Older Persons, the Silent Revolution

Foto Nukamari, Flickr

In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are 57 million older persons, which is 10% of the total population. In 40 years, this number will more than triple to 186 million, which will represent a quarter of the region’s inhabitants.

According to the United Nations, this is a silent revolution that, because of the unprecedented rate of change and the context of inequality that forms the backdrop, will have serious consequences for development, public policy and human rights.

Studies carried out by the ECLAC Population Division – CELADE conclude that there is now a bewildering range of material on the rights of older persons in international human rights legislation, and this leads to ambiguities how their rights are recognized, promoted and protected by States, international bodies and civil society. 

In response, several of the region’s countries are proposing to extend the protection and enforcement of the rights of this group by means of a legally binding treaty, as has happened with women, children and the disabled.

According to them, a convention is needed to give top priority to older persons and clarify the human rights principles that should steer development programmes, policies and laws in the context of demographic change.

Over the past 20 years, the concern of the international community for the situation of older persons has been gradually reflected in the adoption of specific regional and international policies. These initiatives have made an impact on the responsibility of States, and have influenced the way in which ageing issues are approached.

From the United Nations Principles for Older Persons in 1991 onwards, several of the region’s countries began to legislate on the rights of this social group.  Later, this process was stepped up with the International Year of Older Persons in 1999 and the Second World Assembly on Ageing in 2002.

In 2003, we saw the Regional Strategy for the Implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, and in 2007 there was the Brasilia Declaration.

At present, 13 Latin American countries have laws protecting the rights of older persons: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and at least three more are working on it.

This process of producing rules, as well as the case law from several Latin American States, points to the emergence of a new understanding and consensus around the rights of older people.

In this context, ECLAC has made a huge contribution to the consideration of the issues of older persons as human rights matters.

According to Article 26 of the Brasilia Declaration adopted at the Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized with the Government of Brazil in 2007, delegates undertook to drive forward the drafting of a convention on the human rights of older people under the aegis of the United Nations.

To date, there have been three follow-up meetings to the Brasilia Declaration with the technical support of ECLAC: in Brazil (2008) and Argentina and Chile (2009). In 2010, the issue was debated at various national and subregional seminars, particularly in the context of the expanded MERCOSUR and Central America.

In the final quarter of 2010, two major international events heralded a new era in the treatment of old age and ageing. On 19 October, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted Recommendation No. 27 on older women and their human rights. One month later, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly approved the creation of a working group on the rights of older people.

According to Dirk Jaspers, Director of CELADE, “both events are fundamental for making progress with the commitments of the Brasilia Declaration. The first highlights the need to mainstream the generational perspective in the analysis of women’s situations throughout the life cycle.  The second is an honourable achievement, as it was spearheaded from within Latin America and the Caribbean (the remit of ECLAC)”. 

The working group, which was promoted by Latin America with the support of the Group of 77 and China, will look at the international legal framework surrounding the rights of older people to determine possible shortcomings and solutions.

More information:

Regional follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing