Konwencja o prawach osób z niepełnosprawnościami a idea traktatu o prawach osób starszych – wrogowie czy sojusznicy?

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to prove that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is not an effective tool to protect all older people because it does not take into account the specificities of ageism and discrimination based on older age. It does not regulat violence, neglect and abuse of older people, their digital exclusion, lifelong learning, preparation for old age, shaping a friendly environment for ageing or intergenerational solidarity. To prove the above assumption, I compare factors that led to the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with an initiative to adopt a global convention on the rights of older persons. Furthermore, I analyse the provisions of the 2006 Treaty, pointing out those that could be used as a model for a future Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. At the same time, I identify areas not protected by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but extremely important for older people. The analysis led to an assumption that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should serve as a model for shifting a paradigm of an older person and old age. With a human rights-based approach, like people with disabilities, older people would start to be seen not as recipients of assistance, mainly medical, but as full members of society. Thus, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities should not weaken the motivation for adopting the new convention but should be considered its guide.

Keywords

• rights of older persons
• rights of persons with disabilities
• Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing
• human rights