October 2, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

Since 1999, United Nations has proclaimed October 1st as the International Day of Older Persons. Between 2017 and 2030, the number of the elderly is expected to grow by 46 percent. The number of the older persons surpassed the sum of the youth and the children. 

Older people have always played a critical role in the society to lead and to take care of others. As the improvement of health care, the population of the older people is growing. It is the great opportunity for UN to highlight the contribution of the older people to increase the awareness of the growing population of the older people.

The theme of 2019 is to discuss the journey to age equality. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pointed out the concrete development should include all ages of world citizens. It is important to encourage the older people to participate in the social, economic, and political life to ensure the involvement and to decrease the exclusiveness. 

AS the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte stated older people were not protected by any specific organizations, unlike refugees, women and children. We should have certain pressure to take the action to increase the awareness of the issues of aging. Mr. Matte also mentioned that we should all defend the rights of the older persons since we would all grow old in the future. 

Photo:Webshot.