Open Letter to Minister Chris Elmore MP
Civil society leaders in the UK are calling for older people to be meaningfully involved in drafting the new United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
The open letter below to Chris Elmore MP, UK Foreign Minister with responsibility for human rights, calls for the UK Government to support the creation of the Convention and for older people’s lived experiences to be put at its heart.
The Convention is an opportunity to lift everyone up, ensuring people of all ages can live and age with dignity.
Dear Minister Elmore,
We, the undersigned, urge the UK Government to ensure that older people are included in the drafting of a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons. In April 2025, the Human Rights Council agreed to begin drafting a legally binding instrument and now is the time for the UK Government to support this process fully. The Convention will only succeed if older people, in all their diversity, are meaningfully involved in its drafting and implementation. Listening to older people and learning from their lived experiences is essential.
By 2050, over 2 billion people across the globe will be aged 60 and over, with 80% living in low and middle-income countries. Our collective increased longevity is a huge achievement. A Convention on the Rights of Older Persons would help all UN Member States by enabling older people to contribute their experience and knowledge more effectively.
Today, significant gaps in the human rights protections of older people persist. Ageism and age discrimination are widespread and there is no international legally binding legislation to prohibit them. Older people are prevented from taking part fully in society and their contributions are not recognised, especially because ageing brings with it higher prevalence of disability which exacerbates the barriers older people face. They often face daily violations of their human rights, including not being able to access health and social care, being shut out of jobs, the loss of dignity when using services, and violence and abuse. A UN Convention will set a legal framework to guide governments and other stakeholders on how to uphold older people’s rights in a way which will benefit people of all ages.
The UK can be proud of its history promoting human rights on the global stage. Supporting the creation of a Convention on the Rights of Older Persons would reaffirm that commitment.
By championing the inclusion of older people in the drafting process, the UK Government would send a strong message, both within the UK and globally, that older people are valued equally as rights holders in society and that the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’ will be respected.
We look forward to working with you and your Department to achieve the best possible outcome for older people, their families and communities.
Yours sincerely,
Alison Marshall, CEO, Age International
(on behalf of…)
- Alex Kent, Co-CEO, Restless Development
- Ali Harris, CEO, Equally Ours
- Andrew Larpent OBE, Chair Emeritus, CommonAge
- Anil Patil, Founder and Executive Director, Carers Worldwide
- Bridget Penhale, International Network on the Prevention of Elder Abuse
- Caroline Green, Director of Research, Institute for Ethics in AI
- Chris Lynch, Deputy CEO & Director of Policy & Communications, Alzheimer’s Disease International
- Clare Twelvetrees, Co-Founder and Trustee of Equality Starts at Home / Age International Trustee
- Dominic Haslam, Deputy CEO, Sightsavers
- Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive, Centre for Ageing Better
- Dr Helen Meenan, Kingston University
- Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive, Homecare Association
- Heléna Herklots CBE, Chair, Special Interest Group on Ageism, British Society of Gerontology
- Jacynth Bassett, Founder & CEO, Ageism is Never in Style®
- Jan Shortt, General Secretary, National Pensioners Convention
- Jane Kinninmont, Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Association - UK
- John Williams, Emeritus Professor of Law, Aberystwyth University
- Karl Hankinson, Co-CEO, Able Child Africa / Age International Trustee
- Katherine Crawford, CEO, Age Scotland
- Kerry Moscogiuri, Interim Chief Executive, Amnesty International UK
- Kirsty Smith, CEO, CBM-UK (Global Disability Inclusion)
- Linda Robinson BEM, CEO, Age NI
- Martin Drewry, CEO, Health Poverty Action (HPA)
- Mary Ann Clements, Co-Chief Executive Officer, ADD International
- Nadra Ahmed CBE, Executive Co-Chairman, National Care Association
- Paul Farmer, CEO, Age UK
- Professor Carol Holland, Director, Centre for Ageing Research, Lancaster University
- Professor Donald Macaskill, Chief Executive, Scottish Care
- Professor Emerita Geraldine Van Bueren KC, Chair, Alliance of Working-Class Academics Worldwide (AWCA)
- Professor Jolene Skordis FRSPH FRSEcon, Vice Dean (International and Advancement): UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences / Age International Trustee
- Rhian Bowen-Davies - Comisiynydd Pobl Hŷn Cymru / Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
- Sally Tsoukaris, General Secretary, Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance
- Sarah Harper, Chair, HelpAge International
- Tom Shelton, Interim CEO, Humanity and Inclusion UK
- Victoria Lloyd, CEO, Age Cymru
- Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director, Human Rights Watch
- Zarin Hainsworth, Chair, Widows Rights International