By Ndey Sowe
In commending the Government on its role in the open-ended inter-governmental working group on the rights of older persons, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urges the Government of The Gambia to develop a National Policy on Older Persons.
The NHRC further encourages the government to also build on this momentum and domesticate the Protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa (African Union Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa), which it ratified in June 2024, by ensuring social protection mechanisms including financial security and access to essential services for older persons. To ensure this, the NHRC said government should expand pension and healthcare services for older persons and actively harness the contributions of older persons in all national development initiatives and discourses.
The Rights Commission welcomed and commended The Gambia’s active participation in the recently concluded session of the Open-Ended Inter-governmental Working Group (OEIWG) on the rights of older persons, under the auspices of the United Nations, during the Fifty-Eighth Session of the Human Rights Council held from 24th February to 4th April 2025.
“The Gambia’s engagement in this critical global process aims to elaborate a legally binding instrument in the promotion and protection of the rights and dignity of older persons. It demonstrates its commendable commitment to the advancement of human rights jurisprudence, global solidarity and inclusive development, and underscores the Gambia’s growing recognition of the vital role that older persons play in families, communities and in national development,” Emmanuel Daniel Joof, the Chairperson of NHRC said, underscoring the critical role older people play in their societies.
“Older persons remain among the most vulnerable segments of our society. They often face ageism, social exclusion, and limited access to social services such as healthcare, social security, and transportation. In some instances, older women are particularly at risk of negative social norms and cultural beliefs such as accusations of witchcraft,” Mr Joof said.
He said these realities necessitate urgent and sustained attention both nationally and internationally, reiterating the NHRC’s commitment to collaboratively working with the Government of the Gambia, civil society organizations, development partners, and older persons themselves, to ensure that no one is left behind in the pursuit of justice, equality and human rights.
The Gambia, in its capacity as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, has co-led the successful adoption of a landmark resolution aimed at enhancing the protection of the rights of older persons globally. The resolution adopted by consensus on April 3, 2025, during the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council, was spearheaded by The Gambia’s Permanent Mission in Geneva in collaboration with Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, and Slovenia.
Over 70 member states co-sponsored the initiative, and the resolution establishes an Open-Ended Inter-governmental Working Group (OEIGWG) tasked with the drafting of a legally binding international treaty to protect the rights of older persons.
As a State Party to the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons, The Gambia considers this initiative as a continuation of its national and regional commitments to promote and safeguard the rights and dignity of older persons. The next phase of the process will shift to the United Nations headquarters in New York, where inter-governmental negotiations on the draft treaty text will commence.
Meanwhile, The Gambia reaffirms its readiness to engage constructively and in good faith throughout this process and remains firmly committed to advancing the global human rights agenda in a spirit of multi-lateral cooperation.
