on Ageing, containing relevant considerations concerning the elderly on matters of health and nutrition, consumer protection, housing and the environment, family, social welfare, income security, employment and, most importantly, life-long education. Less than ten years later, on 16 December 1991, the UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, on independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity. It also decided to observe 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons.

Despite such efforts, many older persons in the world are marginalized and seen as a burden to society, and especially so for the working population. Their reaction is withdrawal from the community and isolation.

What more can the United Nations do to improve the situation of this growing segment of the population?

The 2002 International Plan of Action on Ageing "calls for changes in attitudes, policies and practices at all levels in all sectors, so that the enormous potential of ageing in the twenty-first century may be fulfilled". Despite these beautiful and brave words, it is difficult to foretell, after two Preparatory Committees, if the new Action Plan will be better implemented than its predecessor.

In the run-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing, scheduled in Madrid in April 2002, some of the UN specialized agencies have made strenuous and constructive efforts to enrich the debate. Two examples of these valid contributions are the position paper of the World Health Organization, based on a discussion paper debated at many consultations, and the report of the International Labour Organization, "An inclusive society for an ageing population: the employment and social protection challenge".

Many NGOs believe in a rights-based approach to ageing, where older persons are considered full and equal citizens enjoying full and equal rights. An attempt in this direction was made by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its General Comment No. 6, adopted in 1995.

Noting that the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights does not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, the Committee says that States parties to the Covenant are obliged to pay particular attention to promoting and protecting the economic, social and cultural rights of older persons. At the same time, it also gives an indication of how the various rights contained in the Covenant should be applied to older persons. If I were to summarize the rationale of General Comment No. 6, 1 would say it showed how ageing could be mainstreamed in the implementation of an international instrument.

With regard to "equal rights of men and women", the Committee stresses that States parties should pay particular attention to older women, because they spent all or part of their lives caring for their families without engaging in a remunerated activity, which would have entitled them to an old-age pension.

In addressing work-related rights, the Committee notes the need for measures to prevent discrimination based on age in employment and occupation, to ensure safe working conditions for older workers and to implement programmes to prepare them for retirement.

Article 9 of the Covenant, which recognizes the rights of everyone to social security, is particularly important for older persons. The Committee specifies that States parties should, within the limits of available resources, provide non-contributory old-age benefits and other assistance for all older persons who are not entitled to old-age pension or other social security benefit or assistance, and who have no other sources of income to protect the family. In conformity with the Covenant, Governments and non-governmental actors need to establish social services to support families who have older persons living in their homes.

For older persons, the right to an adequate standard of living would mean access to adequate food, water, shelter and clothing, as well as assistance for restoration, development and improvement, and adaptation of their homes.

They should have the right to the enjoyment of a satisfactory standard of physical and mental health in which they may have invested during their entire life span. Prevention, as well as rehabilitation, play an important role.

The last General Comment of the Committee relates to the right to education and culture. For older persons, this right may be realized through the availability of educational programmes and through opportunities to make their know-how and experience available to younger generations. The media and educational institutions could and should help to overcome negative stereotyped images of older persons.

Comparing the Committee's Comments with requests for the recognition of all the rights involved, it would appear that these Comments might not have had the aimed-for impact on national legislations. In any case, they do not address older persons' civil and political rights.

There have been some proposals to mainstream the rights of older persons in the reports of the Special Rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights. Since these reports already integrate the gender perspective in their different domains, such a solution might be welcome and acceptable, but I would only see it as an interim measure.

In the long term, it might be more advisable for the United Nations to envisage a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, following in the footsteps of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child and on Migrant Workers. Such a convention could be based on the Comments referred to above as far as the economic, social and cultural rights are concerned, and be complemented by a section on the civil and political rights of older persons. Evidently, a monitoring committee would have to be established to oversee the application of this proposed convention. I am fully aware that such a proposal would not be met with much enthusiasm at the political level, since Governments believe that there already exists a complete legal human rights structure. However, as an NGO representative, I dare submit it even if, at the present time, it may well be a dream or Utopia.

Danielle Bridel is Chair of the Committee on Ageing (Geneva) and has worked during her entire career with the Government for the Swiss Social Security. She has also been a representative of Zonta International at the United Nations In Geneva since 1982.

Resources, not burdens

By Helen Hamlin

The growth of the elderly population presents one of the most challenging demographic trends of the twenty-first century. The number of persons aged 60 and over will have risen from 200 million in 1950 to 1.2 billion by 2025, a sixfold increase, which will raise the proportion from 8 to 14 percent. In the developing world, there will be more people over 60 than under age 14 by 2050. This population explosion will have a dramatic and unprecedented impact on our economic, social and political lives. Because the implications of global population ageing are enormous, it is incumbent upon the United Nations and its specialized agencies to take a leading role in promoting policies and programmes addressing issues about ageing.

The United Nations Principles for Older Persons, approved by the General Assembly in 1991 provide a blueprint on how older persons should be regarded in their societies. Indeed, the Principles are applicable to persons ages, a concept that assumes greater resonance if we subscribe to the fact that/ageing is a lifelong process. Understanding and taking seriously the demographic data produced by the United Nations and other eminent authorities must inevitably lead to raising awareness s of the significant nature of the longevity revolution we/are experiencing. It is telling that we had to wait twenty years to have a Second World Assembly on Ageing and that in the development of Agenda 21, the huge population of older persons, already evident in was not considered a major group and not worthy of mention as such. Ageing concerns can no longer be seen as an add-on to the roster of great issues that form the basis of world summits and conferences, which have preoccupied the United Nations over the last dozen years.

The Second World Assembly has offered a new and exciting opportunity to bring the issue to the forefront of international concern and action, at a time when the world must address this tremendous growth in the number of older persons. The opportunities and challenges inherent in these population changes range from the social to the environmental to the financial. Many nations have been slow to accept the reality of these changes, and public policy developers can no longer deny the significant impact of the great population shifts, which we know will continue to mount. All UN Member States, whether in the developing or developed world, can no longer put off paying close attention to the cross-cutting nature of a growing older population.

How can the objective of acknowledging ageing issues and considering the impact of the ageing of the population be met? How can the objective of public policies that support and encourage older persons be assured?

To begin with, older persons must be seen as resources, not as burdens, in their societies. There are certain essentials needed by older persons, as well as by people of all ages, to enable a minimum quality of life, such as adequate income and employment opportunities, including retraining, second careers and recognition of the value of unpaid and paid work; accessible health and social services and shelter; and full partnership in society including participation in decision-making processes. These elements should be markers in developing action plans. Public policy planning should create an environment for the full implementation of programmes and policies to meet older persons' needs to assure their contribution to sustained economic growth and social development. Further, public policy development and programme implementation are based on experience and research. Therefore, the United Nations has an important role in promoting, supporting and utilizing research on ageing to ensure that policy development reflects the needs and concerns of older persons. In this way, the various aspects of life in the older years are addressed, both for those who continue to be active and productive, and for those whose advancing age presents certain problems.

To meet these objectives, non-governmental organizations and other civil societies look to the United Nations for leadership, understanding and effective action in addressing the issues of ageing. The implementation of action plans is critical to any public policy agenda, and we expect the United Nations to work towards building a society not only for older persons but also for people of all ages. Implementation for the public good and quality of life, as embodied in the UN Principles for Older Persons would truly place people at the centre of society and fulfil the promise of full integration and social protection committed to at the World Summit for Social Development.

NGOs and civil society want to assist the United Nations in this important task by working together to enable careful and sensitive implementation. We tread an entwined path toward these ends, but we hope to forge partnerships, which can be meaningful, substantive and sustainable, to accomplish our common goals and objectives.

Helen R. Hamlin has represented the International Federation on Ageing at the United Nations since December 1991 and has been Chair of the NGO Committee on Aging since 1997. She is a Fellow of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College, City University of New York, United States.