A/HRC/39/32 harmonious development of the family and work for the cohesion of and respect for the family, to respect their parents at all times, and to maintain them in case of need. 15. The region had made further progress following the adoption, in 2016, of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa, by the Assembly of the African Union. The Protocol called upon Governments to institute urgent measures aimed at guaranteeing the rights of older persons. The rights identified included access to regular income, equitable distribution of resources, employment opportunities, access to appropriate health services, access to basic social services, access to good care and support, recognition of the contribution by older persons to the care of persons with HIV/AIDS and orphans, respect and recognition for older persons’ role and contribution in society, and recognition of older persons’ needs in emergency situations. 16. Notwithstanding the progress made, the Protocol had so far been signed by four countries and had not entered into force. And yet, it was an opportunity for African States to engage in a more robust discussion at the United Nations level on the need for an international legal framework. It offered the opportunity to highlight how States could nurture families as critical links to protection and respect of the rights of older persons. National human rights institutions could advocate for States to sign and ratify the Protocol, and could use it as a framework for measuring compliance by States that had adopted the Protocol. Legislation should allow national human rights institutions to monitor family care, since limited access to justice for those cared for by families meant that, many times, abuses went unreported. There was a need to move from a narrative of care to a rightsbased approach, guided by human rights standards. 17. In the interactive dialogue, representatives of Brazil, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Mexico, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, the European Union, AGE Platform Europe, Alliance Defending Freedom International, HelpAge International and Human Rights Watch made interventions. In the interventions, it was stressed that the family was the primary cell and fundamental basis of society, covering all its dimensions, and that it was a guarantor of all rights, cultural heritage, social cohesion and identity. Speakers also emphasized the primary responsibility of States to ensure the enjoyment of all human rights of individual family members, and to ensure there was no discrimination within the family, including multiple discrimination and gender inequality. In increasingly ageing societies, States must promote the independence and autonomy of older persons and protect them from all forms of violence and abuse. 18. Some speakers affirmed that the family was the natural place for older persons to live, and stressed the responsibility of the family in providing the conditions to allow older persons the enjoyment of their rights, including autonomy and independence. Others emphasized that, although family members played a fundamental role in caring for older persons, family support was not the only form of care, and there was a need to recognize the different forms of family in different cultural, social and political contexts. Some States said that the international community should pay greater attention to the family in its role in development as well as in protecting its members. In many interventions, speakers noted the normative gaps in the current international human rights framework concerning the protection of older persons, which required a dedicated binding instrument to be developed. Finally, some States described their national legal, institutional and policy frameworks, including systems of community-based care and support services. 19. In response, Ms. Simbiri-Jaoko said that many States in Africa were making progress in the area of the rights of older persons, and African States should seize the moment and ratify their protocol. Meanwhile, in the absence of a binding international instrument, national human rights institutions were already receiving complaints and reports of violations of human rights of older persons, and were providing remedies for them and acting as a link to the authorities, within their existing mandates. They also included the rights of older persons in their periodic reports to different national, regional and international mechanisms. 20. Ms. Gekht said that States needed to promote and support the participation of older persons in various social activities and movements, including through State provision of 6