07/04/2021
Dave Omokaro Foundation 's Statement on Way Forward at 11th Session of United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing
The Dave Omokaro Foundation’s oral statement to the 11th Open-ended Working Group on Ageing for the purpose of strengthening the protection of the human rights of older persons, 29th March – 1st April 2021
Item7. Other Matters: Discussion on the way forward, Thursday 1st April
Chair of UN OEWGA, Amb. Maria Del Carmen Squeff,
The Dave Omokaro Foundation commends you, the bureau, panel of experts and, the secretariat for the continuing efforts to increase body of knowledge on multi-sectoral and intersecting substantive and normative aspects of ageing, where the protection of rights of older persons need to be strengthened
Numerous expert panelists, two independent experts, National Human Rights Institutions, Civil Society Organizations and, older persons have shared their lived experiences and submitted researched papers. The global Report on ageism and outcome documents from regional high level inter-sessional meetings preparatory to four open-Ended working group meetings held in Australia, Chile, Mexico, have also been submitted, the latest being, the African regional high level conference hosted by Nigeria and the Stakeholder Group on Ageing Africa in collaboration with ECOWAS Parliament.
After ten years, the submissions affirm and, we all seem to agree that the experiences of older persons and the particular context of old age is still not sufficiently addressed from a human rights perspective.
Moving forward the OEWGA mandate, the question seems to be; can existing legal instruments be sufficiently strengthened to protect older persons?
The impact of COVID-19 on older persons has abundantly revealed that existing international human rights instruments remain grossly inadequate with no explicit guarantees of equality and non-discrimination on the basis of age. The pandemic has played out in glaring undeniable terms, the consequences of a united global sluggishness to defend the intrinsic, inherent and inalienable Rights of older persons to life.
The pandemic has highlighted the need for international standards and a global coherence to an otherwise fragmented, uneven and incomplete landscape of legal norms related to the human rights of older persons
• What more is left to know?
• What more evidence is left to see?
Moving forward, we strongly advocate a response to the call by the UN Secretary General, on the Working Group to present to the General Assembly at the earliest possible date, a proposal containing the main elements that should be included in an internationally binding instruments to promote and protect the rights and dignity of older persons.” The policy brief was endorsed by 146 member states and also reinforced on the floor by some member states.
We therefore support, the creation of a sub-group of the Working Group, whether a formal Advisory Committee or Informal Task Group, that would include experts from Member States, CSOs, NHRIs and the Independent Expert, to start drafting the main elements of an international instrument and so support the OEWG to fulfill its mandate
Thank you
