1 October: Day of Older Persons
Established by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 1990, this Day recognizes the contributions of older persons. After all, they are the one who built up all that we enjoy.
It also raises awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world and about issues affecting them. The elderly are highly vulnerable, with many falling into poverty, becoming disabled or facing discrimination. Neglect and abuse of older persons is sadly becoming an acceptable social norm.
As health care improves, the population of older people also grows. Between 2017 and 2030, the number of persons over sixty years is projected to grow by 46 per cent (from 962 million to 1.4 billion), globally outnumbering youth, as well as children under the age of ten.
This increase will be the greatest and most rapid in the developing world. The World Health Organization promotes public awareness and attention on the ageing populations and the provision of adequate healthcare for aged persons. Their needs are growing, but so are their contributions to the world.
There is need to encourage volunteer work, social care and ways to be more inclusive of older persons in the workforce and to promote the development of a society that is hospitable to people of all ages.
In our country, the social fabric of joint families is breaking down with urbanisation and smaller housing facilities. Instead, the trend is towards forming nuclear families. Moreover, younger people increasingly leave home in search of greener pastures abroad or in urban areas. Aged parents are left to fend for themselves. Homes for senior citizens are not only seen as acceptable, but as an unavoidable reality. Thus persons, who dedicated their best years and resources to the upbringing of their children, may be abandoned in their own hour of need.
The theme of the 2020 commemoration is “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”
24 October: United Nations Day
One of the treaties to formally end World War I was signed in Versailles, France, on June 28, 1919. It laid the foundation for a “League of Nations” meant at prevent outbreaks of war, encourage disarmament, negotiations and diplomatic measures to settle international disputes and to improve the quality of life around the world. However, the outbreak of World War II showed that the League needed to take on a more effective form.
The ideas around the United Nations were developed in the last years of World War II, particularly during the UN Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, beginning on April 25, 1945. The UN was officially created when its Charter was ratified on October 24 that year, by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The purposes of the UN, as identified in its Charter, include maintaining international peace and security, solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and protecting human rights around the world. In 1948, they created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Another aim is promoting sustainable development. The member nations deliver humanitarian aid to populations in crisis. The first aid delivered was an immediate response to the devastation following World War II.
Today the UN consists of 193 member states and two observer states. Each Member State has one seat in the General Assembly. The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All these were established in 1945, when the UN was founded.
The UN does not work alone, but together with many specialized agencies, including: the World Health Organization (WHO); the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); International Labour Organization (ILO); United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
UN Day was first observed on October 24, 1948. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the UNO. The theme is: “2020 and Beyond—Shaping Our Future Together.”
Sr Esme da Cunha FDCC
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