24 May 1989

15th plenary meeting

Second review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Aging

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Aging, conducted by the Commission for Social Development in accordance with General Assembly resolution 37/51 of 3 December 1982,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Aging;

2. Decides on the set of priorities and recommendations to encourage further implementation of the Plan of Action contained in annex I to the present resolution;

3. Endorses the programme of United Nations activities leading up to and following 1992 contained in annex II to the present resolution;

4. Reaffirms the recommendation made in the Plan of Action that the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Office at Vienna serve as the focal point on aging issues for the United Nations system and that, to that end, the Secretary-General, within the existing global resources of the United Nations, give due consideration to the provision of appropriate increased resources for the implementation of the Plan of Action;

5. Recommends the establishment of an open-ended ad hoc working group of the Third Committee of the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session, to focus on the conclusions of the second review and appraisal;

6. Decides to establish an open-ended ad hoc working group of the Economic and Social Council to monitor the preparatory activities for the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan of Action, in 1992;

7. Recommends the convening of a special ad hoc working group of the Commission for Social Development at its thirty-second session to monitor the activities for the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan of Action;

8. Decides that the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Office at Vienna, within existing resources or with extrabudgetary resources, should co-ordinate activities to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan of Action, as suggested in paragraph 103 of the report of the Secretary-General;

9. Urges the Aging Unit of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs to place special emphasis on developing expertise in, and providing technical assistance to, Member States on social and economic developmental issues related to aging;

10. Urges the Commission on the Status of Women to give particular attention to the specific problems faced by elderly women;

11. Urges Governments and the United Nations to involve non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to a greater extent than previously in the implementation of the Plan of Action so that their expertise and well-known contributions in the field may be used more effectively;

12. Notes with appreciation the activities, plans and programmes of the International Institute on Aging, recently established in Malta, particularly in the area of training;

13. Recommends that the Secretary-General take into consideration a feasibility study, conducted at the request of the Government of Yugoslavia, recommending the establishment of a United Nations-related international institute on aging at Belgrade;

14. Welcomes the progress made at the preparatory meeting to establish an African society of gerontology, held at Dakar from 17 to 22 December 1988, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 43/93 of 8 December 1988, at which a draft statute, draft rules of procedure and a draft work programme were elaborated;

15. Also welcomes the initiative of the Government of Argentina in establishing a subregional South American centre on aging;

16. Calls upon the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, as the focal point in the United Nations system for activities related to aging, to co-ordinate the activities of such institutes or centres, in particular to avoid duplication;

17. Reiterates that these and any other such institutes or centres would not preclude the establishment in other countries or regions of the world of other institutes or centres related to the United Nations and financed by voluntary contributions;

18. Decides to include the question of aging in the agenda of the thirty-second session of the Commission for Social Development.

Annex I SECOND REVIEW AND APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION ON AGING: PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. As their populations age, most countries are simultaneously confronted by economic constraints. In such a climate, aging is often low on the list of priorities. Yet, as noted in the report of the Secretary-General on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Aging, 87/ policy interventions are necessary now. In these circumstances, the expanded awareness of aging issues must be tapped; specific priorities must be identified; and resources must be marshalled. If specific measures based on existing structures and activities are instituted, and collaborative efforts encompassing Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are intensified, the synergy will achieve more, even with limited resources.

2. The Plan of Action contains broad recommendations dealing with different facets of aging. It would serve no useful purpose to repeat or reformulate them. Set forth below, to supplement the Plan of Action and encourage its implementation, are specific recommendations that emerge from the second review and appraisal.

3. In considering those recommendations, Member States might wish to bear in mind the following priorities:

(a) The provision of basic services for all - food, water, shelter, health protection and education - must form the corner-stone of any national or community-based group-specific programme;

(b) Specific policies and programmes focusing on the elderly must recognize both the humanitarian needs and the human resource potential of the aged;

(c) Policies to promote the developmental and humanitarian needs of the aged must focus on the family and community as indivisible social units;

(d) The use of the elderly as a societal resource must be predicated upon their involvement and participation in the development of policies and programmes affecting them;

(e) Expanding economic opportunities for the elderly must not be seen to imply contracting opportunities for the young; policies and programmes directed at either end of the age spectrum of the labour force can be mutually reinforcing;

(f) Policies and programmes for and by the elderly must grow upon quality baseline information that reflects the demographic, epidemiological, biological, social and economic aspects of aging.

4. The following recommendations are emphasized for the consideration of Member States:

(a) National machinery should be established or strengthened to ensure that the humanitarian needs and developmental potential of the aged are appropriately addressed within the context of each country and culture;

(b) The United Nations should continue to provide support, particularly to developing countries, in developing the national, local and voluntary institutional capacities necessary to respond appropriately to population aging;

(c) International development agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, are strongly encouraged to assist Governments, particularly those of developing countries, in developing or expanding their institutional capacities for responding appropriately to population aging;

(d) The expansion of research focusing on the demographic, epidemiological, biological, social and economic aspects of aging, particularly in developing countries, should be supported;

(e) Bilateral and multilateral co-operative research arrangements, particularly between developing and developed countries, should be encouraged in order to understand and respond better to global-specific and country-specific aging issues;

(f) The establishment or expansion of community-based or institutional care systems that provide the necessary health and social services for the frail elderly who have limited or no family support should be encouraged;

(g) The ability of families to care for their frail elderly should be supported and strengthened by the development or expansion of community-based health and social services that foster home care;

(h) Family support for the aged should be promoted by policies and programmes that provide economic and psychosocial incentives for families that care for their older members;

(i) To ensure their dignity and support, elderly women should be given special attention in appropriate policies and programmes;

(j) In countries where institutions are used to shelter and provide services for the frail elderly, policies that ensure active quality control and community integration should be promoted;

(k) Self-help initiatives on the part of the elderly should be encouraged and supported;

(l) Organizations and associations of the elderly that ensure their active involvement in policy and programme development should be encouraged and promoted;

(m) Intergenerational service programmes and educational opportunities should be supported to maintain intergenerational cohesion;

(n) Training in gerontology and geriatrics should be offered by the expansion of international institutes, as well as by individual country institutes and training centres, to ensure that policy makers, researchers and practitioners have an adequate knowledge of aging issues;

(o) Bilateral and multilateral co-operation between Governments and non-governmental organizations to provide training for specialists in aging, particularly specialists from developing countries, should be encouraged and supported;

(p) Laws and practices that support age discrimination should be discouraged;

(q) Income security programmes, including those related to pensions, employment opportunities and family assistance, should be supported to ensure dignity and opportunity in old age;

(r) Income security should be enhanced, where necessary, by the development and support of income-generating projects for and by the elderly.

Annex II OUTLINE OF A PROGRAMME OF UNITED NATIONS ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF AGING FOR 1992 AND BEYOND

1. A draft programme of organizational and substantive activities to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the International Plan of Action on Aging is given below, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 43/93 of 8 December 1988. The substantive focus reflects priority needs identified in the report of the Secretary-General on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Aging.

2. The draft programme aims at stimulating interest, inquiry and response, and at celebrating aging as a significant phenomenon and achievement of the twentieth century. When implemented, the draft programme's substantive focus and organizational arrangements would vary between the entities concerned and from country to country.

3. The Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Office at Vienna, as the focal point within the United Nations system for activities on aging, will co-ordinate the programmes of the anniversary year. Working within existing resources, it will endeavour:

(a) To mobilize national machinery on aging to launch national consciousness-raising events;

(b) To use the expertise of the organizations of the United Nations system for action-oriented programmes on aging in their respective areas of concern;

(c) To co-operate with non-governmental organizations in the production and distribution of specialized and general information for wide distribution within their respective networks;

(d) To ensure that the general public is informed of the year and its follow-up activities by increasing channels of communication between the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations information centres around the world;

(e) To raise extrabudgetary resources for supplementing those activities.

4. Issues selected for special attention during the year and its follow-up will include, in accordance with the findings of the second review and appraisal, policies and programmes relating to the following:

(a) Income security and income-generating activities;

(b) Health-care delivery and its financing in aging societies;

(c) Community-based activities for and with the elderly;

(d) Organizations of the elderly;

(e) Training.

5. In addition to Governments, groups to be targeted during the year and its follow-up will include mid-life and elderly persons, trade unions and employers' organizations, women's and youth organizations, schools and universities, and research and training institutions.

6. If extrabudgetary resources become available, the following specific activities leading up to and during 1992 would be envisaged:

1989 International meeting of non-governmental organizations to assist in the development and organization of concrete programmes and activities for 1992 and its follow-up.

1990 Regional meeting of developing countries, in co-operation with regional commissions and national machinery on aging, to promote the development of country-specific profiles and the preparation of national agenda on aging for the decade 1992-2001.

1991 Publication of a graphic and succinct status report entitled "Aging: highlights from the twentieth century, forecasts for the twenty-first century".

1992 Activities marking the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the International Plan of Action on Aging, including:

(a) A public information campaign focusing on selected aging issues to stimulate the necessary preparation for or response to aging;

(b) An international art and literature campaign (including a poster competition) to enlist the general public, artists and writers in celebrating aging;

(c) The issue of United Nations stamps to commemorate the occasion;

(d) Publication of an agenda for the decade, entitled "Selected priorities for action on aging: 1992-2001". This would complement the broad-based Plan of Action, and priorities would be selected on the basis of national profiles and experience in implementing the Plan of Action at various levels. It would be for use by decision makers, practitioners and non-governmental organizations;

(e) An information packet containing technical reports, news features, human interest items and so forth for use by schools, universities, the media and non-governmental organizations.

7. After 1992, substantive activities might focus on several specific issues within the general context of the aging of populations, with a view to ensuring that exchanges of knowledge and expertise can actually be operationalized. Four clusters of activities are suggested below, each one beginning with a draft paper prepared by the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, in consultation with the appropriate specialized agencies; the draft papers would be refined at regional meetings, in co-operation with the regional commissions, and finally published as technical manuals or monographs:

(a) Establishing community-based organizations of the aged;

(b) Income security and income generation for and by the aged;

(c) Health-care delivery and financing in aging societies;

(d) Intersectoral co-operation on aging.

8. Information on the activities undertaken on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan of Action and the follow-up proposed for the decade 1992-2001 will be made available to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session when, in accordance with Assembly resolution 43/93, the occasion will be commemorated in the plenary General Assembly.