As life expectancy rises, talks start on a UN treaty to protect older persons

GENEVA: A United Nations meeting this week heard calls for an end to ageism and better protection against what campaigners say are hidden abuses as negotiations began on a treaty to strengthen the rights of older persons. The week of talks in Geneva, which ended on Friday (Jul 17), was initiated and chaired by Argentina in efforts to combat exclusion, discrimination and neglect as life expectancy rises. The UN projects that the number of people over 65 will double in the next 50 years to become a fifth of the world's population."Our objective is not just to address the needs of the present, but also to prepare a system that can meet the needs of the future," said Carlos Mario Foradori, Argentina's ambassador to the UN in Geneva. "This goal is to build an instrument that strengthens the dig