After more than a decade of advocacy for older people’s rights, Townsville lawyer Bill Mitchell OAM is celebrating the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) move to establish an international human rights treaty on older people.
The Townsville Community Law Principal Solicitor, and Queensland Law Society Elder Law Committee member, had been part of the New York-based UN Open-ended Working Group on Ageing since 2012 until it ended last year, as a delegate of Community Legal Centres Australia.
The group’s recommendation last month prompted the UNHRC to begin the process of drafting the treaty, via the formation of an intergovernmental working group.
Townsville advocate for older people, Bill Mitchell.
Bill said over all those years he and other Australians had “actively worked towards a resolution to elaborate and draft a legally binding instrument to protect and promote the human rights of older persons”.
There is currently no such instrument, despite a growing aged population in Australia and globally.
“It was fantastic to see the Australian Government co-sponsor the resolution to begin drafting a convention,” he said.
“We have passed on our congratulations to the government for this historic decision and have let them know we are ready to work with them in future sessions of the council’s intergovernmental working group.
“We note that given the tyranny of distance, Australia should take all steps to guarantee and support meaningful participation of older people and their representatives in the coming processes.”
The first meeting of the group is expected before the end of the year.
“Now that the decision has been taken to draft a convention, we will turn our attention closely to possible text, with a view to ensuring that it addresses our rights as we age and in older age,” Bill said.
“This includes the insidious impacts of ageism, age discrimination and violence, abuse and neglect.
“Older people’s rights aren’t just about health and aged care, they experience the same spectrum of violations as other population cohorts, including the broad sweep of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.”
A progress report on the draft instrument is due to the UNHRC in September-October 2026.
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