A/HRC/18/37 and Cultural Rights, which provides the cornerstone protection of the right to health in international law. 20. Internationally recognized human rights standards and principles as contained in core international human rights treaties cover and protect older persons. Despite this tacit protection, it has increasingly been argued that there is a gap in the international human rights system because there is currently no specific universal human rights instrument on the rights of older persons. Specific provisions focusing on older persons, such as those which exist for some other categories of vulnerable persons such as women, children, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers, are also lacking.12 21. Nonetheless, different human rights treaty monitoring bodies have interpreted and applied existing norms to older persons as a group, recognizing their vulnerability to discrimination and exclusion. In 1995, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) adopted general comment No. 6, which offers a detailed interpretation of the specific obligations of State parties regarding each of the rights contained in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as they apply to older persons.13 In 2010, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted general recommendation No. 27 on older women and the protection of their human rights.14 General comment No. 14 of CESCR elaborates on substantive issues arising from the implementation of the right to health and addresses particular issues related to older persons, including “preventive, curative and rehabilitative health treatment…maintaining the functionality and autonomy of older persons … [and] attention and care for chronically and terminally ill persons, sparing them avoidable pain and enabling them to die with dignity”.15 22. In addition, there are non-binding United Nations instruments and international documents on ageing and older persons, such as the 1982 Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, the 1991 United Nations Principles for Older Persons, the 1992 Global targets on ageing for the year, and the 1992 Proclamation on Ageing. The most recent of these is the Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002, and endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 57/167 of 18 December 2002. The Political Declaration reaffirms the global commitment to promote and protect human rights and to eliminate agediscrimination, neglect, abuse and violence (art. 5). It further makes reference to the right to health (art. 14), the opportunity to work and the continuing access to education and training programmes (art. 12). It has guided the development of legislation and policies at the national level and provided a framework for international cooperation, which resulted in, among other things, the establishment of the Open-Ended Working Group on the Human Rights of Older Persons in 2010, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 65/182. 23. General comment No.14 describes legal obligations of States. The three primary obligations are to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health. The obligation to respect refers to the States’ duty to refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the right to health. In many cases, older persons are the object of State policies which may infringe 12 “Human Rights of Older Persons: International human rights principles and standards”, OHCHR Background Paper for Expert Group Meeting on 25-26 May 2010, p. 3, available on http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/OlderPersons/OHCHRPaperHROlderPersons30062010.pdf 13 See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 6, “The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons” ( E/1996/22, 8 December 1995). 14 See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 27,“Older women and protection of their human rights” (CEDAW/C/GC/27, 16 December 2010). 15 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14, “The right to the highest attainable standard of health” (E/C.12/2000/4, para. 25, 11 August 2000,). 7