Convention on the Rights of Older Persons: How Feasible Is the Option

Today we are paying tribute to older persons around the world. We celebrate their vital role in family and in community, we celebrate their wisdom and experience, we celebrate both men and women – but particularly women – as family caregivers, we celebrate older persons as those who provide emotional support to both the old and very young. There are numerous roles that older persons play in society, in a contemporary world, too numerous even to mention or list. But apart from those contributions, today we are also discussing the issue of rights of older persons – a hugely important issue. And this discussion is particularly significant in this year when we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.