This week, from 13 to 17 July, the first session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Human Rights of Older Persons took place in Geneva. The Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia was represented by Jerneja Turin, Deputy Head of the Human Rights Centre. The session marked the beginning of substantive discussions on the preparation of a new international legally binding instrument aimed at promoting, protecting and ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights by older persons. Participants discussed, in particular, the overall framework, structure and guiding principles of the future convention.

For many years, the Ombudsman has supported the preparation and adoption of a dedicated international legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons. Existing international and regional standards are fragmented and do not provide comprehensive protection against violations related to age. The future convention should therefore clarify how human rights must be guaranteed in older age, address ageism and age discrimination, and define concrete obligations of States.

In the general debate on the structure and guiding principles of the future legally binding instrument, Jerneja Turin emphasised that the future convention must be grounded in human rights and recognise older persons as full and equal rights-holders.

“A clear shift is needed from predominantly welfare-based and protection-oriented approaches towards an approach grounded in human rights, placing the dignity, autonomy, equality, choice and participation of older persons at its centre,” she stressed.

Older persons, in all their diversity, are holders of human rights, and States must ensure that they can enjoy those rights on an equal basis with others. They must therefore not be treated merely as passive recipients of care or protection, but as persons with their own will, the right to make decisions, and the ability to exercise choice and control over their lives. Their dignity, will and preferences must be respected. Support, care and protection should enable them to exercise their rights on an equal basis with others and strengthen their independence, participation and inclusion in the community.

The future convention must clearly define State obligations, measures for implementation and monitoring, accountability mechanisms, and access to effective remedies in cases of violations. It should also clarify how individual human rights apply and are to be realised in older age.

In this regard, the future convention may draw inspiration from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which made an important contribution to the shift away from medical, charitable and welfare-based approaches towards an approach based on dignity, autonomy, equality, accessibility, support, participation and independent living. At the same time, the future convention must take into account the specific circumstances and diverse experiences of older persons.

The Ombudsman’s representative also stressed that many disadvantages experienced in older age are not inevitable consequences of ageing. They are often caused or reinforced by ageism, stereotypes, institutional practices, inaccessible environments, poverty, isolation, digital exclusion and lack of adequate support. The future convention must therefore recognise the social and structural barriers that prevent older persons from enjoying human rights on an equal basis and translate this understanding into clear and enforceable standards and concrete State obligations.

She further emphasised that older persons and their representative organisations must be able to participate meaningfully and effectively in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the convention. They should not be treated merely as a source of personal experience, but as equal participants in shaping solutions that directly affect their lives.

During the discussions, the Ombudsman also contributed to a joint response by national human rights institutions to the Chair’s “Food for Thought” paper on the guiding principles and structure of the future instrument, prepared by Argentina in its capacity as Chair of the Working Group.

National human rights institutions stressed in particular that the paper did not address ageism clearly enough, even though ageism is one of the root causes of many human rights violations affecting older persons. Ageism shapes the way societies understand ageing and older persons and can render them invisible as rights-holders. The future instrument should therefore contain strong provisions on preventing ageism and age discrimination and should take into account the diversity of older persons’ experiences, needs and aspirations. It must also address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that older persons may face on the grounds of sex, disability, ethnicity, migration status, socio-economic background or other personal circumstances.

With regard to the role and responsibilities of families referred to in the paper, national human rights institutions underlined that families and communities play an important role in supporting older persons, but that the primary responsibility for respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights rests with the State. They also warned that overemphasising family responsibility may, in practice, shift the burden of care primarily onto women, including older women.

The future convention should therefore clearly define State obligations and establish effective mechanisms for monitoring, accountability and access to remedies. National human rights institutions also expressed their readiness to contribute to the future monitoring of the convention and to share their experience concerning barriers and good practices in the implementation of the rights of older persons.

The Ombudsman also joined statements delivered by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). The statements stressed that the future instrument must be based on the principles of non-discrimination, equality and dignity, and must move beyond predominantly welfare-based and protection-oriented approaches. It should recognise older persons as equal and active rights-holders, while addressing the systemic consequences of ageism and the cumulative effects of inequality and intersectional discrimination.

The future instrument should also take into account the feminisation of ageing and emerging challenges related to digitalisation, artificial intelligence, armed conflict, emergency situations and climate change. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to ensure that older persons, their representative organisations, national human rights institutions and civil society organisations have equal and effective opportunities to participate throughout the entire drafting process. The Working Group should operate in a transparent, inclusive and predictable manner, documents and information should be made available in a timely and accessible way, and effective opportunities for remote participation should also be ensured.

The Ombudsman welcomes Slovenia’s active and constructive role in efforts to adopt a new international legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons. Slovenia has advocated for its adoption in the international community for many years and is a member of the core group of States that submitted to the UN Human Rights Council the resolution establishing the Intergovernmental Working Group tasked with preparing the instrument. In addition to Slovenia, the core group included Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines and The Gambia.