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Conclusions of the III Follow up meeting on the Brasilia Declaration
ECLAC
October 5 and 6, 2009
Chile
The representatives of the countries participating in the III Follow up meeting of the Brasilia Declaration. For the Rights of Older Persons, held in the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago de Chile, on October 5 and 6, 2009 express their satisfaction with the realization of all the commitments made during the II Follow up meeting in Buenos Aires, and after working for two days conclude the following:
1. The government of Mexico, represented by the Director of the National Institute of Older Persons, reaffirmed its commitment to host the IV Follow up meeting of the Brasilia Declaration, in the first semester of 2010. It is anticipated that at least 35 countries will participate through the representation of their technical counterparts and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
2. Likewise the countries of the Caribbean will organize a follow up meeting on the Brasilia Declaration in the second half of 2010, which will be hosted in a place to be designated by CARICOM. In the same year the countries of Central America and the Spanish speaking Caribbean will hold a similar meeting, and in the first trimester of 2011 Peru will host the next Follow up meeting.
3. To establish a strategy based upon participation and consensus, which will consider at least the following:
a) The contribution and opinión of civil society
b) Strenghtening of research to provide more technical and legal support for the content of a Convention
c) Devellop actions to convince countries that are still not sensitive to this theme so as to get them also to join
d) Coordinate actions with the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs to obtain the position of the State with respect to the Convention and Special Rapporteur.
4. Countries are being suggested to continue the discussion of the content the document submitted by the Government of Chile during the III Follow up Meeting and to collect the observations and comments utilizing this document as a basis, to:
a) Submit their observations and contributions to the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and to the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO), so that they can draft a consensus document to be presented for the next Follow up meeting on the Brasilian Declaration.
5. Proposed is to actívate a virtual portal on a web page, created by PAHO, specialized on Aging and Human Rights. It will include a special section specifically dedicated to the drafting of an International Convention on Human Rights of Older Persons. All countries that are a member of PAHO and ECLAC, the UNFPA, Civil Society and other relevant actors, can post their contributions and comments concerning the documents drafted. Likewise presentations, articles, and other relevant information that contributes to the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons can be submitted.
6. The ECLAC Secretariat is being invited to draft a propopsal of a strategy on how to advance in the follow up of article 24 and 25 of the Brasilia Declaration. The proposal must include the mínimum content necesary in an international convention on the rights of older persons from the Latin American and Caribbean perspective. This proposal will be submitted in the next follow up meeting of the Special Committee on Population and Development of ECLAC to be held in 2010. Likewise if it is needed and in consultation with the Presidency of the Special Committee, convene a meeting of the board of the Committee amplified with the presence of countries that wish to participate, to discuss said proposal before it is submittted to the Special Committee.
7. Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other responsible organisms of each government are being requested to ask their country’s mission in the Organization of American States (OAS), Washington DC, to take steps to realize a special session of experts and representatives of governments to discuss the feasibility to prepare an Interamerican Convention on the “Rights of Older Persons”, with the support of PAHO and ECLAC, as was established in the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolution AG/RES. 2455 of the 39º period of sessions hosted in San Pedro, Sula (Honduras July 4, 2009)
8. The government representatives in the meeting thank the United Nations Population Fund, CELADE/ECLAC and PAHO for the technical and financial assistance, and request to continue to support the drafting of a Convention on Human Rights for Older Persons.
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