On April 15, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, gave an intervention during the Tenth Working Session of the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, on Item 5 dedicated to “Measures to enhance the promotion and protection of the human rights of older persons.”  

In his statement, Archbishop Auza said we must end the exclusion of older persons by advancing their human rights and acknowledging their contributions. He praised the attention being given to their education, training and life-long learning as well as to their social protection and social security, especially in a context in which their protection and security are denied by some who consider them burdens, unproductive, and useless members of society. This is seen, he underlined, in particular in the sinister practices of euthanasia and assisted suicide, both of which the Holy See strongly condemns. Rather than working for a new convention on the rights of the elderly, he said, the most effective way to protect them would be to ensure and promote the rights already enshrined in international law, particularly in the vulnerable moments of illness and frailty.

The statement can be found here.