Action plan adopted at UN forum provides basis for tackling ageing issues, Annan reports

The agreement adopted at a recent United Nations conference on ageing issues forms the basis for action to face the remarkable demographic transition around the world that is currently underway, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

In a report on the follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing, the Secretary-General says the Madrid meeting “served as a truly global forum on ageing,” with 159 countries participating.

While aimed primarily at governments, the action plan adopted in April emphasizes the need for partnerships among national authorities, civil society and the private sector in its implementation, Mr. Annan stresses.

“The successful implementation of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002, requires effective and timely measures by the United Nations programme on ageing to facilitate and promote the Plan,” he says.

The Secretary-General says the Commission for Social Development, as the UN body responsible for follow-up and implementation of the plan, should begin discussion on how to integrate the dimensions of population ageing in its work.

Meanwhile, the programme on ageing should prepare a road map aimed at implementing the Madrid Plan of Action, Mr. Annan says, to facilitate international collaboration and promote coordination of the implementation process at the international level.