It is vital that Member States actively engage in the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWG) process and its working sessions in New York if the OEWG is to be able to fulfil its mandate and keep moving towards a UN convention. GAROP is working to build political support for a UN convention and our members lead this crucial work through their national advocacy in their countries. Around February each year, the UN invites Member States and other stakeholders to register online for the session in April. At this time of year, GAROP members can make an important contribution by raising awareness of the OEWG process with their governments and urging them to attend and register via their Missions in New York. This is also the time for those NGOs planning to attend the session in New York to pre-register their delegates online.
Please note that due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) situation, it is still not clear whether the 12th session of the OEWG from 11th-14th April 2022 will be entirely or partially virtual. Check the official OEWG website regularly for updates.
Links and resources:
(GAROP members can log in to access further resources)
- 11th session official ‘Note Verbale’ inviting governments to register English French Spanish
- Consult the FAIR guidelines section 1.4 ‘Set your goals’. The FAIR guidelines are also available here in Arabic, Spanish and Russian.
- Instructions for NGOs on how to pre-register online (if necessary) will be available on the relevant session page of the official OEWG website.
- Past GAROP webinars contain practical insights about attending the session:
- ‘Are you ready for the 11th session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing?’ – 25th February 2021
- ‘Time for a UN convention on the rights of older people!’ – 3rd February 2021
- ‘National advocacy ahead of the 11th session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing‘ – January 2020
- Mobilising for the tenth OEWG session
- Mobilising for the ninth OEWG session