A/HRC/26/46 economic crisis and changing societal values, it was essential to address the fragmented and unsystematic character of the limited existing references to the human rights of older persons (such as in the Convention on Migrant Workers, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, by creating a binding, universal, international instrument on the rights of older persons. Such a treaty should permit legal planning, promote equality before the law, prohibit elder abuse, facilitate the participation of, and promote respect for, older persons in society, and serve as an instrument for accountability, monitoring, data collection and reporting. 10. Leyla Alyanak, Deputy Director of the Geneva Office of the United Nations Population Fund, stated that population ageing was a modern reality that reflected development successes and presented unique challenges, particularly for older women, who outnumbered older men and often faced greater hardship. Population ageing, particularly in developing countries, demanded immediate action, and the rights of older persons must not be neglected in the post-2015 development agenda. Action would require working with governments, supporting research and data collection, and measures to protect older persons’ rights. Ms. Alyanak suggested that those efforts should focus on three key areas: (a) income security, training, and employment for all, (b) widespread participation by all, including the aged and (c) affirmative measures and instruments to address ageing. In a more equitable world, older persons could live in happiness and dignity. 11. Isabel Ortiz, Director of the Social Security Department of the International Labour Organization (ILO), reported that the global financial crisis had had substantial negative impacts on the rights of older persons, including through changes to employment status and income, pension reforms, lower remittances, increased costs of basic necessities, reduced access to credit, loss of savings, and decreased government spending. That situation was exacerbated because only about 50 per cent of persons worldwide had access to pensions. Coverage was lowest in Africa and the Middle East. The main sources of income for older persons’ work and pensions were both under threat. In 131 countries public expenditures were being contracted in moves that often had significant impacts on older persons. Pension reforms currently taking place in 86 countries were one clear-cut example. The social and economic crisis involved individuals, particularly older persons, paying the cost of bailing out the financial sector. Ms. Ortiz called for an immediate reversal through implementation of the ILO recommendation on social protection floors. A large number of developing countries were expanding pension systems in spite of substantial challenges. Ms. Ortiz proposed the adoption of a post-2015 target based on the number of persons of retirement age receiving an adequate pension. 12. In a video address, Dirk Jaspers, Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre, Population Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, stated that there had been substantial progress in several countries in the Latin American region towards the realization of the rights of older persons. He argued that development, growth and well-being required the explicit inclusion of older persons and pointed to recent progress throughout the United Nations system. Although the work of the Organization of American States to prepare a draft Inter-American Convention on the rights of older persons and the increased visibility of older persons’ issues more generally represented positive developments, Mr. Jaspers decried the continuing difficulty faced by the international community in moving from words to actions to protect the rights of older persons. He called for the adoption of an international treaty on the rights of older persons. 13. In the interactive dialogue, representatives of Care Rights, INPEA, the Grupo Interinstitucional sobre Envejecimiento y Derechos, Argentina and InternationalLawyers.Org called for the elimination of gaps in the rights-protection framework for older persons, the extension of health care and social protection to older persons in migrant and 5