Older persons have historically been neglected by human rights law. However, recently the issue of demographic change has renewed the general interest in older persons’ human rights. Many international instruments and regional human rights conventions recognise specific rights for all persons and are clearly applicable to elderly people as citizens of signatory states.
None of the equality clauses contained in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights – UDHR 10.12.1948, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- ICCPR , and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – ICESCR mentions older persons or persons with disabilities as protected categories. For international human rights law, the principle of non-discrimination and equality is a value in itself that can be derived directly from human dignity.
