SUMMARY: NGO Committee on Ageing
General Meeting: November 3, 2011 Download PDF

Speakers: 

Susanne Paul, Executive Director, Global Action on Aging
Robert Venne, Social Policy Officer, UN/DESA Programme on Ageing

Discussion on 3rd Open-ended Workgroup on Ageing, August 2012

Many similarities between 1st and 2nd open-ended workgroups:

• Focused on issues and gaps in protection systems
• Normative gaps in the Vienna and Madrid plans
• NGOs went further to call for human rights convention for older persons
• Currently there are multiple discrimination dimensions recognized but older persons not mentioned specifically -they refer instead to all human beings.
• Need explicit mechanisms to measure progress:
  • Strengthen data collection
  • Call for national monitoring mechanisms
  • Better implementation of Madrid Plan

2nd session focused on protection from abuse, financial security, health, social security and social inclusion. 

• Discussed situations on a national level: 
  • typically no explicit legislation
  • lacks comprehensive legislation
  • implementation is also an issue
• Split of delegations: some think international standards are okay, but implementation is flawed. Others argue there are normative gaps and call for human rights instrument, or independent expertor Special Rapporteur. Some prefer to implement existing laws.

Current resolution, but not yet adopted. Issues involve gender and disabilities: Already incorporating some of the recommendations from the workgroup (i.e. consider older persons in reports to UN).

June 15th: International Awareness for Elder Abuse

Next report: Secretary-General report on older person in social development

Updates on human rights committee:

• First meeting was 10/19, good turn out
• Regional meetings will be held to review MIPPA (how countries should prepare for the review). 
  • First meeting in Africa which is a training for governments (NGOs not allowed)
  • Other meetings NGOs will be able to attend in Vienna and Beijing.

Next steps to be determined: reach out to NGOs in NY with constituencies in other countries. Members are encouraged to talk to their countrys representatives. 

NGO Committee on Aging calls for resources and development:

• Implementation of MIPPA: lacks resources and mechanisms
  • Include this issue in discussion with missions
  • Civil Society Forum: NGOs attend to lobby for reports and new data
• Currently NGO Committee on Aging has conducted more than 20 mission visits
• Members encouraged to write to Assistant Secretary for Aging, Kathy Greenlee
  • Email will be sent to Committee on Aging members with Kathy Greenlees contact info and information on what to write
• How to work towards convention? 
  • Focus on rights, identify where rights violations occur during review of MIPPA
  • High Commissions Report to summarize older persons rights
  • UNFPA Joint report: currently collecting information. Report due October, 2012 on the State of the World's Older Persons will focus on rights.