This statement was broadcasted at the 51^st Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, on September 19th, 2022. Watch the video statement here.

Respected Chairperson,

I am Sai Racherla from the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW).  We welcome the report of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

The Asia and the Pacific is rapidly ageing, and according to certain UN estimates, by 2050, close to 1.3 billion people will be 60 years old.

We reiterate the call by the Independent Expert, for all laws and regulations justifying the deprivation of the personal liberty of older persons based on their age or on perceived or actual needs for care and allowing for “substituted decision-making” to be repealed.

Financing for ageing individuals taking intersectional factors into account, who cannot afford care services and in need of them should be publicly supported.

More data and research is required to examine older persons suffering violence, abuse, ill-treatment and even torture, in care settings such as in independent & assisted living facilities, home-based senior care, senior rehabilitation services, hospice care and community-based care. We call for regulatory frameworks, licensing, and accreditation to become mandatory to ensure high quality of care in such care settings.