Third Review and Appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002

E/RES/2018/6View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Economic and Social Council, under agenda item 19b Social development, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

3 versions · 2013–2023

This is an older version — the most recent is E/RES/2023/15

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2023	E/RES/2023/15	Fourth review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002	3,377	58%Compare
2018	E/RES/2018/6	Third review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002	2,178	47%Compare
2013	E/RES/2013/29	Second review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002	1,504	–

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2019–2024

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2024	E/CN.5/2025/5	Modalities for the 5th review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002 report of the Secretary-General		E/RES/2023/15
2019	E/CN.5/2020/4	Modalities for the 4th review and appraisal of the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002 report of the Secretary-General		E/RES/2018/6

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Ageing Ageing Persons Social Policy Social Services

What’s in this document?

26 operative paragraphs

Recognizes the successful conclusion of the third review and appraisal of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002,1 and its results at the international, regional and national levels, which highlighted several common challenges across regions, from the various perspectives of demographic transition, cultural norms and level of economic development, including the health and well-being of older persons and the improvement of related health and care services, as well as the expansion, improvement and sustainability of social protection systems and other income support measures, all of which remain a priority in all regions;

Encourages Member States to strengthen further the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action and use it as a tool for the inclusion of older persons in the implementation and attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development5 and the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the potential of older persons and the essential contribution they can continue to make to the functioning of societies and towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development if adequate guarantees are in place, and encourages Member States to create an enabling environment for the full participation of older persons in political, social, economic and cultural life, while taking into account the diversity in the situations of older persons;

Encourages Member States to take into account the multidimensional nature of the vulnerability of older persons to poverty and economic insecurity, including through the promotion of good health, care and well-being, in their implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level;

Also encourages Member States to establish or strengthen national coordinating bodies or mechanisms, as appropriate, in order to, inter alia, facilitate the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action, including its review and appraisal;

Expresses concern that growing older presents a significant additional risk of vulnerability to economic insecurity and poverty and that people living in areas where poverty is endemic, and having endured a life of poverty and deprivation, are often at greater risk of slipping deeper into poverty in their older age;

Encourages Member States to continue their efforts to mainstream ageing into their policy agendas, bearing in mind the crucial importance of family intergenerational interdependence, solidarity and reciprocity for social development, the realization of all human rights for older persons, the promotion of social integration and the prevention and elimination of age discrimination, including by highlighting a gender perspective;

Also encourages Member States to promote the understanding of ageing as an issue of concern to society as a whole, through lifelong education at all levels, in order to combat ageism and discrimination against older persons;

Further encourages Member States to consider including in their national strategies, inter alia, policy implementation approaches such as empowerment and participation, gender equality, awareness-raising and capacity development, and such essential policy implementation tools as evidence-based policymaking, mainstreaming, participatory approaches and indicators;

Encourages Member States to consider setting benchmarks for action at the national level based on the successes and good practices, shortcomings and future priorities identified in their national and regional levels of review and appraisal in furthering implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action, bearing in mind the specific needs of older persons, including through the strengthening of institutional mechanisms, research, data collection and analysis and the training of necessary personnel in the field of ageing;

Calls upon Member States to adopt appropriate measures, including, if necessary, legislative measures to promote and protect the rights of older persons and measures aimed at providing economic and social security and health care, while considering the Madrid Plan of Action and mainstreaming a gender perspective, the full participation of older persons in the decision-making process affecting their lives, and ageing with dignity;

Encourages Member States to formulate and implement pension policies and seek to improve the effectiveness of their social protection and security systems, taking into consideration that it is necessary to promote decent work, which will subsequently allow for decent retirement;

Also encourages Member States to support the national and international research community in developing studies on the impact of the Madrid Plan of Action on older persons and national social policies;

Further encourages Member States to address the well-being and adequate health care of older persons, including long-term care and palliative care, and recognizes that the incidence and impacts of non-communicable diseases can be largely prevented or reduced with an approach that incorporates evidence-based, affordable, cost-effective, population-wide and multisectoral interventions;

Encourages Member States to harness scientific research and expertise and realize the potential of technology and of rapid technological change to focus on, inter alia, the individual, social, educational and health implications of ageing, in particular in developing countries;

Invites Member States to establish and/or strengthen partnerships with civil society organizations, such as organizations of older persons and academia, and with the private sector in order to improve their national capacity for policy formulation, implementation and monitoring in the area of ageing;

Stresses the need for additional capacity-building at the national level guided by each country’s needs in order to promote and facilitate the implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action, and in this connection encourages Member States to support the United Nations trust fund for ageing in order to enable the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat to provide expanded assistance to countries, upon their request;

Invites Member States as well as other major national and international stakeholders to continue their cooperation with the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as the United Nations global focal point on ageing, in further implementing the Madrid Plan of Action;

Acknowledges the essential contributions of the United Nations regional commissions to the implementation, review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action, including the organization of regional review and appraisal meetings and the preparation of their outcome documents, and calls upon the Secretary-General to strengthen the work of the regional commissions on ageing to enable them to enhance their regional implementation activities;

Requests the regional commissions to continue to facilitate, including through their intergovernmental bodies, the further implementation of the Madrid Plan of Action based on the priorities identified in the outcomes of their regional review and appraisal exercises and as a modality for the inclusion of older persons in the implementation and attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals;

Invites its functional commissions, within their mandates, to consider mainstreaming ageing issues, inter alia, by including ageing and the concerns of older persons in the emerging issues under their programmes of work, as appropriate, bearing in mind the importance of improving United Nations coordination and strengthening capacity-building, where needed, in order to improve the situation of older persons;

Invites all relevant United Nations entities that can contribute to advancing the situation of older persons to give greater priority, within their respective mandates, to addressing the needs and concerns of older persons, while maximizing synergies;

Encourages the international community to enhance international cooperation, inter alia, cooperation among Member States, to support national efforts, upon request, to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, in keeping with internationally agreed goals, in order to achieve sustainable social and economic support for older persons, and to build capacity on ageing through stronger partnerships with civil society, such as organizations of older persons, academia, research foundations and community- and faith-based organizations, and with the private sector;

Encourages the international community and the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to support national efforts, upon request, and to provide funding for research and the collection of data disaggregated by age, in addition to data disaggregated by sex and disability, in order to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by population ageing and to provide policymakers with more accurate, practical and specific information and analysis on ageing, gender and disability, such as for policy planning, monitoring and evaluation;

Requests the Secretary-General to follow up on the outcomes of the third review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action, and in particular the relationship between development, social policy and the human rights of older persons to, inter alia, better inform the future work of relevant United Nations entities and bodies, including the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission for Social Development at its fifty-eighth session, in 2020, a report on the modalities for the fourth review and appraisal of the Madrid Plan of Action and the implementation of the present resolution.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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