|
|
Background
Documents
Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002)
(Also available in Russian,
French, Spanish,
Arabic
and Chinese)
160
UN Member States adopted the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) in
April 2002. Later, the General Assembly affirmed the Plan on December 2002
during its 57th session. The document addresses four major areas of
concern: older persons and development; health and well-being into old
age; enabling and supportive environments for ageing; and implementation
and follow-up. While MIPAA asks governments to integrate the rights and
needs of older persons into national and international economic and social
development policies, the plan is not legally binding. Therefore, MIPPA
relies on each government’s willingness and capacity for implementation.
The
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Older Persons (December 8, 1995)
The Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural
Rights was created by the Member States parties to the 1995 Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to improve its translation into acts
by drawing governments' attention on the implementation's insufficiencies.
This document demonstrates how the UN mainstreams older persons in its
work. It contains Committee's recommendations on how to implement this
comprehensive treaty on older person's economic, social and cultural
rights.
International
Conference on Population and Development Program of Action (1994)
At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in
Cairo, 179 countries recognized the interdependence of population and
development. The conference adopted a 20-year Programme of Action, which
includes provisions to protect older persons, particularly with regard to
establishing social security systems; eliminating all forms of violence
and discrimination; increasing access to healthcare; and assisting those
displaced during conflict. The subsequent Madrid International Plan of
Action on Ageing incorporated these provisions six years later.
United
Nations Principles for Older Persons (December 16, 1991)
The General Assembly, in pursuance of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted by the World Assembly on Ageing and aware that in all countries individuals are reaching an advanced age, encourages Governments to incorporate five main principles for older persons into their national programs whenever possible. The main points of the principles are independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity of older persons. They aim of the principles is to ensure that priority attention will be given to the situation of older persons.
Vienna
International Plan of Action on Ageing (1982)
UN
Member States adopted the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing at
the World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna, Austria in 1982. The Vienna Plan
was the first international agreement to guide policies and programs on
aging and included the following areas: health and nutrition, protection
on elderly consumers, housing and environment, family, social welfare,
income security and employment, and education. Critics argue that the Plan
did little to address older persons' issues in poor countries. In 2002,
the more inclusive Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing
replaced the
Vienna Plan.
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (December 10, 1948)
This fundamental text describes the
values, rights and goals of the United Nations and specifically mentions
the security of human beings in their old age.
|
|
