WE, MEMBER STATES OF THE AFRICAN UNION
CONSIDERING that Article 66 of the African Charter provides for special protocols or agreements, if necessary, to supplement the provisions of that Charter; CONSIDERING that the African Charter makes specific provisions for the protection of the rights of Older Persons, under Article 18(4) which stipulates that, “Older Persons and people with disabilities shall also have the right to special measures of protection in keeping with their physical or moral needs”;
NOTING Article 2 of the African Charter which states that, “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status”;
RECALLING Article 22 of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa which provides for the special protection of elderly women;
CONSIDERING recommendation (1) contained in paragraph 4.1 of the African Union Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing (2002) which states that “Member States recognise the fundamental rights of Older Persons and commit themselves to abolish all forms of discrimination based on age; that they undertake to ensure that the rights of Older Persons are protected by appropriate legislation; including the right to organise themselves in groups and to representation in order to advance their interests”;
CONSIDERING recommendation (1) (a) contained in paragraph 4.1 of the same Policy Framework and Plan of Action which calls for the elaboration and adoption of “an additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights relating to the rights of Older Persons”;
CONSIDERING FURTHER paragraph 20 of the Kigali Declaration on Human Rights (2003), which "calls upon States Parties to develop a Protocol on the protection of the rights of the elderly and persons with disabilities";
RECALLING section 2.2.11 of the African Union Social Policy Framework (2009) which calls for the implementation of all the tenets of the AU Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing (2002), other international instruments that deal with the issues of ageing and Older Persons, the 1991 United Nations Principles for Older Persons, the 1992 United Nations Proclamation on Ageing, and the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and which promotes the rights of Older Persons;
