Elderly women : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

The General Assembly,

Taking note of Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/38 of 24 May 1989, in which the Council requested the Commission on the Status of Women to devote particular attention to the current and future situation of elderly women in the world,

Recalling its resolution 40/30 of 29 November 1985, in which it was emphasized that the elderly must be considered an important and necessary element in the development process at all levels within a given society,

Aware that age segregation, in addition to sex stereotyping, makes the social and economic problems of elderly women even more acute, and that they are often viewed only as beneficiaries and not as contributors to development,

Also aware that statistics are an essential ingredient of planning and policy evaluation and that few statistics are available on the situation of elderly women,

1.         Recommends that the United Nations and the specialized agencies take the lead in recognizing the important contributions made by older women and their potential to participate in and shape the future of their societies;

2.         Reaffirms Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/38, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to organize a seminar, within available budgetary resources, to study questions arising from an in-depth analysis of the situation of women as they age, and to transmit the results of the study to the Commission on the Status of Women, under the priority theme of development, at its session in 1992, at which the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the International Plan of Action on Agingwill also be observed;

3.         Invites the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and the Statistical Office of the Secretariat, in co-operation with the regional commissions, to pay specific attention to older women in their efforts to improve methodology for data-gathering on women;

4.         Notes with appreciation the valuable contributions that non-governmental organizations have made in calling attention to the specific needs of elderly women and encourages them to continue to co-operate with the international community on behalf of these women;

5.         Appeals to the United Nations system to pay due attention in relevant activities to the importance of the role of elderly women, in all its interrelated aspects, as participants in political, economic, social and cultural development;

6.         Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fifth session on the implementation of the present resolution.