In the early 2000s Elizabeth Sclater and I collaborated on the rights of older people. At the time I was working with HelpAge International.
Elizabeth was an indomitable advocate for older people in general and for older women especially, founding the Older Women’s Network, Europe (OWN-EU) and speaking out fearlessly from many global and international platforms on the “internalised ageism” that holds back the championing of their rights.
I was last with her at the UN in Geneva in 2023, when she spoke out on the subject. At the start of this month I was again in Geneva to witness the historic consensus decision by UN member states at the Human Rights Council to form an intergovernmental working group to draft the text of a legally binding convention on the rights of older persons.
The spirit of Elizabeth was surely there in the chamber, and I like to think how we might have continued to promote the inclusion of voices and opinions of the most marginalised of older women and men.