Measures to Enhance the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights and Dignity of Older Persons

Calls upon all States to promote and ensure the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of older persons, including by taking measures to combat age discrimination, neglect, abuse and violence, and to address issues related to social integration and adequate health care, bearing in mind the crucial importance of strengthening intergenerational partnerships and solidarity;

Encourages Governments to actively address, through national, regional and international efforts, issues that affect older persons and to ensure that the social integration of older persons and the promotion and protection of their human rights form an integral part of development policies at all levels;

Invites Member States to continue to share their national experiences in developing and implementing policies and programmes aimed at strengthening the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons, including within the framework of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing established by the General Assembly in paragraph 28 of its resolution 65/182 of 21 December 2010;

Recommends that States parties to existing international human rights instruments, where appropriate, address the situation of older persons more explicitly in their reports, and encourages treaty body monitoring mechanisms and special procedures mandate holders, in accordance with their mandates, to pay more attention to the situation of older persons in their dialogue with Member States, in their consideration of reports and in their country missions;

Encourages Member States to ensure that older persons have access to information about their rights so as to enable them to participate fully and justly in their societies and to claim full enjoyment of all human rights;

Invites relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, including relevant human rights mandate holders and treaty bodies and the regional commissions, as well as intergovernmental and relevant non-governmental organizations with an interest in the matter, to continue to make contributions to the work entrusted to the Open-ended Working Group, as appropriate;

Encourages Member States to continue to contribute to the work of the Open-ended Working Group, in particular by presenting measures to enhance the promotion and protection of the human rights and dignity of older persons, such as best practices, lessons learned and possible content for a multilateral legal instrument, as appropriate, in order to enable it to fulfil its existing mandate;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide all necessary support to the Open-ended Working Group, within existing resources, for the organization of a seventh working session, in 2016.