We, the members and
associate members of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific attending the Regional Meeting on a Plan of Action on Ageing for
Asia and the Pacific convened at Macau from 28 September to 1 October 1998:
Appreciating the contribution
that older persons are making and can continue to make to their societies,
Recognizing that, in
the Charter of the United Nations, the peoples of the United Nations declare,
inter alia, their determination to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights
of men and women and of nations large and small, and to promote social
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Recalling General Assembly
resolution
47/5 of 16 October 1992, in which the Assembly decided to observe the
year 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons, and its resolution
50/141 of 21 December 1995, in which it invited the regional commissions
to bear in mind the goals of the Year when convening regional meetings
in 1998 and 1999 at which to mark the Year and formulate action plans on
ageing for the twenty-first century,
Reaffirming the relevance
and need for continued implementation of the Vienna International Plan
of Action on Ageing, adopted at the World Assembly on Ageing in 1982, which
was the first comprehensive international instrument in the field of ageing
that set out the principles and guidelines for the formulation and implementation
of policies concerning ageing and older persons,
In pursuance of the
Manila Declaration on the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the
ESCAP Region adopted at the Asian and Pacific Ministerial Conference in
Preparation for the World Summit for Social Development in October 1994,
Noting that the ageing
of societies in the twentieth century, unprecedented in the history of
mankind, poses a serious and complex challenge to all nations and requires
a basic change in social attitude towards ageing and older persons and
in the way in which societies organize themselves,
Aware that the Asian
and Pacific region is rooted in the dynamism of social, economic and cultural
development, that, in the region, individuals are reaching an advanced
age in greater numbers and are in better health, and that the tremendous
diversity in the situation of older persons, not only between countries
but also within countries, requires a variety of policy responses,
Mindful that, in many
countries, the family, as the natural fundamental unit of society, needs
to be strengthened as a system of support in the provision of care and
protection for older persons,
Reaffirming our solidarity
and collective support of the spirit of regional cooperation in addressing issues
of common concern relating to ageing and older persons,
Expressing a firm commitment
to accord priority to the development of older persons, to take immediate
measures to bring active older persons into the economic and social mainstream
and to meet the basic needs and social security of rural and urban elderly,
Urging the international
community and development assistance bodies to provide full support and
adequate resources for the region's pursuit of the goals and targets contained
in the international and regional mandates related to ageing and older
persons mentioned above,
Acknowledging the national
experience and capacity of members and associate members to formulate,
strengthen and implement their respective policies concerning ageing and
older persons, mindful of their own social, economic and political conditions,
- Adopt the
Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific as annexed to the present
Declaration;
- Urge members
and associate members:
- To set corresponding
goals and targets in accordance with the Plan of Action;
- To establish
and strengthen their respective national policies on ageing and national
mechanisms for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Plan
of Action;
- Call upon
the Commission to devote at least one plenary meeting at its fifty-fifth
annual session, to be held in 1999, to the commemoration of the International
Year of Older Persons and to generate greater awareness of issues related
to ageing and older persons;
- Recommend
that the Commission endorse the Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the
Pacific at that session and provide support for its successful implementation;
- Also call
upon the Commission and other concerned United Nations and international
organizations to assist in the early and full implementation of the Plan
of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific.
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