STAKEHOLDER GROUP ON AGEING INPUT TO DECLARATION – 19 FEB 2015
I am Helen Hamlin. I am 92 years old. I am as invested in this process as all of you in this room.
We live in an ageing world. Today’s children and youth are tomorrow’s older persons. Demographic trends along with climate change are already having an unprecedented impact that must be addressed now.
We in the stakeholder group on ageing join with our younger colleagues, as we together pursue the common goal of having our voices heard, our participation assured, and our aspirations reflected in the declaration underpinning the SDGs.
The Declaration must affirm that human rights for all are at its core, and promote the accountability of Governments to their people, irrespective of age. Our recommendations for an inspirational declaration are that
1. It must speak to people in words they understand and can relate to. It must sincerely offer a commitment to a world of shared prosperity, free from fear and want, in which no person across the lifecourse lives in poverty, but is valued, lives in dignity, peace and security in a healthy society that respects planetary boundaries.
2. It must put people at the centre of development. Persons of all ages - from birth, through childhood and youth to maturity to older age - must be included, their rights protected and their concerns addressed as we prepare for the next 15 year period. We insist the principle of ‘leave no one behind’ be in the declaration.
To achieve this:
1. the declaration must reference the need for reliable data, disaggregated by age, sex, gender identity, disability, socio-economic status, and social group. All people have the right to be counted and included. If we are to meet our goals and targets, there must be data for people of all ages up to and including 100 .
2. Member States must honour commitments already made. The Declaration should explicitly reference the World Summit for Social Development, together with existing plans of action adopted by Member States for all marginalised and vulnerable groups, including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the World Programme of Action for Youth, which are indispensable tools for implemention.
The full participation of people of all ages together with your political commitment is essential to leave no one behind in the new economic, social and environmental policies for the future we all want.
