Speakers urge International Support for Ageing Plans at  Madrid Assembly

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LULIT ZEWDIE MARIAM (Ethiopia): When the first World Assembly on Ageing met 20 years ago, the issue of ageing was perceived as a phenomenon of the developed world because the majority of older persons lived there. Today, due to a dramatic demographic transformation, the developing countries have become home to the majority of the world's older persons. This sudden change, together with already rampant absolute poverty and meagre resources in these countries, pose great challenges to their institutional capacity in addressing the issue.

In 1994, out of the 60.5 million people in the country, older persons constituted about 3.2 million, around 5.2 per cent. The majority of them live in rural areas and their needs are catered for by a traditional extended family system. However, due to the rapid growth of cities, the family system is taking on a new dimension. Thus, families in urban areas cannot afford to provide adequate support for the elderly. Older persons are being abused, neglected and abandoned to fend for themselves. The issues and needs of older persons in Ethiopia are enormous and compounded by poverty and underdevelopment. Therefore, measures taken to address the issue should focus on tackling the socio-economic problems of the country and should proceed at various levels, incorporating a poverty alleviating growth strategy.

Ethiopia has established the National Association of Older Persons. It is working closely with the United Nations Programme on Ageing, HelpAge International and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). While the Government is the major responsible body to provide services to older persons, a number of efforts are also being exerted through partnerships with NGOs, religious institutions, local organizations and individuals to address the needs of older persons.

SONIA ELLIOT (Guyana): As we have gathered to re-commit ourselves to efforts to enhance the situation of older persons, an important element that has emerged during the review of the First World Assembly on Ageing has been an emphasis on the human-rights approach to ageing. This approach supports the freedom and dignity of all persons irrespective of age, as well as the inviolability of all human rights -- civil, political, economic, social and cultural. It also promotes the right to development in order to provide an enabling environment at both national and international levels. A human rights perspective can contribute significantly to initiatives aimed at empowering older persons. Moreover, ensuring the promotion of human rights is even more necessary in a globalizing economy, where the cultural significance of older persons is dismissed and they are seen merely as passive recipients.

The skills and family contributions provided by the elderly are continually called into question or overlooked altogether. Many countries are witnessing the increasing divide between youths and the elderly, as rapid changes transform traditional values and cultural practices. While recognizing the positive impact of economic growth on the welfare of all persons, including the elderly, we have learned the important lesson that such growth should not be at the expense of social inclusion. Isolation, disabilities and other vulnerabilities already contribute to the exclusion of older persons.

Supporting multi-generational relationships will also require attention as our populations continue to age. In Guyana, the family and community continue to play a significant role in reducing the social exclusion of older persons. However, family structures are changing, with poverty reducing the capacity to remain home and care for older persons. More and more persons are living alone. We must create long-term policies on ageing rather than simply analyse the situation of older persons. In focusing on individual lifelong development, greater attention could also be given to promoting a lifetime approach to health, education, employment and skills training.

CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE (Sri Lanka): Women represent the majority of Sri Lanka's ageing population, as their life expectancy is higher than that of men. While the elderly population is rapidly increasing, the growth of the labour force is going to show a decline. In this situation, countries like Sri Lanka will have to focus mainly on the provision of adequate welfare and safety for the elderly and the absorption of the adverse impact of the ageing population with all its attendant implications on overall development. These problems will have to be resolved within the existing social and cultural framework and pressing financial constraints.

Most elderly people in Sri Lanka live in rural areas. In the villages, they remain in extended family settings, assisting in income-earning activities that are mutually supportive. In urban families, however, the elderly people have to face loneliness and other problems stemming from insufficient family incomes, coupled with a high cost of living. Exacerbating the problem in Sri Lanka are internal and international migration and the ethnic crisis, which has created feelings of insecurity in the minds of older people.

Sri Lanka started addressing the issues of increasing elderly population as early as the 1940s, when the Government appointed the Social Service Commission to look into the problem of destitute elders. The National Committee on Ageing, which functions under the Ministry of Social Welfare, has been established to assist the Ministry in policy-making and the formulation of national plans and programmes for the welfare of elderly people. Participating in the work are non-governmental and voluntary organizations. The national policy on elderly people is focused on ensuring independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and the dignity of older persons. Among the measures introduced in the country are legislation for the protection of the rights of the older people; the establishment of the national council for the elders; and creation of a national fund for their welfare.

MOHAMED ELARABY AL DAOUDI, of the League of Arab States: The youth of yesterday are the elderly of today. The Secretariat of the League of Arab States has been making significant efforts to implement the Plan of Action adopted by the First World Assembly on Ageing, organizing seminars and undertaking studies on the matter. A model law has been prepared for Member States to review and upgrade their legislation on the issues of ageing. Following the creation of national plans for the elderly, the Secretariat has been promoting numerous actions at the national and pan-Arabic level.

Islamic law stresses that respect for the elderly and their dignity are sacred duties. Among the priorities promoted by the League is support for the family and care for older people within their home environment. Due to the strong family structure and respect for religious and traditional values within our societies, most elderly people in Arab countries live with their families. It is important to take into account the needs of the older people and allow them to actively participate in the life of society. Prior to the Second World Assembly on Ageing, the Arab States convened a regional meeting to review the results of the implementation of the Vienna Plan of Action and the Arab Plan of Action for the Elderly of 1993. The particular cultural and religious characteristics of Arab States were emphasized at that meeting.

Israel is destroying the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority - the Palestinian people's legitimate leadership, headed by Chairman Yasser Arafat. Flouting all international covenants and laws, it perpetrates barbaric acts against the Palestinian people. The elderly people now have to take care of the families of martyrs. The women and the elderly belong to the most vulnerable. The international community must help them, putting pressure on Israel to end its barbaric practices. I call on the United Nations to provide the technical and material assistance to Arab States to implement their plan for the elderly.

DALMER D. HOSKINS, Secretary-General of the International Social Security Association: For the Association, the Second World Assembly on Ageing is an event of very real importance. Indeed, the older persons are at the centre of all national social protection policies. Ageing affects all branches of social security protection, including sickness insurance, family policies, disability and unemployment insurance, and pensions.

As many speakers have already stated, social security should not only survive, but can and should be further strengthened. Its sustainability is closely linked with continued economic growth, and with steady improvements in productivity, employment and decent work. A viable social security system can, in turn, make a critical contribution to continuing economic progress and social justice.

Despite the successes of social security to date, large numbers of people, particularly in the developing world, are not adequately covered by social protection schemes. This can only further exacerbate the problems of poverty in most developing countries. It is important to study the extent of the gap in coverage in different societies around the world, to strengthen the capacity of social security institutions in all parts of the world and to promote cooperation among social security institutions. The Association has collected a unique and ever-expanding information system relating to social security programmes, which is available on the Internet. It stands ready to cooperate with the United Nations in the implementation of the Plan of Action.

GARY R. ANDREWS, Convenor of the Valencia Forum: In Valencia, we gathered under the auspices of the International Association of Gerontology, more than 500 of the world's leading researchers, educators and practitioners in the fields of ageing for the primary purpose of providing the delegates of this Assembly with a sound evidence base to support your most important deliberations. The Valencia Report has been distributed.

The Forum pointed to the hard evidence linking poverty and health with ageing and proposed possible approaches to dealing with the most fundamental element of those plights. A new vision of ageing was proposed that accepts the prospect of achieving healthy, active, productive, successful and positive ageing to the very end through lifestyle modifications and interventions. At the same time, the need to provide for appropriate, cost-effective quality care and services is called for. The Forum also put forth the social and economic trajectories linked to the processes of ageing and the challenges associated with maintaining well-being during later life for all citizens. Data on gender issues, elder abuse, social and environmental constraints associated with ageing and the true value of an ageing population were presented, among other key issues. The messages are clear, it is for you to take heed of them.

The Research Agenda on Ageing for the Twenty-first Century is designed to support the International Plan of Action and identifies priorities for research and data collection. It also encourages researchers to pursue studies in policy-related areas of ageing. I urge the Assembly to accept the Research Agenda as the voice of the global research and academic community, and to use it as a powerful tool to facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the Plan of Action. Some priorities identified are: research into the relationships between population ageing and socio-economic development, identification of current practices and options for maintaining material security into old age, research into the basic biological mechanisms and age-associated disease, and research into quality of life and ageing in diverse cultural, socio-economic and environmental situations.

HELEN HAMLIN, Chair of the Committee on Ageing of the Conference of the NGOs on Ageing: The Committee on NGOs is an association of national and international NGOs on the enhancement of the role of civil society in the work of the United Nations. Issues of ageing are a necessary concern for the world today. The revised Plan of Action that has been debated for the last 20 years has been developed as a result of the hard work of Member States and the wider United Nations family. It has been fought over and wept over. For it to be effective, it must have strong means or measures for governments to respond to its principles, as well as to requests of the United Nations. We must ensure that the Plan of Action is given recognition and high priority in government programmes at all levels. The issues and concerns of the world's ageing populations must be kept at the top of the development agendas of all international actors. To effect immediate implementation of the Plan, governments must make serious efforts to see how the goals can be reached, within their abilities.

We request follow-up mechanisms of this Assembly on the level of that of other United Nations conferences and meetings. This includes a full-scale decade review. Due to population growth and the rapid demographic and social changes under way, we also recommend that there be regional reviews in the interval. To implement these initiatives, many NGOs have recommended that a Special Rapporteur on the issue of ageing be appointed. That recommendation has met with broad acceptance. We also believe that the Assembly should work to specify an Action Plan based on the United Nations
Principles on Older Persons. This is perhaps the only basis for ensuring the recognition and promotion of the social, cultural, political and human rights of older people.

ESTHER CANJA, President of the American Association of Retired Persons: The Association believes that the Second World Assembly on Ageing, through the adoption of an International Plan of Action on Ageing, can stimulate efforts to address the concerns and contributions of older persons in the developed and developing world. We welcome the new Plan and recognize the important impact it can have on developing sound and measurable policies on ageing worldwide. However, we feel strongly that the Plan must be more than a published document. An effective implementation mechanism is critical, one that requires participation, partnerships, commitments and leadership by governments, NGOs and the private sector alike.

The American Association of Retired Persons wishes to emphasize the opportunities of later life and the need to raise awareness of age discrimination, given a larger population of older persons. We hope that the Assembly will bring leadership and energy to addressing the opportunities of population ageing with full integration and empowerment of older persons in societies throughout the world.

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