UN International Day of Older Persons - October 1st
Designated by the General Assembly in 1990 by resolution 45/106.
- The International Day of Older Persons. UN Division for Social Policy and Development.
“The elderly are among the most invisible group of refugees and displaced persons, I hope to change that.”
Sadako Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1990-2000), 1997
A survey in 1997 indicated that older refugees make up a much larger proportion of the UNHCR caseload than previously assumed. It had long been believed that older people were more likely to choose to stay in their place of origin, or, unfortunately, to perish in flight or to pine away and die in exile. In fact, in many situations they are over-represented in refugee populations. The majority of this older population are women.
A UNHCR evaluation report identified three crucial factors all these people have in common: they are in situations of social disintegration, negative social selection and chronic dependency. See The situation of older refugees (UNHCR)
Older refugees - The International Framework & Current Situation
- ECRE project on elderly refugees final report “Reception and integration of Elderly Refugees” (asylkoordination österreich)
- No safety net for older migrants and refugees - re Second World Assembly on Ageing Madrid, Spain 8-12 April 2002 (United Nations)
- Older people in disasters and humanitarian crises: guidelines for best practice (HelpAge International) Available in: English; Spanish; French.
- Thematic compilation of UN General Assembly resolutions calling on States and/or UNHCR to ensure that the needs of elderly refugees are addressed (UNHCR) (PDF file 64 KB)
- Statement to UN Economic and Social Council on protecting older persons in situations of armed conflict (Global Action on Aging)
- UNHCR assistance to older refugees. Evaluation report. (UNHCR website)
- Women, children and older refugees: the sex and age distribution of refugee populations with a special emphasis on UNHCR policy priorities (UNHCR Population Data Unit) 2001 (PDF file 380 KB)
Selected full-text documents (for more, search in the Digital Library)
- Forced Migration Review, Issue 14, July 2002: Older displaced people: at the back of the queue?
- Gozdziak, Elzbieta. 1988 Older refugees in the United States: from dignity to despair (Refugee Policy Group)
- Mupedziswa, R., Elderly camp refugees and social development: traditional status – a salient dimension compromised? Paper presented at Help Age workshop on “Change and development through workshops.” 11-12 Sept. 1989, Harare
Selected web-based information resources (for more, search the FMO website)
- Emergencies - HelpAge International’s overview of their emergency relief work
- Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002. See 'Issue 8: Emergency Situations'
- United Nations Principles for Older Persons
- UNHCR policy on older refugees
Contact details for relevant organizations (for more, search in the Organizations Directory)