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Caribbean preparatory meeting for the Fourth Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing and the Rights of Older Persons

1 June 2017|Event

As set out in Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 2015/5, the third regional review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002) takes place in 2017 to be followed by a global review by the United Nations Commission for Social Development in early 2018. In line with Resolution 2015/5, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will facilitate the review and appraisal exercise within the region.

Aged worker

Aged worker
Aged worker

As part of the review process, there will be a meeting for Caribbean member States which will be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from 1 to 2 June 2017. This will precede the Fourth Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing and the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean to be held in Asuncion, Paraguay from 27 to 30 June 2017.

The Caribbean preparatory meeting will be an opportunity to focus particularly on the progress made in the subregion (and gaps) in the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action and the San Jose Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean[1]. The meeting will seek to identify future priorities and policy responses and will prepare contributions to the discussions at the subsequent regional conference.

The Regional Conference will assess the status of implementation of the San José Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. It will also seek to identify key actions for expanding the protection of the human rights of older persons, specifically those that facilitate the implementation of the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. Furthermore, it will endeavour to prepare contributions to the discussions at the next session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group on Ageing and to agree on the regional input that will be presented to the Commission for Social Development at its fifty-sixth session, which will take place in February 2018.

The Caribbean preparatory meeting is also an opportunity to assess the progress that has been made in addressing the issues discussed at the Caribbean Conference on Ageing, Elder Abuse and the Rights of Older Persons which was held in November 2015 in Roseau, Dominica.     

[1] ECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) (2012), San Jose Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean (LC/G.2537), Santiago, Chile.

1.         Opening ceremony

2.         A report by ECLAC on the status of implementation of the San Jose Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean.

3.         Statements by country representatives

4          Thematic sessions on selected issues related to the rights of older persons in the Caribbean

             Panel 1: Age-friendly health and social care services

             Panel 2: The contribution of older persons to family, community and public life

5.         Discussion of the conclusions of the meeting

6.         Closing statements

 

1 Jun 2017

2 Jun 2017

  • Panel 2: Equality and rights in family, community and public life

    09:00 to 10:45

Practical information

To inform the assessment, information has been collected from member States through a survey on legislation, policies and programmes for older persons and measures taken to improve protection of their human rights. The survey was sent to member States in January and is also available at http://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/events/files/survey_ageing_third_mipaa.pdf.

Meeting document:

The main background document for the meeting will be a study, prepared by ECLAC, the "Caribbean Synthesis Report on the Implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the San José Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean"

Reference documents:

Also relevant is the study published by ECLAC in 2016 ‘Ageing in the Caribbean and the human rights of older persons: Twin imperatives for action’.