A/HRC/26/46 Council of Europe recommendation could provide inspiration for a draft convention but noted that some States did not support conventions aimed at specific target groups. She recalled that the UNECE Working Group on Ageing allowed NGOs to participate as observers and that UNECE closely cooperated with all relevant stakeholders in intergovernmental forums. J. The universal human rights system: new opportunities for participation 58. Rosemary Lane, Senior Social Affairs Officer with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and United Nations Focal Point on Ageing, discussed the work of the Open-ended Working Group on the Human Rights of Older Persons, which had been established by the General Assembly in its resolution 65/182 “to consider... the existing international framework of the human rights of older persons and identify... possible gaps and how best to address them”. The Working Group’s gap analysis had so far identified the following priority areas (a) discrimination and multiple discrimination, (b) enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health including access to palliative care, (c) violence and abuse, and (d) social protection and the right to social security. Ms. Lane noted that there remained disagreement among Member States about the need for and scope of a new convention to address those gaps but that the reception of the Working Group had been positive. While some Member States were not convinced of the need for a new instrument devoted to older persons and called for mainstreaming of relevant issues in existing human rights mechanisms, others were calling for a specific convention on the rights of older persons because few existing human rights instruments specifically mentioned older persons, and protection mechanisms for that group were fragmented and did not sufficiently address critical issues. They claimed that there was a need to improve the accountability of, and implementation efforts by, States, and that a new convention would reframe the perception of older persons by society. Widespread participation by all relevant stakeholders in the Working Group was essential. 59. Karim Ghezraoui, leader of the Groups and Accountability Section, Special Procedures Branch of OHCHR, discussed the work of the human rights treaty bodies and of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council on the rights of older persons, including the recent establishment of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. He noted that, while the Independent Expert would work specifically on the rights of older persons, other mandate-holders would continue to look at older persons through their own lenses (i.e. from the perspective of health or extreme poverty) and the treaty bodies would also remain engaged. The Independent Expert could help advance international standards on older persons and would aim to (a) assess existing laws, (b) investigate the views of stakeholders, and (c) take a gender/disability perspective. Mr. Ghezraoui concluded by referencing the new website for the Independent Expert and calling upon civil society to seize opportunities to raise older persons’ issues in all relevant forums. 60. Bridget Sleap, Senior Rights Policy Adviser at HelpAge International, discussed human rights mechanisms and how they could be used by civil society organizations to address possible violations of the rights of older persons. She pointed out that the universal periodic review, the special procedures mechanism of the Human Rights Council and the human rights treaty bodies had not consistently addressed older persons’ issues, leaving room for improvement. Ms. Sleap opined that existing mechanisms and texts were insufficient to fully protect older persons’ rights and called for a new instrument. That would promote uniform standards on the rights of older persons throughout the world, addressing geographic disparities in the current enjoyment of those rights, and would allow for monitoring through a dedicated specialized body. Ms. Sleap called for further engagement by all relevant stakeholders on those issues. 16