CYIL vol. 10 (2019)

VERONIKA BÍLKOVÁ CYIL 10 ȍ2019Ȏ issued in 2012. 42 The main human rights problems identified in these reports relate to age discrimination, the lack of autonomy, the provision of care, violence and abuse, and the access to education and to employment. A) Age discrimination Age discrimination consists of any distinction, exclusion, or restriction that is based on age, has no reasonable justification, and impairs the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by older persons. It is also often labelled as ageism. 43 The term ageism was coined in the late 1960s by Robert Neil Butler 44 and originally referred to prejudice that the middle- aged had both against the old and the young. While its meaning can be even broader, encompassing any discrimination based on age, the term has gradually been used primarily with respect to discrimination against older persons. Butler himself described ageism through the combination of three elements – prejudicial attitudes towards older persons, old age or ageing as such; discriminatory practices against older persons; and institutional practices and policies that help perpetuate stereotypes about older persons. 45 There are various theories situated at the micro, meso, or meta-level which explain the causes of ageism. 46 Whichever applies, it is quite clear that ageism plays a negative role in the society, as it erodes social cohesion and “undermines older people’s self-esteem, dignity and human rights”. 47 Age discrimination is indisputably a human rights issue. It goes against the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in rights and dignity”, 48 which lies at the heart of the whole UN human rights system. The prohibition of discrimination is enshrined in all human rights treaties. As we however saw in the previous section, most of these treaties fail to explicitly include “age” among the prohibited discriminatory grounds and while age could be subsumed under “other status” to which these treaties refer, 49 this omission “renders protection against age discrimination less visible” . 50 Moreover, as the OHCHR notes, “the practice of considering age as “other status” is far from consistent among human rights bodies, allows for a significantly broad margin of discretion, lacks the benefit of legal clarity and requires the argument to be specifically made on a case by case basis” . 51 It is thus positive to note that more recent treaties expressly include “age” in their discrimination clauses. 52 The two regional treaties on the human rights of older persons also prohibit “age discrimination in old age” (Article 2 of the OAS Protocol) and “discrimination against older persons” (Article 3 of the AU Protocol) explicitly and it is highly probable that a new universal instrument on the human rights of older persons, if adopted, would do the same. 42 OHCHR, Normative standards, op. cit. 43 See AYALON, Liat, TESCH-RÖMER, Clemens (Eds.), Contemporary Perspectives on Ageism, Springer, 2018. 44 BUTLER, Robert Neil, Age-ism: Another form of bigotry, The Gerontologist, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1969, pp. 243-246. 45 Ibidem. 46 See AYALON, Liat, TESCH-RÖMER, Clemens, Introduction to the Section: Ageism – Concept and Origins, in AYALON, Liat, TESCH-RÖMER, Clemens (ed.), Contemporary Perspectives, op. cit., pp. 4-8. 47 OHCHR, Normative standards, op. cit., p. 8. 48 Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 49 See Article 26 of the ICCPR or Article 2(2) of the ICESCR. At the regional level, see Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights or Article 1(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights. 50 OHCHR, Normative standards, op. cit., p. 8. 51 Ibidem. 52 See Article 7 of the ICMW, par. p) of the Preamble of the CRPD.

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