IACHR
Press Release
Older persons made visible through living with dignity and rights at all ages campaign
October 24, 2017
Head of Press
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Brasilia/Montevideo - Living with dignity and rights at all ages is the slogan of the regional campaign which aims to arise awareness about the content of the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons. This initiative also seeks to make older persons visible as subjects of rights, whose contribution to society is fundamental and must be guaranteed, meeting their demands through State policies with a human rights perspective.
The campaign is launched today on October 24 in Brasilia and Montevideo, and will then be broadcasted in the countries of the region. It is an initiative of the Permanent Commission of Human Rights High Authorities on Older Persons (RAADH) of the MERCOSUR to contribute and encourage the signing and ratification of the Convention, as well as to raise awareness about the importance of thinking about older persons as subjects of rights and of integral care, with autonomy and independence. The campaign was made by the Institute of Public Policy on Human Rights (IPPDH) of the MERCOSUR and has the endorsement of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS.
The launch of the campaign is carried out in parallel to the XXX Meeting of the RAADH in Brasilia, Brasil and Montevideo, Uruguay, as well as the public consultation on the action plan that will be adopted by the IACHR’s Unit on the Rights of Older Persons, which was created last May. This consultation was launched during the IACHR’s Period of Sessions in Montevideo. Additionally, the organizations thus join the celebration of the International Day of Older Persons, which took place on October 1.
This initiative is unprecedented as two regional instances that have been protagonists in bringing about the Convention come together to speak and sensitize about the protection and promotion of human rights. This accounts for the countries’ commitment to understanding the process of aging and the challenges it brings in terms of thinking about people as subjects of rights and protagonists of their own story.
According to data by CEPAL, by the year 2000, the total population of older persons was 41.3 million. In 2025 a total of 57 million is estimated, and 86 million older persons by 2050. This figures account for the substantial increase that requires a commitment from all in terms of public policy to guarantee the rights of this sector of the population.
Posters, audiovisual content, brochures are part of the materials of the campaign under the slogan of Living with dignity and rights. Each of the messages come from the Convention, with the intention of making its importance as a regional instrument for promoting and protecting rights in the Regional System known.
The campaign delivers its message through the images captured by the participants in the second Images of the MERCOSUR photography contest, organized by the Secretariat of the MERCOSUR. The pictures include different aspects and stories about older persons’ lives in the region.
No. 166/17