UN Working Group on Ageing

Earlier this month, UN member states took the floor at the UN Conference on Population and Development to express concern about the devastating effects of population decline on their societies. Some even blamed UN’s decades-long efforts favoring lowering fertility rates as a cause for this dim reality. 

The proportion of elderly people in the overall population is rising in many countries, which brings a plethora of challenges. First, the weakened workforce contributes to a diminished social welfare budget and, thus, pension funds. Many economists are confident that by the time our generation reaches old age, there won't be enough people to sustain pension contributions for everyone. That is concerning, to say the least. But let us think about beyond the financial challenges- who will take care of the elderly? 

In 2019, the UN GA established the “The Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing”, tasked with considering “the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons and identify possible gaps and how best to address them, including by considering, as appropriate, the feasibility of further instruments and measures.”

The Working Group met throughout this week to address those gaps but an indispensable part of the discussion has to be how to ensure older people are properly taken care of. Kenya spoke about the dangers of resorting to institutionalization of older people: "Our societies used to invest in children as social security for old age: this culture is eroding because of old age homes...[Old] people are now [thrown] somewhere and are not seen by the [very] people they raised. What is the UN doing to make sure old persons are not [thrown] in old age homes and forgotten about forever?”

The Holy See said, “older persons should not be isolated in separate locations but rather encouraged to maintain proximity with younger generations. Intergenerational housing projects serve as a prime example for this. In conjunction with their families and informal carers, older persons should be provided with assistance in adapting their homes to their changing needs, without being forced to relocate.”

The loneliness and isolation many elders experience are the natural consequences of a society that prioritizes individualism over family life. Admitting that returning to the traditional practice of family members caring for their elderly is the solution is a difficult pill to swallow for an increasingly progressive UN, which seeks to dismantle many of our 'old ways.

Investing in strong families is the solution, but this perspective is seen as 'too limiting' by the progressive member states and UN agencies. Adopting it would require them to recognize the mistake of aggressively promoting low fertility rates and individualism. 

Instead, several civil society organizations said that we should make the most out of the phenomenon of an increasingly aging population. If the number of young people is decreasing, we should empower and encourage old people to continue learning and working, they say.

That is just silly. While there are a lot of elders perfectly capable of studying and working, the solution is not to force older people to compensate for the lack of a younger population.

Member states adopted the draft decision, Recommendation on the identification of possible gaps in the protection of the human rights of older persons and how to best address them was adopted today without a vote. Yet, several countries, including Cameroon, Egypt, China, Holy See expressed their disappointment that the adoption was too rushed for the needs of the elderly to be properly considered. The Holy See said, "We must first seek to understand what those gaps are before trying to address them."