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MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is pushing for the creation of an “international legal instrument” for the rights of the elderly.
CHR commissioner Beda Epres on Tuesday cited the urgent need to hold a United Nations (UN) convention with the aim of drafting a policy-making guide for the protection and promotion of elderly rights across the globe.
“We cannot stress enough how a convention will immensely contribute to the improvement of the lives of older persons in the present and future generations. A convention will define the specific human rights of older persons and the corresponding obligations by duty-bearers,” he said in a statement.
The CHR also pointed out the need to augment and improve the report and accountability mechanisms that uphold the respect and fulfillment of the rights of older persons.
Epres said holding a convention on their rights will “further guide policymakers and concerned agencies to better frame government programs and services that cater to older citizens.”
Epres then cited the inputs of the CHR in the UN Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons in 2020, which tackle the challenges older persons faced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These primarily include matters relating to economic, social and cultural rights such as inadequate social protection, lack of access to health services, absence of employment opportunities, and poor standard of living,” he detailed.
The rights body, according to Epres, also shared its inputs to the UN for the 2021 thematic report on the human rights of older women, where it raised the gender-based discrimination and inequalities experienced by older Filipino women.
The CHR then called on the Philippine government to collaborate with communities and civic society, and back the call for the creation of an international instrument that will promote the dignity and rights of the elderly.
It further stressed that a UN convention will “help facilitate finding human rights-based solutions and promote the exchange of learnings among state members.”
The CHR had also expressed hopes that the nearing 13th session of the UN open-ended working group on aeging–which will be held from April 3 to 6 at the UN headquarters in New York, United States–will yield concrete actions.
It likewise vowed to play its part in continuously promoting and protecting the rights of older persons through initiatives both local and global.
In August 2022, the Commission on Population and Development said the number of Filipinos aged 60 years and above in the population has doubled in the last two decades from 4.5 million in 2000 to 9.2 million in 2020.