IS THERE A NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF ELDERLY? NOTES ON A CURRENT DEBATE

Abstract

With the growing visibility of ageing as a global population phenomenon, doubts have been cast about the sufficiency of the existing international human rights framework to protect the rights of older persons. Since 2010, the so-called United Nations Open-ended Working Group on Ageing has addressed this issue, including a lively debate on the convenience of a human rights instrument dedicated to the rights of older persons. This article summarizes some of the main arguments in favor of the adoption of a specific instrument, as discussed during the twelve sessions of the Working Group. Some of these arguments have been endorsed with the adoption, in the context of the Organization of American States (OAS), of the first regional binding instrument on this matter, the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons, which is quoted for illustrative purposes.