1 October was founded as International Day of Older Persons by the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution №45/106 in 1990.

The theme of the day in 2016 is: “Fight against ageism”. Ageism is a form of age discrimination, which mostly targets elderly persons and hinders their participation in social, economic, cultural and political life.

This year, the UN Secretary General's message contains a call against ageism and urges States to take appropriate steps in case of violation of the rights of older persons and create additional legal guarantees to protect older persons from discriminatory policy, laws and treatment.

The United Nations pays particular attention to and rejects the negative stereotypes and wrong attitudes towards the older persons and aging.

The situation of the rights of older persons in Georgia still cannot respond to modern challenges and international approaches. Majority of older people do not have access to adequate housing, social services or protection mechanisms, and therefore, they are at risk of poverty, homelessness and isolation. They are often subjected to violence. The existing state programs do not provide for alternative care services for the elderly and no needs-based programs are being developed; social welfare of the mentioned people is a problem at the local level.

The Public Defender's Office monitors the protection of the rights of older persons. Last year's parliamentary report focused on the difficult socio-economic conditions and challenges faced by older persons; relevant recommendations were developed. In order to solve the problem, the Public Defender suggested making the process of preparation of state policy documents and an action plan more active.

The adoption of the “State Policy Concept on Aging of Georgian Population” by the Parliament of Georgia in 2016 can be considered as a step forward. According to the concept, the Government of Georgia was instructed to develop and approve a national action plan for 2016-2018 till August 1, 2016. However, the action plan has not yet been developed.

The Public Defender considers that the national action plan development process must be completed as soon as possible and the Government must adopt the document, which will provide engagement of the issue of aging in different sector policies and programs, as well as proper protection of the rights of older persons. We should say no to ageism, which often intercrosses with other forms of discrimination, (discrimination on grounds of gender, disability, ethnicity, etc) by our positive activities.