UN forum on ageing makes 'significant progress' on action plan, political declaration

Delegates meeting in Madrid at the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing have achieved "significant progress" on the final action plan and political declaration to be adopted at the conference's conclusion on Friday, a UN spokesman for the meeting said today.

The two working groups negotiating the texts both agreed last night on language that calls for concrete measures “to protect and assist older persons in situations of armed conflict and foreign occupation,” Paul Hoeffel said.

After adopting that language, the working groups have continued their deliberations in informal consultations with the hope of completing their work in time for the end of the plenary tomorrow, he added.

As of Thursday morning, 12 of the 117 paragraphs contained in the draft Plan of Action still awaited agreement, while about half of the Political Declaration was still under discussion.

Meanwhile, as speakers from several countries continued to address the plenary portion of the conference, the Assembly's Main Committee had met in a formal, open session this morning and heard from several non-governmental organizations, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Council of Europe.

In its presentation, FAO stressed the additional strain older persons in rural areas were facing as younger people continued to emigrate from the countryside. The concentration of older persons, particularly in developing countries, was growing at an accelerated rate in rural areas because older people were being left behind.

For its part, the Council of Europe presented the conclusions of a major research programme it had carried out. The study discovered that the more firmly national solidarity was organized around the issue of ageing, the better family solidarity worked. Only with national support could families themselves be effective in taking care of older persons and other family members.