Kuwait backs legally binding int’l treaty to protect rights of elderly people
Kuwait backed a legally binding international treaty to promote and safeguard the human rights of older persons globally. Speaking at the opening of the second session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Human Rights of Older Persons, which is being held at the UN headquarters in Geneva from October 26 to 30, the Third Secretary in the Foreign Ministry’s Human Rights Department Hanan Sulaiman Al-Sultan stressed that such an instrument is crucial to closing existing protection gaps.
Al-Sultan emphasized that the proposed treaty must be grounded in a comprehensive human rights framework. She noted that it should clearly delineate state responsibilities to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of older persons while taking into account differences in national legal systems and ensuring effective implementation.
The Kuwaiti diplomat highlighted the necessity of explicit legal safeguards to shield older persons from violence, neglect, and exploitation. She called for guarantees preserving their autonomy, legal capacity, right to healthcare, social protection, access to justice, and specialized care during emergency crises and digital transformation challenges.
Reviewing Kuwait’s domestic advancements, Al-Sultan cited the completion of a national strategy for older persons developed in partnership with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), alongside bolstered institutional monitoring mechanisms.
She urged leveraging existing national and multilateral frameworks for treaty implementation to prevent reporting duplication, while prioritizing international technical cooperation and capacity-building.
Al-Sultan expressed Kuwait’s optimism that consensus-driven negotiations in Geneva will yield a balanced international convention establishing enforceable obligations to protect older persons worldwide.
Source: KUNA
