At its 58th session, the Human Rights Council adopted Draft Resolution A/HRC/58/L.24/Rev.1, establishing an open-ended intergovernmental working group tasked with elaborating an international legally binding instrument on the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons. The Resolution was presented to the Council by a core group of States comprising Argentina, Brazil, the Gambia, the Philippines, and Slovenia. It was adopted by consensus on 3 April 2025.
This article examines the international legal framework and the broader context that built the momentum leading to the adoption of this historic Resolution.
The Overlooked Dimension of Older Persons’ Human Rights
With the global population aging at an unprecedented rate, ensuring that this issue remains high on the international agenda is more critical than ever. By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be aged 60 or above, and the global population in this age group will reach 1.4 billion (WHO). The landmark adoption of this Resolution represents the first practical step toward ensuring that older persons are visible and that their human rights are recognized, promoted, and protected everywhere in the world – particularly in light of the longstanding gaps in the international legal framework.
Despite the pervasiveness of ageism, the current international legal framework does not explicitly recognize age as a basis for discrimination. No explicit safeguards exist to prevent age-based discriminatory treatment. Yet ageism is real – globally, one in two people hold ageist attitudes against older individuals (WHO). Ageism involves stereotypes, biases, and discriminatory practices that marginalize people based on age. For older adults, it restricts access to jobs, healthcare, and civic participation, reinforcing inequality. It often overlaps with other forms of discrimination such as ableism, sexism, and racism, compounding disadvantage and deepening its impact on well-being. Structural ageism undermines human rights and leads to poorer health, shorter life expectancy, increased isolation, and greater vulnerability to abuse.
Gaps in the International Legal Framework
There are only few international human rights instruments that to date explicitly reference to age. Examples include the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW), the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Article 7 of the ICRMW prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of age, in the enjoyment of the rights set forth in the Convention. Another example can be found in Article 11(1)(e) of the CEDAW, which requires States Parties to eliminate discrimination in employment, including by ensuring women’s equal right to social security in situations such as retirement and old age. Lastly, the CRPD recognizes the intersection of disability and age across various aspects of life, including access to justice, health, protection from violence, exploitation, and abuse, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Specifically, Article 13 requires States Parties to ensure equal access to justice for persons with disabilities, including age-appropriate accommodations. Article 16 requires States Parties to take measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence, and abuse, providing age- and gender-sensitive support. Article 25(b) further requires States Parties to recognize the right of persons with disabilities to the highest attainable standard of health, with a focus on preventing further disabilities, particularly among older individuals. Finally, Article 28(2)(b) requires States Parties to ensure that persons with disabilities, especially older individuals, have access to social protection and poverty reduction programs to secure an adequate standard of living.
Regional Developments vs. Fragmentation at the International Level
At the regional level, important normative developments have addressed the rights of older persons. For instance, the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons, which entered into force in January 2017; and the more recent Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Older Persons, which entered into force in November 2024.
However, at the international level the existing human rights framework remains fragmented and limited, lacking a coherent comprehensive and integrated normative framework on the rights of older persons.
Established in 2011 by the United Nations General Assembly to identify gaps in the existing legal framework and explore ways to address them, the Open-Ended Working Gorup on Ageing (OEWGA) recommended in 2024 that Member States consider, among other things, the creation of “an international legally binding instrument to promote, protect, and ensure the recognition and relization, on an equal basis, of all human rights of older persons” (A/AC.278/2024/2).
Since 2011, the OEWGA has comprehensively assessed the adequacy of the international human rights framework in protecting the rights of older persons. In parallel, the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, established in 2013 (A/HRC/RES/24/20), has also contributed substantially to this broader reflection. The research conducted over the last 14 years now clearly shows that the current international legal framework is insufficient in protecting the rights of older persons. The international community has expanded its human rights system to address the vulnerabilities of children, women, and persons with disabilities, yet the absence of a dedicated instrument for older persons remains a glaring omission.
The Call for an International Legally Binding Instrument
The issue of ageism has been rarely addressed by UN Human Rights bodies, with few exceptions such as the Independent Expert on the Human Rights of Older Persons (A/HRC/48/53) and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/74/186).
Without explicit legal recognition, protection against age-based discrimination remains in an informal regulatory space often relegated to soft law mechanisms and non-binding guidelines. The elaboration of an international legally binding instrument on the rights of older persons could serve as a first crucial step in addressing this gap, ensuring enforceable obligations for States to protect, promote and ensure the human rights of older persons.
The open-ended intergovernmental working group is now expected to meet for two five-day sessions each year, with the mandate to elaborate a legally binding instrument. While the task ahead is complex—not least due to the absence of a universally agreed legal definition of “older person”—this process holds the potential to set new standards and bring long-overdue visibility to ageism as a human rights issue. A legally binding instrument would not only clarify existing obligations but also promote a cultural and legal shift toward the full inclusion and dignity of older persons in all spheres of life.
The Rights of Older Persons: A Historic Step Forward
Written by Cecilia BroccaAt its 58th session, the Human Rights Council adopted Draft Resolution A/HRC/58/L.24/Rev.1, establishing an open-ended intergovernmental working group tasked with elaborating an international legally binding instrument on the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons. The Resolution was presented to the Council by a core group of States comprising Argentina, Brazil, the Gambia, the Philippines, and Slovenia. It was adopted by consensus on 3 April 2025.
This article examines the international legal framework and the broader context that built the momentum leading to the adoption of this historic Resolution.
The Overlooked Dimension of Older Persons’ Human Rights
With the global population aging at an unprecedented rate, ensuring that this issue remains high on the international agenda is more critical than ever. By 2030, one in six people worldwide will be aged 60 or above, and the global population in this age group will reach 1.4 billion (WHO). The landmark adoption of this Resolution represents the first practical step toward ensuring that older persons are visible and that their human rights are recognized, promoted, and protected everywhere in the world – particularly in light of the longstanding gaps in the international legal framework.
Despite the pervasiveness of ageism, the current international legal framework does not explicitly recognize age as a basis for discrimination. No explicit safeguards exist to prevent age-based discriminatory treatment. Yet ageism is real – globally, one in two people hold ageist attitudes against older individuals (WHO). Ageism involves stereotypes, biases, and discriminatory practices that marginalize people based on age. For older adults, it restricts access to jobs, healthcare, and civic participation, reinforcing inequality. It often overlaps with other forms of discrimination such as ableism, sexism, and racism, compounding disadvantage and deepening its impact on well-being. Structural ageism undermines human rights and leads to poorer health, shorter life expectancy, increased isolation, and greater vulnerability to abuse.
Gaps in the International Legal Framework
There are only few international human rights instruments that to date explicitly reference to age. Examples include the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW), the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
Article 7 of the ICRMW prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of age, in the enjoyment of the rights set forth in the Convention. Another example can be found in Article 11(1)(e) of the CEDAW, which requires States Parties to eliminate discrimination in employment, including by ensuring women’s equal right to social security in situations such as retirement and old age. Lastly, the CRPD recognizes the intersection of disability and age across various aspects of life, including access to justice, health, protection from violence, exploitation, and abuse, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Specifically, Article 13 requires States Parties to ensure equal access to justice for persons with disabilities, including age-appropriate accommodations. Article 16 requires States Parties to take measures to prevent all forms of exploitation, violence, and abuse, providing age- and gender-sensitive support. Article 25(b) further requires States Parties to recognize the right of persons with disabilities to the highest attainable standard of health, with a focus on preventing further disabilities, particularly among older individuals. Finally, Article 28(2)(b) requires States Parties to ensure that persons with disabilities, especially older individuals, have access to social protection and poverty reduction programs to secure an adequate standard of living.
Regional Developments vs. Fragmentation at the International Level
At the regional level, important normative developments have addressed the rights of older persons. For instance, the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons, which entered into force in January 2017; and the more recent Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Older Persons, which entered into force in November 2024.
However, at the international level the existing human rights framework remains fragmented and limited, lacking a coherent comprehensive and integrated normative framework on the rights of older persons.
Established in 2011 by the United Nations General Assembly to identify gaps in the existing legal framework and explore ways to address them, the Open-Ended Working Gorup on Ageing (OEWGA) recommended in 2024 that Member States consider, among other things, the creation of “an international legally binding instrument to promote, protect, and ensure the recognition and relization, on an equal basis, of all human rights of older persons” (A/AC.278/2024/2).
Since 2011, the OEWGA has comprehensively assessed the adequacy of the international human rights framework in protecting the rights of older persons. In parallel, the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, established in 2013 (A/HRC/RES/24/20), has also contributed substantially to this broader reflection. The research conducted over the last 14 years now clearly shows that the current international legal framework is insufficient in protecting the rights of older persons. The international community has expanded its human rights system to address the vulnerabilities of children, women, and persons with disabilities, yet the absence of a dedicated instrument for older persons remains a glaring omission.
The Call for an International Legally Binding Instrument
The issue of ageism has been rarely addressed by UN Human Rights bodies, with few exceptions such as the Independent Expert on the Human Rights of Older Persons (A/HRC/48/53) and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (A/74/186).
Without explicit legal recognition, protection against age-based discrimination remains in an informal regulatory space often relegated to soft law mechanisms and non-binding guidelines. The elaboration of an international legally binding instrument on the rights of older persons could serve as a first crucial step in addressing this gap, ensuring enforceable obligations for States to protect, promote and ensure the human rights of older persons.
The open-ended intergovernmental working group is now expected to meet for two five-day sessions each year, with the mandate to elaborate a legally binding instrument. While the task ahead is complex—not least due to the absence of a universally agreed legal definition of “older person”—this process holds the potential to set new standards and bring long-overdue visibility to ageism as a human rights issue. A legally binding instrument would not only clarify existing obligations but also promote a cultural and legal shift toward the full inclusion and dignity of older persons in all spheres of life.
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