BJSW Advance Access originally published online on November 17, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2006 36(7):1135-1150; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch395
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Global Social Justice for Older People: The Case for an International Convention on the Rights of Older People
Kwong-leung Tang is Chair and Professor of Social Work at the Department of Social Work, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Social Welfare Development in East Asia (Macmillan and St Martin’s Press, New York, 2000). He co-edits the book Poverty Monitoring and Alleviation in East Asia (Nova Science Press, New York, 2003). He is a co-editor of the two-volume set entitled What is Globalization? Critical Perspectives from North and South and What is Globalization? Critical Regional Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, forthcoming). His academic interests include East Asian social welfare, comparative social policy and human rights.
Jik-Joen Lee is an Associate Professor and member of the Research and Practice Centre at the Department of Social Work, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is interested in topics concerning social policies for older people and gerontological issues such as residential care, living arrangements and family support for older people. He is the co-editor of the book Advances in Social Welfare in Hong Kong (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002) and he has peer-reviewed papers published in international journals: Social Indicators Research, Journal of Gerontological Social Work and Aging and Society
Correspondence to Dr Kwong-leung Tang, Department of Social Work, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong. E-mail: kltang{at}cuhk.edu.hk
Older people are beginning to represent a large proportion of the general population and have become a major area for social programming in many parts of the world. However, neglect or violation of older people’s rights is common. Until recently, there has been a surprising lack of advocacy on the part of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights activists for a legally effective international convention on the rights of older people, as compared with other vulnerable groups such as children and women. This paper argues that the introduction of an international convention on the rights of older people is long overdue. Such an international convention should contain comprehensive and legally binding provisions which would require ratifying states to promote older people’s rights. It should be reinforced by a strong monitoring system that would involve key members of the international community. This paper outlines the arguments in favor of the creation of a transnational human rights agreement for older people and proposes that international NGOs and human rights advocates should work toward creating such a convention.
Keywords: social justice, older people, human rights, aging rights, elderly, social policy