Aiming to strengthen the rights of older persons by means of a new convention, negotiations begin

The new human rights convention aims to fill gaps in international law related to the autonomy and age discrimination of older persons. The convention would better highlight the rights of older persons in national and international decision-making and promote the realisation of their rights.

The negotiations on the convention have been preceded by the long-term work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) set up by the UN General Assembly to investigate shortcomings in the international protection of the rights of older persons. In accordance with the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, intergovernmental negotiations on the convention were initiated in Geneva between 18 and 19 February in an organisational meeting, in which the Human Rights Centre also participated.

In the organisational meeting, the national human rights institutions issued a joint statement emphasising the importance of transparency, accessibility and inclusiveness of the preparation process as a starting point for drawing up a new legally binding instrument. The statement also emphasised the accessible engagement of older persons, the organisations representing them and other key stakeholders in the process, and that the same principles must also be reflected in the actual content of the convention.

In their statement, human rights institutions consider it important to conduct the negotiations on the convention on the basis of OEGWA’s work, as numerous areas of life and legal issues in relation to the rights of older persons have already been investigated for more than ten years. The national human rights institutions have also participated in the work of the working group.

The negotiations that will now be initiated represent a significant step forward in the promotion of human rights, as the UN previously conducted negotiations on a convention more than twenty years ago when the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was negotiated. In the negotiations, the Finnish State will be represented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Further information

Sanna Ahola, Expert, tel. +358 9 432 3783, firstname.lastname@eduskunta.fi

What National Human Rights Institution?

In Finland, the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) consists of the Human Rights Centre (HRC), the Human Rights Delegation and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. As a rule, the HRC represents the institution in international contexts and, among other things, participates in the operation of GANHRI, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.