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รายงานวิจัยฉบับสมบูรณ์ (Final Report) | 484

Following the general debate, the Working Group held two interactive
discussions on the focus areas of the ninth session, “Autonomy and independence”
and “Long-term and palliative care”. I would like to express my appreciation to the
panellists for their excellent and substantive interventions, which provoked a deep
and fruitful debate among the members, thereby contributing to the fulfilment of the
Working Group’s mandate to strengthen the protection of the human rights of older
persons. The panellists included the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all
human rights by older persons and the Special Envoy of the Secretary -General on
Disability and Accessibility, and representatives from OHCHR, national human
rights institutions and national governments.
Each debate was preceded by a panel discussion featuring presentations by a
variety of stakeholders providing insights from different perspectives, such as the
human rights treaty body system, current international human rights law, national and
regional experiences, the specific human rights mandates and the national human
rights institutions.
Each panel was followed by an interactive discussion involving all
stakeholders, guided by the discussion papers prepared by OHCHR and t he
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which summarized the main trends
and areas of common ground to emerge from the input received prior to the
session.

Autonomy and independence
Panellists, delegations and participants welcomed the substanti ve discussion
on the concepts of autonomy and independence, which are inextricably related to
the dignity of older persons. Participants noted the lack of an accurate definition of
either concept in domestic law and inconsistent references to them in the i
nternational human rights framework. It emerged from the discussion that they are
mainly intertwined with the rights of older persons in terms of everyday decision -
making and full participation in the community.
The right of older persons to autonomy was identified as their having, on an
equal basis with others, the possibility of choosing between different options. In
that regard, it was stressed that older persons tend to be more exposed to abuse by
family members. The problem lay with relatives, who wer e likely to make
decisions convenient for them and not based on the wishes of the older persons
concerned, who were thus deprived of the capacity to decide on their financial,
health and housing issues.
Participants mentioned measures that had been imple mented at the national
level to improve the quality of life of older persons in terms of autonomy and
independence, such as the monitoring of social and long -term care facilities, the
creation of national registers of caregivers and reforms to prevent abus e in the
exercise of legal capacity.
The work of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights on organizing hearings and setting standards
relating to the right to autonomy and independence was cited. Provisi ons of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also shed light that right, which
rested on the premise that social barriers must be overcome to guarantee autonomy.
The State, it was concluded, played a key role in promoting and protecting that right.
Participants referred to the situation of certain groups of older persons, such as
older women and older persons with disabilities, who faced greater challenges in
achieving autonomy and independence.