Monday, June 15, 2015, was a very historic moment for older persons around the world. For the first time in history, in a meeting of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, member states adopted the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Rights for Older Persons . Even though it is a regional convention of one continent in the world, the mere fact that in this convention 26 protected rights of older persons in one region have been articulated serves as an example and a moral basis for the articulation of a global instrument for the protection of all human rights of older persons all over the world!
In the year 2015 there were 1.1 million older persons living in the Caribbean, which total is expected to increase to 2 million by 2035 . But today, 5 years after the adoption of this legally-binding instrument on the Protection of Human Rights of Older Persons, none of the older person in the 16 Caribbean OAS-states can claim these protected rights. This is because none of the Caribbean member states has ratified this convention! Only when a member state ratifies a treaty it becomes a legal binding instrument in that State. None of the 16 Caribbean member states of the OAS has shown the intention of their government to undertake the necessary steps in their respective countries to legally protect the rights of older persons by signing the Convention.
In the Caribbean there are also 16 non-independent territories with a limited degree of sovereignty. These territories are still under jurisdiction of a former colonial European state (England, France, the Netherlands) and some under jurisdiction of the United States of America. The European States with jurisdiction over non-Caribbean territories are not a member state of the Organization of American States, so the Inter-American Conventions cannot be claimed by persons in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Aruba, Curaçao and Saint Martin, to name a few of these territories in the American hemisphere!
The USA is a member state of the OAS, but because the USA has not ratified and not even signed the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Older Persons, older persons in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are still without legal protection of their human rights!
How to get protection for the rights of older persons in the 16 non-independent territories of the Caribbean region so that they also can claim at least these 26 protected rights in their territory? Only an International Convention when adopted by the European states can provide older persons in these territories with a legal binding instrument to protect their human rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights give older persons the same rights as others in the society, but insufficient protection against ageism, which is discrimination based on age.
In other words, older persons in the Caribbean will remain without adequate legal protection of their human rights as long as the 16 Caribbean member states of the Organization of American States do not ratify the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Older persons, and as long as the 16 non-independent Caribbean territories under jurisdiction of USA or former colonial European states do not accept, sign and ratify an International Covenant to Protect the Rights of Older Persons.
Older persons organizations should establish strategic alliances with human rights organizations, organizations of women, workers organizations, church organizations, all other organizations with younger persons to demand from the local authorities to support and accept a legal binding instrument to protect the rights of older persons. All the non-older persons organizations have to realize, that their members also will become senior citizens one day. If they do not stand up with the older persons organizations today, they will end up in the same situation of lack of protection of their human rights tomorrow as we experience today.
The CORV coordination of civil society organizations of Aging and Old Age of Latin America and the Caribbean will rally for these strategic alliances in all countries and territories of the region. For more information please contact our CORV Ambassador to International Organizations and coordinator for the Caribbean residing in Saint Martin: Raymond Jessurun.
