35
Convention is based on the recognition that all existing human rights and fundamental freedoms apply to
older persons and that they should be fully and equally enjoyed on an equal footing with the rest of
society. It also provides an interpretation of human rights as they relate to ageing and standardizes very
important rights that have not been explicitly addressed in any other international human rights
instrument, including the right to life and dignity in old age, the right to independence and autonomy and
the rights of persons receiving care.
The Inter-AmericanConvention is an essential instrument for the application ofmatters addressed
by this chapter of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, as is the Madrid
International Plan of Action on Ageing, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development
10
and the key actions for the further implementation of the Programme of
Action of the Conference;
11
and —in the instruments of ECLAC— the Regional Strategy for the
Implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean of the Madrid International Plan of Action on
Ageing, adopted in 2003, the Brasilia Declaration, adopted in 2007; and the San José Charter on the
Rights ofOlder Persons inLatinAmerica and theCaribbean, adopted in 2012. The synergy between these
instruments and theConsensus is obvious, and they aremutually reinforcing.
This chapter presents a differentiated discussion of each of these measures. The intent is to
explain in detail those that have not been considered sufficiently in the interventions targeted at older
persons in the region, and where the Consensus makes a contribution by reinforcing existing
recommendations in these areas.
10
See chapterVI, entitled “PopulationGrowth andStructure”, sectionCon “Elderly people”.
11
See chapter II, Population and Development Concerns, section B, “Changing age structure and ageing of
the population”.
