Societies commitment is oriented towards a greater human dignity. Current information indicates that we have a longer life span in the entire history of humankind. Population changes relates to the fact that the societies of the future have been transformed with regards to what is known. For this reason, the number of older persons has increased, and societies must adapt to the new organization of the population.

The construction of societies committed to human dignity lies in guaranteeing universal human rights that allow all people to thrive. Currently, from an international cooperation scope, instruments have been implemented showing course of action for societies and specific groups to achieve suitable development and greater well-being.

International dialogue has focused on the promotion of social justice, where all individuals are equally valued, respected and integrated into social framework. Within the instruments that have been developed for the protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights for older persons, the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons is foreseen. The Convention was approved on June 15, 2015, by the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS). It entered into force on December 13, 2016, when it was deposited by Uruguay and Costa Rica as a legal binding instrument.

The purpose of the Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment and exercise, in conditions of equality, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of older persons, in order to contribute to full inclusion, integration and participation in the society.

The commitment to communicate to society and empower older persons about the rights protected by said Convention came from the current initiative promoted by UNFPA and CIESS. This initiative promotes a number of activities that lead to reflection on international instruments for the protection of rights of older persons and what organizations may do to promote and guarantee those rights.

By supporting the commitment of the institutions and with a view to transform persons’ realities through human rights enforcement, invitation is extended to all organizations interested in taking a training class. Aspects of the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons will be covered. The lecturer of this class will be Dr. Sandra Huenchuan, Specialist in Aging of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).