#AgeWithRights: CHR launches campaign on the Rights of Older Persons

Posted on May 25, 2018

The Centre for Human Rights is spearheading a campaign on the rights of older women in Africa. This campaign seeks to strengthen advocacy around the rights of older women and to advocate for States to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons.

On 31 August 2016, member states of the African Union (AU) adopted the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons. Two years later, only five of the 55 African countries have signed. To date, NO MEMBER STATE HAS RATIFIED THE PROTOCOL!These countries include: Benin, Comoros, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Zambia.

By 2050, the global population of older persons is projected to more than double its size in 2015, reaching nearly 2.1 billion. Over the next 15 years, this will be a 64 % increase in the population of older persons in Africa. The number of people over the age of 60 is expected to grow from 64.4 million people in 2015 to 220 million by 2050. Women generally tend to outlive their male counterparts despite the cumulative effects of disadvantages linked to gender inequality.

Based on the belief of leaving no one behind, the Centre for Human Rights acknowledges the importance of a rights-based approach to ageing and calls for the  promotion and protection of the rights of older persons. To this end, the 2018 #AgeWithRights Campaign reaffirms that older persons should be able to exercise their human rights.

The campaign on the rights of older persons is working on:

  • Accelerating state ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Older Person
  • Bringing together community activists, researchers, scholars, governments, and other stakeholders to develop initiatives to advance the rights of older persons.
  • Supporting human rights organisations and institutions in pushing for a rights-based agenda for older persons in Africa.
  • Collaborating with thematic units (women’s rights, disability rights, LGBTI rights, children’s rights and freedom of expression and access to information) across the Centre to create an intersectional approach in promoting the rights of older persons.

Visit the campaign website: www.chr.up.ac.za/AgeWithRights

- Author Centre for Human Rights

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