Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, let me thank the NGO Committee on Ageing and the Secretary General of the INPEA, Susan Somers, for the invitation to the Celebration of the International Day of Older Persons in New York. It is a great honor for me to take part in such an important event which aspires to be the first step towards the envisioned Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.

The role of this noble project is to facilitate global dialogue and partnerships, and to facilitate the construction of a common foundation for enhancing the rights of older persons towards a better quality of life with dignity in old age. 

Nevertheless, the primary responsibility for ensuring the equality of opportunities and the Human Rights of Older Persons falls on national governments. The Czech Government is fully aware of the need to rise to this challenge, particularly in view of the fact that in the middle of this century Czech society, together with Japan, will be one of the oldest populations in the world. As you can see from this projection, in 2050 more than a half of the population in the Czech Republic will be aged 50 and over and around one-third will be aged 65 and older. A similar situation exists in many other European countries. Demographic ageing is often considered as a negative phenomenon and is reduced to the necessity of pension system reform. There are many stereotypes related to older persons, which can lead to age discrimination. In fact better health and longer life are significant positive values. We should grasp the point that old age not only represents 11 percent of the global population, but is the future of each one of us. 

The future of the European states and economies depends on how successfully we will rise to this challenge and how effectively we will mainstream demands of older persons into a complete policy framework on the national level as well as on level of the European Union. Age mainstreaming and age management are essential to the labour market and the social and health policy.

Despite the fact, that those aged 50 and over already represent 20 per cent of the workforce in the EU, older persons often face discrimination in the workplace. Our purpose is to create an environment were every employee is able to achieve his or her potential without being disadvantaged by age. 

Anti-discriminatory labour legislation promotes equal treatment of older persons in the labour market. We need to overcome age barriers, eliminate prejudices and negative stereotypes about older workers and remove any discrimination on the grounds of age. 

We need to promote training, education and lifelong learning. Older employers need tools and skills to cope with change. People with low skills are almost twice as likely to be out of work as those with high skills, and have much shorter working careers. 

We should enforce occupational health. The essential part of age management is the prevention of age-related work problems and work-related health problems. 

We must promote solidarity between the different generations of workers. Human resources professionals are aware of advantages of age diversity in organizations. A work team which combines youth and maturity and which contains gender diversity is better able to respond to globalization. 

We should understand and compensate for gender differences. In the oldest age groups the risk of poverty is many times higher for women than men. Regardless of age, women are less likely to be active in the labour market compared to men. The main reason is family responsibilities.

Women take care of their relatives, as well as children, and so they need flexible and reduced working time.

An acceptable quality of life for older people means not only working longer in attractive, healthy working conditions, but also having an adequate income, stable family relationships, good health and last but not least – respect and recognition in society. 

Now I would like to mention the Czech approach to the issue of aging. Recently, the Czech Government has approved the National Programme of Preparation for Ageing for 2008-2012. The Government considered the following priorities in ageing policy:

1. Support the family and improve social services
2. Create an age-friendly environment and community
3. Improve health and health-services for seniors
4. Promote participation and protect the dignity and rights of seniors

The National Programme of Preparation for Ageing is based on international directives, including the United Nations Principles for Older Persons as well as the Madrid International Plan for Action on Ageing and other documents. 

The Council of Seniors and Population Ageing is monitoring this Programme. The Council consists of Deputy Ministries, representatives of employers, employees, experts, NGO’s and naturally, seniors themselves.

A very important role in the solution of the problems of older age is played by older people themselves. No one else can substitute for older people in this role. 

Now I would like to stress the mission of the European Union (EU) in the process of including older people in social and economic policy. The EU has the power to address not only the problems of discrimination, but also the causes of contemporary problems of unemployment, poor living conditions, and the costs of reforms. I would point to European funds, especially the Social Fund, as the main EU financial tool for the social inclusion of older people. Money is not a “solution,” we need also strong legal protection and one of the most effective tools is European council directives. These directives ensure the principle of equal treatment between persons, irrespective of age, in the labour market. These directives are obligatory for all EU member states. Some months ago the discussion of a proposal for a new council directive, which would protect persons from discrimination outside the labour market, has been opened.

This proposal supplements the existing European Commission’s legal framework under which the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of age, disability, religion or sexual orientation applies only to employment, occupation and vocational training. According to the new proposal, discrimination will be prohibited by both the private and public sector outside the labor market in:

- social protection, including social security and health care
- social advantages
- education
- access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the public, including housing.

In conclusion I would like to invite you to Prague in May 2009. The Czech Republic will take over the EU Presidency after France in January 2009.

The Czech Republic will hold a European conference on the dignity and endangerment of elderly people with the following programme:

 The dignity of older persons, neglect, abuse and violence as one continuum
 European Strategy to combat Elder abuse against older women
 The role of Municipalities and Senior friendly communities 
 The position and role of the senior NGO‘s organisations and civil society 
 Family care – benefits and risks
 Minimum European standards of care for geriatric patients in institutional care
 Age-friendly medical teaching in th era of end of disease and in a society of increasing longevity 
 The position and role of the senior NGO‘s organisations and civil society
 Provision of long-term services
Thank you for your attention.