Nursing Homes Ireland Welcomes Step Towards UN Convention on the Human Rights of Older Persons
Tuesday April 8, 2025Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) welcomes the recent adoption of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution establishing an intergovernmental working group to draft a new UN convention on the human rights of older persons. This represents a landmark moment in global efforts to advance the rights, dignity, and well-being of older people, and reflects years of work by advocacy groups, older persons themselves, as well as civil society.
With the world’s population ageing rapidly, the need for robust, legally binding international standards to uphold the rights of older persons has never been more urgent. The formation of this working group is a decisive and long-awaited step towards the promotion, protection and ensuring the full enjoyment of human rights by older persons.
Speaking at the European Parliament during a visit to Irish MEPs, Tadhg Daly, CEO of NHI welcomed the leadership being shown at EU level and reaffirmed NHI’s support for the development of the UN convention. He also called on the Irish Government to play a proactive role in supporting the initiative and to ensure that organisations, particularly those working directly with older people, are meaningfully involved in the drafting process.
“Nursing Homes Ireland, as the national representative body for the nursing homes sector in Ireland, welcomes this resolution as a significant step forward in our collective journey to uphold the rights and dignity of older persons worldwide. Nursing Homes Ireland commits to sharing insights from our upcoming research on human rights in nursing home settings and looks forward to working collaboratively with the Irish Government, advocacy groups, and most importantly, older persons themselves, to develop a framework that truly improves lives and ensures respect and dignity for all as they age”.
The active inclusion of older persons and their advocates will be crucial to ensuring the convention reflects lived realities and addresses the specific challenges faced by older people in all care settings, including long-term residential care.
This marks an important step in recognising the rights and contributions of older people around the world. Nursing Homes Ireland supports the drive for a UN convention and welcomes the chance to work alongside others to help make it a reality.
