UN Human Rights Council Launches Treaty Initiative for Older People's Rights by 2025

The UN Human Rights Council initiated an intergovernmental process on April 3, 2025, to draft an international human rights treaty focused on older people. This consensus resolution marks a significant step toward addressing human rights violations experienced by older individuals worldwide, including violence, discrimination, and exclusion. This initiative follows years of advocacy by groups like the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP), a network of over 400 civil society organizations. In 2024, a dedicated UN Working Group on Ageing acknowledged existing gaps, leading to the Human Rights Council's action. The first meeting of the intergovernmental working group is scheduled before the end of 2025, with participation expected from all UN member countries. Significant protection gaps for older people remain in the current international human rights framework. A group of countries consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Gambia, the Philippines, and Slovenia, pushed this initiative forward at the Human Rights Council, the UN's preeminent human rights body. The working group should now proceed quickly and ensure meaningful participation and engagement from stakeholders, especially older people and their representative organizations from all regions of the world.