International Bulletin - August 2002
The United Nations Second World Assembly and NGO Forum on Ageing
The UN Second World Assembly on aging met in Madrid, Spain, from the 8th to the 12th of April 2002. The NGO Forum on Aging took place from the 5th to the 9th of April 2002. NGOs were invited to the opening session of the Assembly, which met in a different area of the beautiful new Exposition area of Madrid, on the edge of the city, approaching the International Airport.
Almost 6,000 NGO women came from all over the world, notably Africa. The meetings were held in the spacious halls and classrooms in a complex separate from the Assembly. NGOs were able to discuss issues over lunch in the small cafes nearby.
The principal themes for the Forum were human rights, economic security and discrimination.
UN Human Rights documents does not specify the human rights of the aging. A high proportion of the elderly everywhere in the world are women and many, especially in developing countries lack decent housing, adequate nutrition, appropriate health care and respect for their experience and continuing abilities. There is a high level of elder abuse, both physical and psychological. Poor treatments of elderly is happening, in spite of the fact that older women are being called upon to care for their sons and daughters stricken with HIV/AIDS, as well as support their orphaned grandchildren.
The elderly need economic security, appropriate health care, and changes in the misrepresentations in the media. Many elderly people are still productive although it may be at a different speed and level. They are not necessarily helpless and dependent. They are capable of learning new skills.
Governments must provide for decent living conditions for the elderly. Programs for the aging person should be on a level that reflects their proportion of the total population of the country. Governments should recognize and provide for the special needs of the aged; handicapped elderly, indigenous and migrant elderly as they do for younger persons in the same classifications. The aged should be given the opportunity for literacy and new vocational skills.
My conclusion is that we all age in time, and that we should provide for todayÕs elderly so that they may enjoy the same level of comfort and respect that we demand for ourselves, that we hope to enjoy when we reach old age.
All generations should share their joys and sorrows. The young should recognize the knowledge of the old. The old should sympathize with the aspirations of the young. All should try to understand and forgive or overlook what is perceived to be odd in the other.
Last Modified: November 29, 2002