A/HRC/45/14 older persons in situations of forced displacement. The Independent Expert’s annual report on older persons in emergency situations (A/HRC/42/43), which highlighted specific obstacles to the enjoyment of human rights by older persons in these contexts, served as a basis for the discussions. The panellists agreed that in situations of forced displacement, whether conflict- or climate-induced, older persons faced a heightened risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, exacerbated by additional barriers in gaining access to humanitarian assistance and basic services. The discussants stressed that older refugees and displaced persons, in spite of being disproportionately affected, had a substantial capacity to contribute to responses and solution pathways, especially when their right to participation was being upheld. 6. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/144, on 1 October 2019 the Independent Expert addressed and engaged in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly under the prescribed agenda item of “social development”. She welcomed on this occasion the particular opportunity to address the Third Committee on the International Day of Older Persons, since older persons continued to remain invisible, both figuratively and in policymaking. Her presentation focused on older persons in emergency situations, an issue that she considers to be of crucial importance if existing protection gaps are to be addressed effectively. She shared her main findings and made recommendations on the issue aimed at assisting States and other stakeholders in designing and implementing appropriate and effective frameworks to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons. 7. In her statement marking the thirtieth International Day of Older Persons, on 1 October 2019, the Independent Expert called on everyone to stand up for older persons’ rights. She stressed that older persons – unlike women, children, persons with disabilities and migrants or refugees – were not protected by a specific universal human rights instrument, and noted that the absence of a dedicated legal instrument for older persons may also explain the lack of attention to the specific challenges that older men and women faced in the global policy framework, including in the Sustainable Development Goals, which guided the actions of the United Nations on the ground. She emphasized that it was essential for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals to be grounded in the international human rights framework in order to ensure the inclusiveness and sustainability of the gains over time. 8. On 30 September and 1 October 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Czechia convened an international conference on the human rights of older persons, and invited the mandate to participate in the panel discussion on violence, abuse, maltreatment and neglect. The conference brought together some 150 participants around two interactive panel discussions on implementation and regulatory shortcomings. The debate was informed by a compilation of previous reports and recommendations by the mandate. 9. From 5 to 7 November 2019, the mandate holder participated in a workshop entitled “Legal, ethical and social implications of ageing: towards an international legal framework to advance the human rights and health of older persons”, the conceptualization of which the mandate had supported substantially. The workshop was organized by the Brocher Foundation in Geneva3 and brought together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, as well as senior representatives from international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, as well as Geneva-based institutions such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and the NGO Committee on Ageing, to consider comprehensively the question of how to advance questions pertaining to health and human rights and harness synergies in a potential legal instrument on older persons. The Independent Expert’s comprehensive report of 2016 (A/HRC/33/44) provided the foundation for a constructive and creative discussion on how to contribute to the implementation of these recommendations. The debate dwelled on regional developments and in-depth case studies on global health law, such as the genesis of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its 3 4 Particular appreciation in this context is owed to Stefania Negri, Allyn Taylor, Patricia C. Kuszler, Angus E.M. Wallace and Jamie Behrendt.