Calling for the UK Government to support a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons
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Dear Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs,
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our support for the creation of a new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, and to call on you to offer your support as well.
As you may be aware, the need for strengthening the protection of the rights of older persons has been agreed by UN Member States, UN Agencies, National Human Rights Institutions, civil society organisations, experts, and importantly, older persons themselves. The UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing agreed by consensus, after 14 years of evidence gathering, that gaps in the protections of older persons’ rights exist internationally, and that an internationally binding human rights instrument should be among the responses to those gaps. You may also be aware that this understanding was further reinforced by a UN General Assembly Resolution in August 2024 that accepted the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing’s decision by consensus and invited other bodies of the UN to consider and act upon its findings.
As a result of this, it is now anticipated that a resolution will be put to the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council (expected to take place February – March 2025) to agree a process for drafting the contents of a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
Therefore, in your capacity as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, we would like to ask you to support this internationally agreed treaty. Establishing a global minimum standard of legal protections for older people is essential to ensuring the rights of older people are protected. While many Member States may already have domestic legal protections in place for the rights of older people that exceed those set forth in this Convention, their role in providing universality and clarity cannot be ignored. It is therefore our belief that the United Kingdom should be forthcoming and enthusiastic in our support for a new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
We have much to be proud of in the United Kingdom when it comes to respecting and protecting older persons, from institutions such as the NHS, which offers comprehensive care from cradle to grave, to our state pension system. Indeed, it is a point of pride for many in the UK that if one has worked their life, then as they age, they can expect to enjoy security in their older years. As a nation that upholds these values and institutions, it is only right that we offer our support to this new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. To that end, we urge you to support this convention.
We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Blair McDougall MP.
