DAI Facebook event: Age With Rights 2022 Campaign

The DAI 'Age With Rights' Global Rally 2022

There are an estimated 55 million people diagnosed with dementia globally, and estimated 42 million who do not have a formal diagnosis. Dementia is also a major cause of disability and dependence globally, and effects women and girls more than men. In Australia, it is the leading cause of death for women.

Women also make up 2/3 of dementia care supporters and more than 70% in lower and middle-income countries. Women carers compared to male carers, are more often unemployed due to their unpaid role; girls who are carers also often miss out on education.

Older women, especially widows, can be exposed to what has been termed a ‘triple jeopardy’ discriminated against as a result of their age, sex and condition (carer or diagnosed with dementia).

This is partly why DAI is joining the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People Age with Rights rally being held in advance of International Women’s Day this year.

This is partly why DAI joined the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP) ‘Age With Rights’ campaign in February 2021 to present a unified, visible presence and amplify the voices of older people and civil society organisations in the virtual 11th session of the UN Open Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG11) session held in April 2021.

We hope you will join our panelists Kate Swaffer, Emily Ong and Lyn Rogers for a live Facebook session on ageing with rights.

Registration is not required; simply join us on the DAI Facebook page for this live event at the times listed below.

Thursday, 3 Mar 2022

2:00 pm PST
3:00 pm MST
4:00 pm CST
5:00 pm EST
10:00 pm GMT

Friday, 4 Mar 2022

6:00 am SGT/AWST
8:00 am AEST
8:30 am ACDT
9:00 am AEDT
12:00 noon NZDT

Check for your time here if not listed above.

The slogan was developed in close consultation with GAROP members, including Kate Swaffer, DAI's co-founder and Human Rights Advisor who is a member of GAROP. The first month of the campaign saw the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) adopt the campaign’s slogan #AgeWithRights in their social media. The campaign successfully captured the lived experiences of dozens of older people globally and utilised this to boost advocacy both in OEWG11 and at the national level. The campaign continued to grow throughout 2021:

More than 70 advocacy videos from older and younger people worldwide posted online and shared by social media
“AgeWithRights” rallying cry incorporated into position statements and tweets by civil society organisations and national human rights institutions
Dozens of people using the #AgeWithRights” hashtag on their social media profiles
Invitations to discuss and showcase the campaign at various human rights forums with growing interest from many in getting involved

Goals of the Global Rally

Activate more advocates globally to join the movement by raising awareness of older people’s rights and a new UN convention
Mobilise new and existing advocates to advance local, regional, and thematic advocacy activities in support of older people’s rights and a new UN convention
Push forward in rallying governments to support the implementation of the Human Rights Council Resolution recommendations (A/HRC/RES/48/3) and the drafting a new UN convention (as proposed at OEWG11)

Themes

The overarching message is the important role that a new UN convention would play in strengthening the protection of older people’s rights and urging governments to support this. Linked to this, you can focus on themes that your organisation or network specialises in or has an interest in. You could choose to focus on the themes for the 12^th OEWG session, which include the

‘Right to work and access to the labour market’,
‘Access to justice’, and the new themes of
‘Economic security’ and
‘Contribution of older persons to sustainable development’.

Exploring intersecting discrimination with campaigners from other areas of human rights is strongly encouraged as a way of building allies, diversifying, and reaching new audiences (example, older women, older people with disabilities, older LGBTI+ people, Age-Friendly Cities networks, etc).

Older people around the world face particular challenges in enjoying their human rights. Governments have recognised that this includes, among others, protection against violence, abuse and neglect, the right to food, housing, work, education, and health and care and this can be made worse by other forms of discrimination based on gender or disability for example.

There are very few explicit references to older people’s rights in existing international human rights treaties. These treaties do not cover all aspects of older people’s rights and are unclear about how human rights apply in older age.

The solution we are calling for is to create an international legally-binding ‘UN convention’ on older people’s rights. A new UN convention would provide governments, service providers, businesses, civil society and older people everywhere, with the clarity and guidance we need to build a more equal society for people of all ages and ensure respect for our human rights as we age. It would result in greater accountability for and monitoring of older persons’ rights.