A/HRC/39/32 identification of best practices for implementing existing law had remained one of the priorities for her mandate. 58. Families were likely to contribute to the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living for their members. Older persons should have their preferences and best interests considered in all aspects of their lives. States should guarantee free and informed consent, and regulate conflicts of interest and undue influence. Legislation and policies should be aimed at preventing and detecting elder abuse, and should typify it as a criminal offence, and at protecting victims against reprisals. States should develop a strategy to raise awareness of the problem and inform older persons of their rights. It was important to assist families and other informal caregivers, including through training on human rights, health and human resources, through counselling, and by providing financial, social and psychological help, paying special attention to the role of older women as informal carers. There was a need for national home care and community-based care programmes as well as for social protection and poverty reduction programmes for older persons, especially in rural and remote areas. 59. The Sustainable Development Goals could help promote inclusive policies for older persons. However, references to older persons were rare in the Goals and the targets. Ensuring that no older person would be left behind would require recognizing the equal dignity of older persons, and recognizing and facilitating their contribution to society through the application of a rights-based approach. That lack of attention to older persons was a consequence of the absence of an international instrument on the rights of older persons, which could have formed a basis for integrating those issues into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There was unanimous support for the need to strengthen the protection of the fundamental rights of older persons; nevertheless, continued divergences existed among stakeholders on the way to address the issue. Several proposals for new instruments and measures existed, including the elaboration of a new convention. 60. Mr. Yorgason said that governments could provide support for local ombudsman services, where government agents met on a regular basis with older adults living in facilities to ensure that their rights were being met and protected. Furthermore, when allegations of mistreatment were made, adult protection services could investigate the allegations and refer them to the police when necessary. In situations of neglect, ombudsman services could connect families with appropriate community resources. Ombudsman and adult protection services could expand efforts to target high-risk populations, for example through additional oversight where violence in the family had taken place, in cases of care recipients with mental health concerns or in cases of extreme poverty. 61. Human rights violations often occurred where older persons were isolated or when the care receiver and a single caregiver were isolated. In situations where an older adult needed help with finances, the involvement of multiple family members would strengthen accountability and prevent abuse. New technologies could also help connect primary family caregivers with secondary family caregivers, and bring together family members, in order to prevent isolation. In addition, family-centred care could target relationship processes. For example, where elder abuse had occurred, an intervention could take place by the State and other actors, similarly to when child abuse or neglect had occurred. There should be accountability and rehabilitation of family relations. Family-centred care also implied that treatments and interventions were personalized, and they were culture- and gender-sensitive. 62. Representatives of Belarus, of the Holy See, and of Global Helping to Advance Women and Children, HelpAge International, Human Rights Watch and Vie Montante International intervened from the floor. One State representative reaffirmed the traditional role played by the family, which was the fundamental element supporting and protecting the rights of older persons in society. Yet, governments played a fundamental role, guaranteeing support to families that supported older persons, and should uphold guarantees protecting the rights of older persons, including social integration. Another delegation stressed the need to 14