Modalities of the Intergovernmental Working Group
Older persons around the world frequently experience a wide range of human rights violations and abuses. The United Nations Human Rights Council’s decision to pursue an international treaty on the rights of older persons creates the opportunity to set international standards and provide a framework for a world free from ageism and age discrimination.
Human Rights Watch makes the following recommendations on the modalities of the Intergovernmental Working Group.
1. Reasonable Accommodation
Reasonable accommodation should be provided to facilitate the full, safe, equal, and meaningful participation of all stakeholders, including older persons and older persons with disabilities.
2. Civil Society Participation
Human Rights Council Resolution 58/13 (2025) establishing the Intergovernmental Working Group “invites… civil society, especially older persons and their representative organizations, to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group.”
To ensure their full, safe, equal, and meaningful participation:
a. All interested civil society organizations should be able to register and participate whether they are in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council or not.
- Expanded participation for non-state stakeholders is best accomplished through an open registration system managed by the UN secretariat.
- Participants should be allowed to register, be accorded temporary UN passes to access the UN building during the days of relevant meetings, and have the same rights of participation as ECOSOC civil society organizations.
b. Civil society organizations, and older persons and their representative organizations accredited to the meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group should be able to:
- Attend formal and informal meetings
- Have timely access to copies of official documents, including draft versions
- Make their materials available to delegations
- Make written submissions to consultations of, and calls for input from, stakeholders
- Take the floor during formal and informal meetings.
c. Dedicated speaking time throughout the process will ensure that older persons and their representative organizations and civil society organizations are able to express their views, including through a guaranteed number of speaking slots for civil society organizations, and older persons and their representative organizations at all Intergovernmental Working Group sessions.
3. Hybrid Format
Resolution 58/13 established that sessions in Geneva will take place in a hybrid format. Hybrid participation in the Intergovernmental Working Group sessions and webcasting will facilitate wider access by all stakeholders, including older persons and their representative organizations and civil society organizations unable to travel to Geneva to attend in person, and ensure a more inclusive and transparent process.
a. The hybrid format should allow online oral interventions in real time.
b. Hybrid meetings should be fully accessible, including through the use of live captioning.
4. Transparency
Resolution 58/13 calls on all stakeholders to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group. Transparency is essential to facilitate active and constructive participation.
a. All drafts, working documents, submissions, and inputs received and considered by the Intergovernmental Working Group should be made public on its dedicated website at least four weeks before each session to support all stakeholders’, including civil society’s, preparation for the sessions. Civil society should have access to this dedicated website.
b. The sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group should be webcast and recordings made available on UN Web TV.
5. Regional Consultations
Resolution 58/13 calls for regional consultations. Substantive regional consultations held outside of Geneva and input from a broad range of stakeholders, including older persons and legal or academic experts without affiliation to a civil society organization, are critical to inform the process and provide it legitimacy globally.
a. All consultations should be designed to enable full and equal participation of older persons and their representative organizations, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders.
b. Those designing the modalities for participation in regional consultations should actively seek robust participation by older persons and their representative organizations, civil society organizations and legal and academic experts including on gender, disability, and equality and non-discrimination, in all stages of the treaty-development process, including drafting, design, negotiation, implementation, and monitoring of the treaty.
6. Work Planning
Resolution 58/13 tasked the Intergovernmental Working Group with elaborating and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft international legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons. To ensure a solid foundation to the drafting process:
a. The Intergovernmental Working Group’s elaboration of a legally binding instrument should begin with a thorough consideration and framing of the underpinning conceptual basis, fundamental principles, and scope of the new legally binding instrument.
b. The first two substantive sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group should be dedicated to this work before negotiating detailed articles or a full zero draft of the instrument.
7. Treaty Drafting
To ensure inclusive and accessible treaty drafting, the Intergovernmental Working Group should encourage and promote the full and effective participation of older persons and their representative organizations and civil society organizations in the drafting process. This includes:
a. The participation of civil society organizations and older persons and their representative organizations on a treaty drafting group.
b. Transparency of the treaty drafting process, provision of appropriate and accessible information, and availability of reasonable accommodation when required.
8. Member State Delegations
Given the importance of opportunities for strengthening intersectional approaches to the enjoyment of all older persons’ human rights through this treaty drafting process, states should consider including experts on older people’s rights, gender, disability, and equality and non-discrimination in their negotiation teams.
