5173.0: Wednesday, November 15, 2000: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM | ||||
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| This presentation focuses on the connection between human rights of older people and development. Although older people are the fastest growing segment of the population, social action and policy to ensure their enjoyment of the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent conventions are lacking. A key impediment is poverty and its specific implications for older people, especially those in the developing world. Social exclusion of older people is a product of structural inequalities and progressive impoverishment throughout the life cycle. This in conjunction with lack of assets and physical weakness may exclude older persons from full participation in the social, economic, and political lives of their communities and render them vulnerable to violence and abuse. Ageism and negative attitudes toward older people result in denial of services to them and failure to recognize their diverse contributions to their families and communities. Possible remedies to these problems are proposed within a human rights framework. Help Age International, a global network of nonprofit organizations that work with and for disadvantaged older people worldwide to improve their lives, has developed a set of core normative principles which can inform the development of human rights indicators. Adherence to the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, independence, care, self-fulfillment, dignity, and participation would improve the lives of millions of older people. Policy making, research, and social action that include and focus on older persons are critical strategies for change | ||||
| See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement. | ||||
| Learning Objectives: Refer to the individual abstracts for learning objectives | ||||
| Cheryl Easley | ||||
| Mark of a Noble Society: Human Rights and Older People Sylvia Beales | ||||
| Human rights in the Context of Rapidly Aging Developing Nations Martha Pelaez, PhD | ||||
| Aging a New Human Rights Issue in America Russell E. Morgan, DrPH | ||||
| Sponsor: | APHA-International Human Rights Committee | |||