Key points:
* The UN Human Rights Council will draft a new convention on the rights of older people.
* The legally-binding treaty is expected to address the disproportionate dangers that older adults face due to climate change.
Earlier this month, the UN Human Rights Council decided to establish an intergovernmental working group to draft a new convention on the rights for older people – a move that will help protect older adults across the globe from the dangers of climate change.
A UN convention is a legally-binding international treaty that establishes common standards and practices across nations.
The recent resolution comes after years of advocacy work by organizations working to protect the rights of older people. The new convention is expected to recognize the disproportionate impact of climate change on older populations and ensure that older people are included and protected in climate justice initiatives.
“Despite their wealth of lived experience and ecological knowledge, older people are often seen as passive recipients rather than active agents of change,” wrote Hari Krishna Nibanupudi, climate change and aging adviser with HelpAge International, a global non-profit focused on improving the lives of older people across the world. “This exclusion undermines both justice and sustainability. Recognizing and protecting their rights — to life, health, adequate housing, and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment — under international law is vital to collective resilience.”
A UN convention guides governments in understanding how to best integrate older adults into climate strategies and strengthen their legal protections.
The convention is also expected to protect the rights of older adults in other contexts, such as banning discrimination based on age, preventing violence and maltreatment in care homes, guaranteeing access to health care and social support services, and involving older adults in policy-making.
The resolution calling for the convention follows two other important legal victories related to older adults and climate change. The European Court of Human Rights ruled last year in favor of a group of Swiss women, who argued that Switzerland was violating the rights of older people by failing to address climate change.
And in India, the Supreme Court ruled that the “right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change,” is integral to the fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution, emphasizing the increased risks that older people face during climate disasters.
Together, these developments signal a growing trend of policies and judgements that protect the health and well-being of older adults as global temperatures rise.