Human Rights Council
Fifty-eighth session
24 February–4 April 2025
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Albania, Argentina,* Armenia,* Australia,* Austria,* Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Cabo Verde,* Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia,* Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador,* Ethiopia, Gabon,* Gambia, Ghana, Italy,* Kuwait,** Luxembourg,* Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia,* Montenegro,* Mozambique,* Nigeria,* North Macedonia, Paraguay,* Peru,* Philippines,* Portugal,* Republic of Moldova,* Serbia,* Slovakia,* Slovenia,* Spain, Thailand, Ukraine* and Uruguay*: revised draft resolution
58/… Open-ended intergovernmental working group for the elaboration of a legally binding instrument on the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons
The Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming the Charter of the United Nations and the obligation of all States to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights and fundamental freedoms, reaffirming also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and all other relevant human rights treaties and instruments,
Recalling article I of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, Bearing in mind the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, the Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002, and all other relevant General Assembly resolutions, including resolutions 65/182 of 21 December 2010, 66/127 of 19 December 2011, 70/164 of 17 December 2015, 75/131 of 14 December 2020, 76/138 of 16 December 2021, 77/190 of 15 December 2022 and 78/177 of 19 December 2023,
Recalling further General Assembly resolutions 78/324 of 13 August 2024 and 79/147 of 17 December 2024, which marked the conclusion of the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, Taking note with appreciation of the work of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing over 14 sessions and noting its decision 14/1, [1] in which the Working Group recommended, inter alia, the elaboration of an international legally binding instrument to promote, protect and ensure the recognition and the realization, on an equal basis, of all human rights of older persons,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 21/23 of 28 September 2012, 24/20 of 27 September 2013, 33/5 of 29 September 2016, 42/12 of 26 September 2019, 48/3 of 7 October 2021, 51/4 of 6 October 2022 and 54/13 of 13 October 2023 on the human rights of older persons, and all other relevant Council resolutions, including resolutions 39/18 of 28 September 2018 and 44/7 of 16 July 2020,
Bearing in mind the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on normative standards and obligations under international law in relation to the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons,2
Recognizing the work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons and the contributions and support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Noting the regional developments and normative instruments on the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons, particularly those in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Europe,
- Decides to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group with the mandate of elaborating and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft international legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons with the objective of promoting, protecting and ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights by older persons;[2]
- Also decides that the open-ended intergovernmental working group will meet for two five-day sessions each year in Geneva in a hybrid format, should the General Assembly agree to reintroduce such a format, and that will be webcast, and that the organizational session should be held before the end of 2025 and no later than the start of the sixty-first session of the Human Rights Council, for three working days;
- Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the open-ended intergovernmental working group with all the assistance necessary for the effective fulfilment of its mandate;
- Calls upon States, the High Commissioner and the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons to hold virtual regional meetings or seminars to contribute to the work of the open-ended intergovernmental working group;
- Calls upon the open-ended intergovernmental working group to take into account the inputs from all stakeholders, the findings and recommendations of the Open ended Working Group on Ageing, the relevant reports of the Secretary-General, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, and the work of other relevant international and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms;
- Invites States, relevant United Nations organizations, agencies, funds and programmes, national human rights institutions, civil society, especially older persons and their representative organizations, to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the open-ended intergovernmental working group;
- Calls upon the open-ended intergovernmental working group to encourage and promote the meaningful participation and engagement of older persons and their representative organizations from all regional groups, in an inclusive manner, and in particular to give older persons the opportunity to express their views on the topic and substance of the proposed international legally binding instrument;
- Requests the open-ended intergovernmental working group to submit a report on progress made to the Human Rights Council for its consideration at its sixty-third session and to make the report available in an easy-to-read accessible format.
[1] See General Assembly resolution 78/324
[2] A/HRC/49/70.
* State not a member of the Human Rights Council.
** On behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
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