Rosa Kornfeld-Matte's report on her work as the UN Independent Expert on the rights of older persons was informative, if also bloodless. The harsh reality is that older people rank among the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world. Indeed, the UN Secretary-General has written:
“Homelessness, malnutrition, unattended chronic diseases, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, unaffordable medicines and treatments and income insecurity are just a few of the most critical human rights issues that a large number of older persons confront on a daily basis.”
The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, decried “the limited and fragmented response” of states to the plight of older people. Striking a note of urgency, she argued that dedicated measures to strengthen the international protection regime for older persons are called for “without further delay.”
