The UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Claudia Mahler, will visit Peru from 11 to 22 March 2024, at the invitation of the Government.
During her visit, Mahler will assess the situation of older persons across the country, including their access to social security and pensions, access to health insurance and health care, age discrimination and ageism, and their meaningful participation in the labour force, public life and political space. She will also examine ageing from an intersectional perspective, taking into account the impact of older age on specific groups, including women, persons with disabilities, minorities, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTI+ persons, persons deprived of their liberty and persons of African descent. She will examine relevant legal frameworks for the protection of the human rights of older persons and aim to identify good practices that have been put in place to advance the realisation of the human rights of older persons.
The expert will visit Lima and the departments of Loreto, Ayacucho, and Lambayeque. She will meet with State officials, the National Human Rights Institution, UN agencies, public and private providers of services for older persons, civil society organisations working with older persons, academics, and older persons.
Mahler will hold a press conference on Friday 22 March 2024 at 14:00 (local time) at Hotel Dazzler Miraflores, Av. José Pardo 879, Lima 15074. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The Independent Expert will present her report to the Human Rights Council in September 2024.
Ms. Claudia Mahler (Austria) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council as Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons in May 2020. She has been working for the German Institute for Human Rights as a senior researcher in the field of economic, social and cultural rights since 2010. She was also a visiting professor at the Alice Salomon Hochschule in 2020-2021. From 2001 to 2009, Ms. Mahler conducted research at the Human Rights Centre of the University of Potsdam where her main fields were in human rights education, minority rights and the law of asylum. In 2000, she received her doctoral degree and was appointed as Vice President of the Human Rights Commission for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Her mandate covers all countries and has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 51/4.
The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
