Condition of Elderly in Palestinian Occupied Territories, Countries in Economic Transition among issues raised in Ageing Assembly

By : United Nations
April 12, 2002

Among the issues raised at the Second World Assembly on Ageing as it continued its general exchange of views on the fourth day of its work this morning were the situation of older people in the occupied Palestinian territories, the impact of the market economy in countries in economic transition and the importance of learning from and preserving the respect for older generations in more traditional societies.

A call for international action to alleviate the suffering of all Palestinian people, including the elderly, was made by the representative for Palestine. The collective punishment which the Palestinian people had suffered had negatively affected the entire population, but the highest price has been paid by the elderly, she said. A number of other delegations expressed similar concerns.

"We must not permit this Assembly -- like so many other international conferences before it -- to be hijacked by those with a narrow and hostile political agenda", Israel's representative said. It was also important to remember that the perpetrators of vicious acts of terrorism -- and especially those who had targeted innocent civilians with suicide bombers -- had claimed victims among the elderly.

Lithuania's Minister for Social Security and Labour said the period of economic and social changes that followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union had been particularly difficult for the elderly, who could not adapt to the opportunities offered by the new market economy. As a result, many older persons had begun to feel socially excluded. The representative of Latvia also described the situation of the elderly in the circumstances of transition and her country's efforts to correct this through recent pension reform.

The Minister of State, Elderly and Disability Affairs of Uganda said that the case for developing countries, specifically in Africa, warranted urgent measures to cater for the aged. Among the factors that made older persons particularly vulnerable in Africa were socio-economic changes, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, poverty and poor infrastructure. The needs of each individual were of equal importance and must be made the basis of planning for societies, however. Her country was striving to change the image of the elderly and allow them to participate in all aspects of society.

In that connection, the Secretary of State for Cooperation and Development of Belgium said that treating older persons as a separate category led to disrespectful solutions. There was nothing more degrading for society than pictures of old-age homes where older people lived out their days in isolation from society. A society must respect the great human capital older people constitute. The countries of the South could teach many lessons as far as respect for the older generation was concerned. It was better to humbly learn, rather than try to give lessons on that issue to the more traditional societies.

The declaration of the NGO Forum, which took place in parallel with the Assembly on 5-9 April, was presented by its Co-Chair, who said that the Forum had called for an elaboration of a convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against older persons. Among other recommendations contained in the text were the creation of an agency within the United Nations specializing in issues related to older persons and measures to ensure dignified ageing at home, integrate the elderly into societies and improve social policies worldwide. The Forum also proposed a council of senior citizens, which should promote peace and international communications on the subject of ageing.

Also speaking this morning were the Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Slovakia, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Algeria and Colombia, as well as representatives of Monaco, Ireland, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Statements were also made by the representatives of United Nations Volunteers, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University and the President of the Union Democratica de Pensionistas of Spain.

The Assembly will continue its work at 3 p.m. today.

Statements

EDDY BOUTMANS, Secretary of State for Cooperation and Development of Belgium: The wealth of the world is to be found in its memory, which comes from experience. Experience, in turn, comes with age. Throughout history, human societies have been aware of this, valuing their elders. In modern culture, however, youth is valued as an absolute value. This is quite obvious in such spheres as modern advertising, for example. Ageing is a demographic trend, which will increasingly influence societies. We have to ensure the ability of all age groups to live in harmony.

Treating older persons as a separate category leads to disrespectful solutions. There is nothing more degrading for society than pictures of old-age homes where older people live out their days in isolation from society. A society must respect this great human capital. A longer life increases the number of older persons who want to continue to play an active role in society, and it is important to provide them with the means of participating. The ageing society is forcing us to re-evaluate our approaches to older people, ensuring that they can flourish. In the workplace, for example, it might be a good idea to alternate periods of work and leisure during an individual's life.

The issue of ageing is closely connected with the development of social services, and other appropriate policies. Specific measures need to be adopted to deal with the problems of disabled older people. It is the duty of governments to correct the inequalities that exist, ensuring the dignity of the elderly. The participation of grass-roots organizations is also essential. Poor countries cannot provide all the services that the developed countries can. This leads to the marginalization of the weaker. The countries of the South can teach many lessons, however, as far as respect for the older generation is concerned. We must humbly learn, rather than try to give lessons on this issue to the more traditional societies.

PETER MAGVASI, Minister for Labour, Social Affairs and Family of Slovakia: Social policy in Slovakia is based on a broad consensus that all persons should participate in and take responsibility for their own fate. As broad increases in life expectancies are becoming a worldwide norm, we have begun to focus such policies and initiatives on ensuring longer, healthier and more full lives for our people, as well as ensuring a dignified old age. We are aware that the swiftly changing social situation will depend to a large extent on how we develop strategies aimed at ensuring social solidarity, including health-care programmes, employment and social services. We also consider the family very important and have worked to strengthen family life and social participation.

The Government adopted a national programme for protection of older persons in 1999. That document contains a set of initiatives and follow-up and monitoring by State agencies. The generally recognized notion that there is a break between productive and non-productive segments of life will have to change as world populations continue to age rapidly. We are trying to achieve a certain level of integration between all age groups to ensure active and productive ageing. Ensuring less strict divisions between generations will be necessary in the coming decades. Finally, we are extending every effort to make the slogan "society for all ages" a reality within Slovakia.

HEDI M'HENNI, Minister of Social Affairs of Tunisia: Today, we are called upon to adopt a world strategy that will take into consideration the demographic, economic and social changes that have taken place worldwide over the past few years. States need to adopt clear policies, taking into account the recommendations of various international summits organized by the United Nations since the early 1990s, especially the Social Development Summit and the Millennium Summit, aimed at reducing the differences between nations, keeping in check economic and social crises and combating diseases and epidemics, especially AIDS. The eradication of poverty is another important goal.

The Secretary-General's report before the Assembly shows that developing countries will be simultaneously confronted with challenges related to development and a constant increase in the proportion of elderly people. This will require them to entrench and reinforce the rights of the elderly as an integral part of human rights; that we provide them with protection and health, social and psychological care; and that we encourage the elderly to continue to contribute to society as reliable and competent providers of expertise.

The care for the elderly is an easy matter for secure and stable States, but it is indeed an arduous undertaking for countries living under the yoke of occupation, or those torn by armed conflicts. The ongoing atrocities in the Palestinian occupied territories perpetuated by Israel, including oppression and mass killings, contradict basic human rights and ignore the sufferings of children, women and older persons.

Tunisia's policy in the area of care for the elderly stems from a strong political determination founded on the enduring principles of a bond between generations, abidance to Arab and Moslem values and meeting the requirements of older people. National legislation for the elderly has been in place since 1994. Among other measures, it envisions support for volunteer families to host elderly persons, as well as for private-care institutions. Mobile multidisciplinary units have been set up to provide urgent and efficient health and social intervention for the elderly closer to their homes, when needed.

IAN McCARTNEY, Minister of State for Pensions of the United Kingdom: In the United Kingdom, there are around 19 million people aged 50 and over, who account for 40 per cent of the adult population. By 2020, the population of 50 plus people will have increased by a further three million. We are determined to respond positively to this age shift in our population. We want to ensure that our older citizens can enjoy secure, active, independent and fulfilling lives.

We believe that later life should be a time of increased and diverse opportunity, not stagnation, isolation, poor health, poverty and loss of self worth and self esteem. We aim to give people real choices in later life. These choices include working longer, engaging in new pursuits or hobbies, engaging in lifelong learning and participating in community activity. We recognize the importance of working positively with older people to shape policies and services to meet their many and varied needs. We have set up successful partnerships between central and local government, the voluntary sector and older people as part of our Better Government for Older People programme. At the heart of the United Kingdom's approach are person-centred care and services that allow older people to maintain their independence and make real choices about their living environment. We have set up a National Service Framework to focus specifically on the health and care needs of older people.

I hope this Assembly and the International Plan of Action will be of particular help to developing countries, who are facing significant challenges. It will help us all to understand the real problems they face. Each country will need to find its own solutions, but I believe we can and should learn from each other.

VILIJA BLINKEVICIUTE, Minster of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania: The issue of ageing is of great importance to us. The growing number of older persons constitutes a significant segment of our society. Due to the decline in the birth rate, we have witnessed negative population growth since 1994. Twelve years ago, Lithuania entered a complicated period of economic and social changes. This period has been particularly difficult for the elderly, as many of them had no chance to adapt themselves to the opportunities offered by the new market economy. As a result, many older persons began to feel socially excluded.

Realizing that the success of social reforms depends on whether all the people of our country see real and positive changes in their lives, Lithuania has made significant advances towards creating a society based on the principle of equal opportunity for all ages. While most of our actions have done much to alleviate some of the problems our older communities are facing, our overall policy scheme needs to be further developed. Therefore, we intend to enhance our national strategies relating to employment, health care and social services, all in the interest of promoting a society for all ages. Further, we will ensure that our policies take gender into account, assuring equal opportunities for all.

When establishing our policies for older persons, we realize that it is necessary that they reflect input from members of our elderly communities. Their voices must be heard. Decisions on their behalf should be taken together with them. We consider the financial sustainability of our pension system to be of the utmost importance and we intend to establish a fully funded tier of our national pension scheme to complement the pay-as-you-go programme already in effect. This will go a long way towards ensuring full-fledged participation of older persons in social life long after they have retired. Creating adequate policies to avoid the social exclusion of older persons is also an important goal of our Government. Overall, we realize that the skills and experience of our older persons constitutes a significant part of our national wealth and we will continue to see that our older generations live full social, cultural and political lives.

ALVARO PATINO PULIDO, Vice Minister of Labour and Social Security of Colombia: Despite the fact that we do not have a specialized national policy on ageing, my country has been developing various actions to address the issues of older people. We are contemplating introducing training programmes for care providers and have introduced a programme on employment issues. Dissemination of information and promotion of healthy lifestyles are on the Government's agenda. We are also adopting preventive policies against family violence. Several free education programmes are offered to the elderly, and measures are being taken to improve the pension system and social support for them.

We do not have any policies directly supporting the needs of the elderly as far as housing is concerned, but efforts are being made to meet the basic needs of the neediest citizens. The goal is to mobilize efforts to turn the elderly into active players in society with the help of specific programmes of humanitarian care and rehabilitation. Together with the public and private sectors, we want to develop an effective national policy, which would enable us to provide a holistic response to the needs of the older people and improve the services provided to them. The programmes should include such aspects as housing, employment, productivity, social security and protection. To achieve that, we need more resources to expand pensions, create additional employment opportunities and to take care of indigent older persons. Among the initial steps taken by the country are formulation of policies for 2002, strengthening of pre-retirement programs, increased social security coverage and the creation of a national commission for the promotion of the rights of older persons.

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