“While the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) welcomes the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons and its ratification by Ethiopia in July 2020, it would like to express its strong support for the adoption of a dedicated international normative instrument on the rights of older persons. A UN convention on the issue will have a positive impact on the promotion and protection of older persons globally. It will also assert the fact that older person’s concerns are not just health and subsistence related but that they are rights issues that should be adhered to”.
Rigbe Gebrehawaria
Commissioner- Disability Rights and Rights of Older Persons
EHRC is taking part in the twelfth session of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Aging (OEWGA 12) taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York from April 11 to 14, 2022 and where member state delegates, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from around the world, civil society organizations (CSOs) and independent experts are participating.
The Working Group discussed contributions of older persons to sustainable development, economic security, strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights of older persons in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In addition, the Global Alliance of NHRIs working group on Ageing and the Human Rights of Older Persons in collaboration with CSOs and other member states is advocating for a specific UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
