CYIL vol. 10 (2019)

CYIL 10 ȍ2019Ȏ HUMAN RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW dealing with it (education, preventive programmes, victim protection, etc.). In April 2002, the Madrid Plan of Action was adopted, calling upon States to eliminate neglect, abuse, and violence of older persons and to create support services to address elder abuse. 78 Finally, in November 2002, an expert meeting held in Toronto under the auspices of the WHO issued the Toronto Declaration on the Global Prevention of Elder Abuse, 79 summing up the main principles for the prevention of elder abuse (creation of legal framework, education, eradication of prejudices, etc.). All these sources concur that elder abuse is a serious global problem that must be countered both at the national level and through international cooperation. States have to outlaw elder abuse in their legal orders and investigate, prosecute, and punish all instances of elder abuse, including those resulting from traditional practices and beliefs. Combating stereotypes and prejudices is again part of the effort, as is establishing programmes for victims or educating staff in care institutions. E) The access to education and to employment In addition to the four general problems described above, older persons face difficulties in more specific areas of their lives. 80 One of them relates to the access to education and to employment. Since education is often associated with young people and work with the middle-aged people, neither of them seems to be of much relevance for older persons. 81 And yet, the two are crucial not only to ensure that older persons keep their independence and self-sufficiency but also to make it possible for them to continue contributing to the society and to keep them physically and/or mentally occupied. Yet, older persons are not always granted the access to education, including (re)training, and they tend to be excluded from the labour market or have to work in unfavourable conditions (unqualified jobs, lower salaries, minimal safety regulations, etc.). Again, older women are particularly disadvantaged in this respect, due to the lower level of education and limited exposure to paid work that they have, on average, when compared to older men. Older women are also expected to engage in various non-paid activities at their home and within their families and to put the interests of the others above their own. 82 The right to education and the right to work are enshrined in the ICESCR (Articles 13-14 and Articles 6-7) and they are granted to everyone, including older persons. This is explicitly confirmed by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its 1996 General Comment on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Older Persons . 83 In this comment, the Committee specifies how the two rights should be applied with respect to older persons. The right to education has two main components, namely, the right of elderly persons to benefit from educational programmes; and making the know-how and experience of elderly persons available to younger generations. 84 Older persons therefore have a double role to play – that of pupils and teachers. The latter role is particularly important, as it could 78 UN, Madrid International Plan of Action, op. cit. par. 107-111. 79 The Toronto Declaration on the Global Prevention of Elder Abuse, WHO: Geneva, 2002. 80 Other such areas encompass, for instance, social protection offered to older persons (outside social care), adequate housing or access to justice. See UN Doc. A/HRC/33/44, op. cit. 81 For evidence that this is not a completely new problem see DAVIES, T. A. Lloyd, The employment of elderly persons, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Vol. 13, No. 4, 1955, pp. 595-603. 82 See UN Doc. CEDAW/C/2010/47/CG.1, op. cit., par. 20. 83 UN Doc. E/1996/22, op. cit. 84 Ibidem , par. 36.

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